As you’ll see in this story, there is no dominant wedge among the PGA Tour’s best short-game players.
That makes their choices all the more interesting but looking inside their bags only answers part of the question. Where retail counterparts exist, our testing gives us another way to evaluate the equipment (it’s something more useful than a manufacturer’s victory count).
We looked at the top 10 players in 2026 Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and then examined their wedge setups and the relevant findings from our testing.
How we selected the players
Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green measures performance on shots beginning within 30 yards of the green’s edge, excluding putting. That makes it a useful measure of chipping, pitching and bunker play although it doesn’t capture every shot a player hits with a wedge.
Players can change models, adjust lofts or travel with alternative wedges, so these are snapshots rather than a claim that each player used the same clubs throughout the season and beyond.
Our wedge testing evaluates accuracy, consistency and spin. Accuracy considers Strokes Gained performance; consistency examines carry-distance control and dispersion. Testing includes full swings and 50-yard shots in dry and wet conditions so it’s not an exact comparison with these short-game wizards but it provides some perspective.
The results below apply to the retail configurations we tested.
The wedges used by the top 10
| Rank | Player | Wedge setup |
| 1 | Justin Thomas | Vokey SM11: 46° bent to 47.5°, 52° to 52.5°, 56° to 57°, 60° to 60.5°; WedgeWorks K* lob-wedge alternative |
| 2 | Matt Fitzpatrick | Vokey SM10: 48°, 52°, 56° and 60° bent to 61.5° |
| 3 | Tommy Fleetwood | TaylorMade Hi-Toe 4: 52°; MG5: 56° and 60° |
| 4 | Jason Day | Avoda Prototype V3: 47° and 50°; Avoda Prototype: 55°; W2 Prototype: 60° |
| 5 | Mackenzie Hughes | PING S55: 46°; s259: 52°, 56° and 62° |
| 6 | Brandt Snedeker | Cleveland RTZ: 46°; RTZ Tour Rack: 52°, 56° and 60° |
| 7 | Ben Griffin | TaylorMade MG5: 52°, 56° and 60° |
| 8 | Adrien Dumont de Chassart | Callaway Opus: 50°, 54° and 58° (10S); 58° (08Z) alternative |
| T9 | Hideki Matsuyama | Cleveland RTX 4 Forged Prototype: 48°, 52°, 56° and 60° |
| T9 | Scottie Scheffler | Vokey SM8: 50° and 56° bent to 55°; SM9 WedgeWorks: 60° |
Justin Thomas: The leader uses carefully adjusted lofts
Thomas has four SM11 wedges with playing lofts of 47.5, 52.5, 57 and 60.5 degrees. Two different lob-wedge options appeared: a T grind and a WedgeWorks K*.
That’s a useful reminder that the loft stamped on a Tour wedge doesn’t necessarily describe its final specification.
The retail SM11 finished third overall and earned Best for Spin in our 2026 Most Wanted wedge test. It also ranked fourth for accuracy with scores of 8.9 for accuracy, 8.4 for consistency and 9.0 for spin. Its overall score was 8.9.
On 50-yard shots, it generated 6,857 rpm dry and 6,860 rpm wet—effectively retaining all its spin when moisture was introduced. It also produced the highest wet-spin figure in the 15-model field.
That matters because a wedge that spins impressively on a dry shot can behave differently when water enters the equation. The SM11’s result gives golfers evidence of predictable spin across those two conditions rather than simply a large number from an ideal lie.
Matt Fitzpatrick: An older model with proven accuracy
Fitzpatrick has four Vokey SM10 wedges: 48, 52, 56 and a 60-degree head bent to 61.5 degrees. His lower-lofted wedges used F grinds while the two highest-lofted wedges used M grinds.
The SM10’s performance in our testing makes it more than an older model worth recognizing. It earned Best for Accuracy in our 2024 wedge test and finished third overall, competing against 25 other models.
Its accuracy score was 9.4, contributing to an overall score of 9.1. The accuracy award reflected its Strokes Gained performance across full swings and 50-yard shots including dry and wet conditions.
That’s more useful than saying the SM10 “spins a lot.” Our accuracy category assesses the resulting shots and their scoring value. For a golfer who wants better outcomes from scoring range, that is directly relevant.
A newer release doesn’t erase those results. For a golfer considering an SM10, there is objective evidence behind the model alongside Fitzpatrick’s endorsement through use.
Obviously, a player like Fitzpatrick has access to refreshing his older model with fresh wedges, making it possible for him to continue playing an earlier generation.
Tommy Fleetwood: Two wedge families in three clubs
Fleetwood’s setup combines a 52-degree TaylorMade Hi-Toe 4 with MG5 wedges at 56 and 60 degrees.
