As I found out during a recent wedge fitting, bounce can be your friend and sometimes this can be achieved with a wider sole.
When he was running his own business, Roger Cleveland designed high loft wedges with very wide soles that were excellent from sand.
Now he is designing wedges for Callaway, this principle has returned to the Mack Daddy 3 wedges with a wider version of the Mack Daddy 2 S grind and a new W grind.
Before we get into this further, let's round off the name as Mack Daddy is the name derived from Phil Mickelson's description of the original high spin grooves that Callaway created a few models ago.
The Mack Daddy 3 wedges features these same grooves, which differ in shape from the lob wedge, to the sand wedge, to the gap and pitching wedges to regulate the amount of spin generated. The higher lofts have the more aggressive grooves for greater spin and the lower lofts have slightly less spinning grooves to control the trajectory, but which still put enough grip on the ball.
You have to say the Mack Daddy 3 looks pretty good too, thanks to the four holes drilled in the back of the sole. These are not just cosmetic as they enable Callaway to remove weight from the sole and move it higher up the club head to control the trajectory and keep the flight down.
The lime green paint feel complements the Lamkin UTX grip and lights up the Chrome or Black Nickel finishes.
Each of the grinds is very well balanced and from tight lies on full shots and pitches you could really sense the excellent feel and turf contact whichever loft or grind you use. The feel of the club is towards the heavier end of market, but that gives a firm, solid feel when you swing for a little more control and confidence.
The S grind is your traditional wedge sole with a little relief in the heel, whereas the more flexible C grind also features a slightly wider sole front to back, but with more relief in the heel and toe.
This means that opening and closing the face is easier for touch shots around the green, such as lifting the heel and using the toe grind to slip the club under the ball.
The C grind did not feel quite as relieved as other C grinds on the market, so you will have a little more effective bounce when playing these types of shots, which is neither good or bad.
From sand the C grind was OK, but not as good as the S because the lower overall bounce on the sole didn't help it skip through the sand as easily.
A better option from the sand was the wider W grind where the extra width on the sole created more bounce and therefore more margin for error.
The extra bounce comes from the sole width rather than the sole camber, which is relatively low to combine forgiveness and playability.
The great thing about the W grind was that it was also just as good from the grass around the green as the other grinds, as the hint of heel relief and low camber gave you lots of options to get the ball close.
Whilst the S grind will suit most players for the variety or surfaces they encounter, I would encourage you to check out the W grind for all your lofts from 54° upwards and particularly the 58° and 60° lob wedges. It is only really by trying them in practice that you see and feel the differences in the levels of bounce and how they can benefit your game.
Overall this is another excellent wedge from Callaway and I feel it is an improvement on the Mack Daddy 2 as the wider sole and the new W grind gives you that extra level of forgiveness without losing and control or feel.