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FORGIVENESS & What does it really mean?

Moment of Inertia (MOI) and Center of Gravity (CG)

In golf, "forgiveness" refers to the engineering and/or the design elements in golf clubs that lessen the effects of bad swings and poor contact with the ball. A golf club that has these features is said to offer “forgiveness.”  Or the related term "forgiving" is the same thing, but in the form of an adjective: "That's a very forgiving wedge" and that means the club's design elements are intended to minimize the effects of poor swings and poor contact.  In general, the higher a golfer's handicap, the more forgiveness he or she wants in a golf club…especially wedges. Even the best golfers choose to play clubs that incorporate more forgiving design elements. Golf clubs built with a lot of forgiveness are typically called "game improvement clubs" or if they are extremely forgiving, "super-game improvements clubs."  

So, why are we telling you this?  Well…hold that thought but, lets start off with some basics.  

How is MOI or “moment of inertia.” or forgiveness measured?  This is a measurement (grams per centimeter squared) shows how much resistance a clubhead has to twisting when a shot is miss-hit or off center. The higher the MOI reading, the more resistance it has and the more forgiving the club will play.  This “forgiveness” is measured with an apparatus that provides a rating of Moment of Inertia or MOI. The rating ranges from less than 2000gm-cm2 to 5900gm-cm2 depending on which club is being measured. 

Typically, when a golf ball is hit on the toe of a club, the face gets twisted open; when it hits the heel, the face gets twisted closed. The result is a golf ball that flies offline and with less speed. A high MOI golf club, however, resists that twist and reduces the effect of a miss-hit.  So, a typical traditional shaped wedge has an average MOI rating at around 2600 gm-cm2 would consider that club to have a pretty good level of forgiveness.

I’ll ask this question again…So, why are we telling you this?  Because the Cutter Wedge is without question, the highest rated MOI on the market today AND probably the highest EVER created.

"…the Cutter Wedge was measured and, I think it's pretty safe to say the Cutter Wedge is the highest MOI rated wedge on the market today” …said Dickie Walsh, founder of Cutter Golf.  “…and as I indicated in the vertical Center of Gravity measurements it may also be the highest CG on the market as well. We all know that a higher CG imparts greater spin on wedges over 50 degrees in loft and that’s why the Cutter Wedge is so very very forgiving”

Cutter Golf MOI Findings

  • We measured several traditional sand wedges with an average MOI of 2603 gm-cm2 and the IZZ MOI of the Cutter 56-degree wedge is 3486 gm-cm2 which is a 26% increase in MOI or forgiveness.  While a higher MOI exhibits a clubhead that will resist twisting more on off-center impacts the Cutter Wedge has design feature that helps to stabilize an off-center hit; it is the crescent shaped sole.  
  • The sole cuts through the turf in a similar fashion as the hull of a boat cuts through water.  An off-center impact on a Cutter Wedge will twist less MORE SO due to the SOLE and a lesser degree due to the MOI.  Traditional wedges are rectangular in nature from heel-to-toe which do little to help resist twisting on off-center impacts because they are naturally unstable.
  • The Cutter Wedges crescent sole is a new technology development in golf wedges AND irons that increase impact stability for miss-hits and because it is mechanical in nature and cuts through the turf which leads to an extremely stable golf club regardless of its MOI.

Cutter Golf Center of Gravity (CG) Findings

  • The vertical height of the Cutter Wedge Center of Gravity (CG) is 27.2mm high from the leading ledge.  Of the several traditional wedges measured, the vertical CG height averaged 21.8mm from the leading edge.  A 20% increase in CG height
  • While much of the Cutter Wedge's mass appears low and in the sole its high topline contributes to shifting the CG upward as well.  In physics there is a saying, "so goes the geometry goes the CG".  In this instance the Cutter Wedge's topline measures 68.4mm up from the leading edge where the toe height on traditionally shaped wedges peaks around 61mm which equates to an 11% increase.
  • As the Cutter wedge's topline increases in height so does its vertical CG.  Since the 2010 groove rule change by the USGA it has been proven that increasing the vertical CG height of higher lofted clubs (wedges) results in increased spin.  The Cutter Wedge's vertical CG is likely the highest in the industry and subsequently contributes to increased spin and quicker launch.