His setup illustrates that even within one brand, a player doesn’t have to choose the same wedge family for every job.
The MG5 finished second overall and second for consistency in our 2025 Most Wanted wedge test. It earned an overall score of 8.8 with 8.7 for accuracy, 9.1 for consistency and 8.7 for spin. Our consistency category evaluates carry-distance control and dispersion.
Fleetwood’s Hi-Toe 4 had a different testing story. In our 2024 results, it finished 20th overall, 20th for accuracy, 10th for consistency and 19th for spin.
That contrast is part of the value of looking beyond Tour usage. Fleetwood carries both families but our testing gives the retail buyer different evidence for each.
Mackenzie Hughes: A set pitching wedge and a 62-degree lob wedge
Hughes pairs his PING S55 pitching wedge with three PING s259 wedges: 52 and 56 degrees in the S grind with 12 degrees of bounce followed by a 62-degree T grind with six degrees of bounce.
His 62-degree wedge is the highest stamped loft in this group, making it worth singling out. That much loft should have a specific, repeatable purpose before it earns a place in your bag.
The retail s259 also handled moisture well in our 2026 testing. On 50-yard shots, spin declined from 6,760 rpm dry to 6,389 rpm wet, retaining 94.5 percent—fifth among the 15 models tested. That was a loss of 371 rpm, approximately 5.5 percent.
Brandt Snedeker: Cleveland’s wet-weather credentials
Snedeker’s setup features a 46-degree Cleveland RTZ followed by RTZ Tour Rack wedges at 52, 56 and 60 degrees.
The specifications included a 52-degree MID sole with 10 degrees of bounce and a 56-degree FULL sole with 12 degrees.
In our 2026 testing, the retail RTZ Tour Rack generated 6,729 rpm dry and 6,588 rpm wet, retaining 97.9 percent. Its wet-spin result was second only to the SM11 despite having the lowest dry-spin figure in that field.
That makes it a useful example of why shopping by dry spin alone can be misleading.
Cleveland also performed well in the previous year’s test. The standard RTZ produced 6,454 rpm dry and 6,795 rpm wet, a retention figure of 105.3 percent. In that test, adding moisture didn’t produce the spin loss seen with many competitors.
The two tests involved different RTZ versions and different comparison fields. Together, however, they provide evidence of strong moisture performance across the family.
Ben Griffin: A conventional progression with different soles
Griffin has three TaylorMade MG5 wedges: 52 degrees with the SB09 sole, 56 degrees with SB12 and 60 degrees with LB08.
The four-degree loft progression is straightforward. The sole choices add another layer: his lob wedge has a different bounce configuration from his sand wedge.
As with Fleetwood, the relevant retail testing connection is the MG5’s second-place finish in 2025.
Its moisture performance deserves attention as well. On 50-yard shots, the MG5 generated 6,683 rpm dry and 6,576 rpm wet, retaining 98.4 percent of its spin. The difference was only 107 rpm, placing it fourth for spin retention in that test.
For someone considering the MG5, that adds detail to its overall ranking.
Scottie Scheffler: Multiple Vokey generations
Scheffler combines SM8 wedges at 50 degrees and 56 degrees, with the latter bent to 55, plus an SM9 WedgeWorks 60-degree lob wedge.
He and Thomas both use Vokey wedges but their setups span different generations and specifications.
Our testing archives provides some context for those older models.
The retail SM8 finished third overall in our 2021 wedge test, earning a spin score of 93.8. Its accuracy score was 84.2 and its consistency score was 83.0, contributing to an overall score of 87.4. Spin was a strength while consistency was a less compelling part of its performance.
The retail SM9 finished second overall in 2022, including second for accuracy and third for spin. Those tests used 56-degree wedges so the findings provide context for the model family rather than a direct assessment of Scheffler’s 60-degree WedgeWorks build.
The older tests also used a different scoring scale from our current results. A SM8 score of 87.4 shouldn’t be compared directly with the SM11’s 8.9.
What should you take from these bags?
There is no single wedge setup shared by the Tour’s best short-game players. You could argue all of these setups are very different in their approach.
Some use three specialist wedges, others replace the set pitching wedge as well. Fleetwood mixes TaylorMade families, Scheffler mixes Vokey generations and Day uses prototypes with graphite shafts.
Those results give you reasons to investigate a model but the Tour specifications show how much further the selection process can go.
Start with the performance you need, then fit the lofts and soles to the shots you play. These bags offer plenty of candidates—but copying a name on a wedge leaves most of the decision unfinished.
Top Photo Caption: Justin Thomas hits a wedge shot. (GETTY IMAGES)
Leave A Reply