Tommy Armour 845 Wedge Review
The Tommy Armour 845 wedge offers a unique groove design, sleek-looking matte black finish, premium shaft and grip finishes, and enough loft and bounce options to round out the bottom of any bag, all at $79.99. So, is this budget-friendly wedge a good fit for your game? We put it to the test, here’s our complete review.
A Closer Look at the Tommy Armour 845 Wedge
| Price | $79.99 | CHECK GOLF GALAXY |
| Loft/Bounce | 52/10; 54/10; 56/10; 58/8; 60/8 |
| Shaft | Mulit-Step Lite |
| Grip | Lamkin Crossline 360 |
We hit dozens of chips, pitches, partial, and full wedge shots with the Tommy Armour 845 wedge, and much of that testing was done with the help of a Foresight GC Quad.
Because a good wedge is a versatile wedge, we hit high, open-faced shots, low-spinners, and everything in between to really get an idea of how the 845 wedge performs.
After all of our testing, these pros and cons stood out to us the most.
Pros:
- Great value
- Excellent feel at impact
- Proved through testing to be very forgiving
- Easy to tap into its versatility and hit different types of shots
- Finish eliminates glare
Cons:
- Matte black finish marks up easily
- Limited bounce and grind options when compared to premium options
Look & Feel
The Tommy Armour 845 wedge answers a lot of questions right off the bat. It passes the eye test with flying colors with that matte black finish. That finish not only looks sleek, but it serves a purpose, and if you’ve ever used a chrome wedge on a bright, sunny day, you know exactly what we’re talking about. If you haven’t, it’s glare.
Traditional chrome wedges almost act as a mirror in the sun, which is distracting when you’re standing over an important scoring-game shot. The matte finish eliminates glare, so you can focus on hitting it close.
The shape and look of the wedge at address is very traditional as well. No full-face grooves or high toe to be seen here.
The unique 21-groove design instills confidence that you can stop the ball quickly.
Once you start hitting shots with the 845 wedge, it continues to impress. Well-struck shots feel soft and satisfying at impact.
Shot Variety
We tested the 56-degree wedge with 10 degrees of bounce, and found it quite easy to toy with the loft, opening and closing the face to produce the entire spectrum of launch angles and shot types.
The Tommy Armour wedge we tested was also effective in 50-100 yard shots during our testing, and the most impressive part was the consistency. We hit four consecutive three-quarter shots with the 56-degree wedge, and every shot landed within one yard, and finished within two yards of each other. These results came despite strike, launch angle, and spin rates varying noticeably, which is a credit to the wedge’s forgiveness.
Wedge Spec Options
The Tommy Armour 845 wedges are available in 52, 54, 56, 58, and 60-degree lofts. The 52, 54 and 56 degree wedges have 10 degrees of bounce, while the 58 and 60-degree options have eight degrees of bounce.
Maintaining about a 4-degree gap between your wedges is ideal, as is carrying wedges with various bounces. The options available in the Tommy Armour lineup allow you to build a two or three-piece wedge set with that ideal four degrees in between lofts and multiple bounce options.
What is Bounce and How Does it Affect Your Golf Game?
Limitations
While there is a lot to like about the Tommy Armour 845 wedges, there are a few limitations with these clubs as well.
First, that nice-looking matte black finish picks up ball marks quickly and easily. Expect to see white marks on the club face once you put the 845 wedge into the bag. The silver lining to that, however, is that it means the wedge is really grabbing and interacting with the ball, which is what you want from your wedges.
The other limitation is also a strength of this club, depending on how you look at it, and that is that there is only one bounce option available in each loft. Yes, it’s great that there are a host of loft and bounce options, and that helps set the 845 wedge apart from other low-priced wedges. But when compared to any and all wedges, including top-of-the-line options that cost more than twice as much, it falls short.
Premium wedge makers, like Titleist’s Bob Vokey designed wedges, for example, offer a dizzying array of bounce and sole grind options throughout the wedge lineup. Sure, you could argue that the golfer shopping Vokey wedges is not the same one shopping Tommy Armour wedges, but we’d counter that perhaps the robust and fine-tuned offerings of those premium wedge-makers are more what sets them apart from the budget-friendly options, and not-so-much the head-to-head performance when the two are built to the same specs.
Who Should Consider the Tommy Armour 845 Wedge?
The fact is, the Tommy Armour 845 wedge is a great option for a huge range of players. Players who want the ability to hit higher or lower short-game shots on command, but who don’t pay close attention to the species of grass they typically play on, and can’t give an accurate evaluation of their attack angle with their wedges, are a perfect fit for the 845 wedge.
If you’re simply looking to replace a worn-out wedge with one that has sharper grooves and more stopping power, or if you’re looking to fill a distance or loft void at the bottom of your bag, the Tommy Armour wedge, at just $79.99, is a great option.
On the other hand, we recommend that players who pay close attention to the species of grass they play on, and need to marry a wedge’s bounce and sole grind with their specific attack angle and typical turf conditions consider some of today’s premium wedge offerings.