Review: Williams GP-80 Wedges

No spin outs from these F1 racing inspired wedges.
Spin out are a terrible thing in F1 racing.  Losing control is dangerous, even deadly.  When it comes to wedges it might not be quite as serious, but still is a vital part of scoring well, wedges need to control trajectory and spin.  So how do keep spin under control?  In the world of F1 racing every last ounce of weight in a car is analyzed for its placement and impact on the car.  So it comes as no surprise that the R&D team of Williams golf analyzed the wedge weighting and decided they could make a change to benefit the golfer.

Many wedges are designed with a heavy sole for getting down and lifting the ball out of the junk for high shots with soft landings.  But if you’ve ever played on a very windy day that can be to your disadvantage.  High shots can also balloon very easily and come up short of the intended target.  But just lowing trajectory won’t solve all the problems, because often spin is lost in the process.  So how do you lower trajectory, or at least keep it controllable while maintaining good spin.  Densimet.

Williams designed their GP-80 forged wedge with Densimet behind the upper part of the face well about the heavy sole.  It is a heavier metal which shifts the COG and changes the trajectory of wedge shots.



The wedge itself is basically like other wedges.  It is forged out of very soft steel.  It has a nice tear drop shape very popular with many golfers and has very aggressive USGA conforming grooves.  It is chrome plated and has just the right amount of Williams Golf stampings.  They come stock with either a DG wedge shaft or a Nippon 950H shaft and topped with a dual compound grip.  Mine came with Nippon 950GH shafts which I played  for a few rounds but just wasn’t getting the distance or consistency I was looking for.  To me they felt too soft and launched too high.  I threw in a couple DG S400 wedge shafts in them and turned these into flag hunters.

The Densimet is what sets these wedges apart for other wedges plus it works.  The higher COG and lower trajectory really offers one of the most consistent wedges I have ever hit.  It offers the same trajectory shot after shot, making distance control a breeze.  I also loved them for short chips.  The ball just popped out of the rough and advanced at the hole usually on a strong, but controllable line.



I’ve recently moved from three wedges to two wedges and so far it has been going very well.  I opted for the 54* and 58* wedge from Williams.  The 54* basically serves as a gap wedge.  It filled in the yardage distance I needed right around 100 yards.  It was mostly used on full shots and I was very comfortable using it out of the rough or fairway.  The 58* was everything 85 yards and in.  I used it for flops, sands, chips, fulls and anything else you can imagine.  It is very versatile and has a nice sole grind with ample heel relief.  I did find these wedges dug very easily because of a sharp leading edge so be care if you are really steep with your wedges, they will be better suited for a small divot taker or even a sweeper.

As with everything that Williams does, they spare no expense in R&D and production.  That means you will pay just a little more for these wedges.  The real benefit, as with any of Williams Golf products, you get what you are paying for, something different that works on the course.  I continue to be impressed by the high quality products Williams is designing, I just wish they would make them more accessible to consumers.  They need some stores to handle their products to let people feel and demo their great stuff.  But you can take my word; you won’t be disappointed with anything Williams Golf puts out, especially the GP-80 wedges.

For more information: www.williams-sports.com

Quick Hits
+Soft forged feel
+High spin
+Controlled trajectory w/Densimet

–Lack of demo opportunities