Gold’s Factory New Hand Grind Forged Wedge at TSG!

While most of the talk is usually about Gold's Factory putters, former Gauge Design Chief of Tour Division Masayuki Sasaya's true skills can be seen as a master grinder and craftsman from the wedges he produces. In the past he produced many different models of wedges including the stage 1 -5 Gold's wedges as well as the Original Forged and Wide Sole Wedge. This year he's gone to a new design head, premium forged S20C carbon steel from Oichi and calls it the Gold's Factory Hand Grind wedge.

The Hand Grind wedge starts with heavy raw heads designed to Master Sasaya's specifications. The heavy heads and amount of raw material allow for a lot of different grinds and shapes and final head weights. Master Sasaya starts with the milling of the score lines and the milling of the face of the wedge flat. Gold's factory is know for freehand milling a process in which the hand guides the CNC Machine across the face of the wedge (a process he also uses to mill putter faces). This is a precision process to maintain an even and flat face.  He then works on the neck and sole portion of the wedge with a traditional belt grinder and hand sharpens all the grooves.

You can see the freehand milling below done on a putter face:

Grinds of course can be specified by customers who know what they want, including an M style TVD grind which is very popular, flat sole, wide sole for diggers and of course different bounce and head and neck shape.  If a customer does not know what he needs, Master Sasaya can also grind the wedge based on the players swing style and playing style and the courses he regularly plays on. Custom engraving and logo marks are of course available as well.

The key point as we've talked about on this wedge before is that all Gold's Factory wedges are hand grind and produced from start to finish.  This includes very labor intensive hand polishing using 60 grit sand paper all the way up to very fine 1000 grit for a perfect mirror polish. This hand process takes hours and is part of the reason why the wedges cost so much but because of this process you can be ensured a perfect wedge smooth and flat unlike mass produced wedges today which can lack consistency. Another sign of Gold's Factory's work is the fact that the wedges are typically raw and polished and unplated with either a mirror finish or gun blue. This shows the true form of the wedge as plating can sometimes cover up imperfections. (plating though is available as an option for those wanting less maintenance).  The raw S20C head leads to pure feel and maximum spin.

Above we have a video taken by Tourspecgolfer of Master Sasaya grinding a wedge at Gold's Factory and talking after about the process... (in Japanese).

The Hand Grind wedge is now available from TSG for the discerning golfer who wants perfect custom wedges. Please contact our custom clubs department for more information!