05/19/2015

Bunker shots and chip shots from thick lies are some of the most troublesome shots in golf.  Enter the PNP Rake Wedge, a wedge that’s intended to excel at both of these daunting shots.  PGA Professional Todd Kolb gave this new concept wedge a test run, and shared his results with us.

Hey golfers, PGA Teaching Professional Todd Kolb here with another pro review; and today I’m taking a look at the PNP Rake Wedge.

After teaching the game for over 20 years, I’m not going to lie:  I’ve seen a lot of things come in the golf industry that make claims about making certain shots easier.  But this PNP Rake Wedge actually does make some very difficult shots for the average golfer much easier.  So let’s talk about some of the specifics of the design of the club, and why I believe that it is a good golf club.  First of all, the one that I tried out had 60 degrees of loft on it and 15 degrees of bounce, and I like that.  I like a club around the green that has a lot of loft; I think it makes shots easier for the average golfer.

The most unique design about the PNP Rake Wedge is the bottom here, and what they call kind of this rake—kind of these grooves—which you’ll notice right here.  Now what I noticed when I hit shots with this, these grooves did two things.  One is it helped keep the face pretty square; I didn’t feel the face closing or opening because of the grooves right here.

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The second thing is it’s got a lot of weight on the bottom, so it was very easy to get the club down into the turf and get the ball to pop out; because one of the most challenging shots for the average golfer is this shot around the green, where the grass is really thick.  How do I get that ball to pop out of there?  Well, the design here on the bottom—with this kind of rake design here—and also the weight allows me to do that.

Another thing that I like about the PNP Rake Wedge is it’s very easy to use out of the bunker.  Because of the bounce and because of the flange here on the bottom, it literally kind of slides right through the sand and makes that shot very easy.  I hit a couple of them, popped right out; it was nice and simple, and easy to use.

The last feature that I liked about this is the dreaded “S” word—you know what I’m talking about—the shank.  If you’ve ever started chipping and hitting the shanks, that’s a dreadful thing to have.  The face on the PNP Rake Wedge is a little bit forward of the hosel, alright?  And I’m not going to say that it’s completely shank-proof, but it’s about as close as you’re going to get.

So at the end of the day, if the bunker shot gives you challenges, if the shot around the green where the grass is really thick, or every once in a while you hit one close to the hosel or shank it, the PNP Rake Wedge has some design features that make those shots much easier.  Now if you want more information about this product, be sure to visit their website.