Some companies offer coatings, such as Titleist's Oil Can finish. Purespin's Diamond face technology is another approach. Others, including Cleveland and Titleist, have stopped the manufacturing process short of applying a layer of chrome to the wedge. Wedges, like putters, are clubs of confidence. Executing shots with these clubs requires delicate touch and good technique, particularly when faced with a tough lie around the green.
Delicacy is everything.
That's where feel comes in. Bettinardi, a small company southwest of Chicago that has attracted a following for its milled one-piece putters, has taken that process to its new wedges. Clubface and hosel are milled out of one piece of soft carbon steel and finished with a jeweling tool to give the face a distinctive honeycomb look. Golf club manufacturing is but a small part of the Bettinardi concern. It is a supplier of military parts, including the cones that go into smart bombs.