Callaway has offered an impressive golf wedge lineup in recent years. We've been treated to Phil Mickelson-inspired designs with full-face grooves and a distinctive high toe. Callaway has also experienced...
Callaway has offered an impressive golf wedge lineup in recent years.
We've been treated to Phil Mickelson-inspired designs with full-face grooves and a distinctive high toe. Callaway has also experienced success in the competitive wedge market by employing wedge guru Roger Cleveland in some of its designs.
Callaway has also been very bullish about how sharp the grooves in their wedges found in the JAWS designs. Aggressive grooves offer us the promise of seeing impressive spin and the ball zipping backwards emulating the stars of the professional game.
However, Callaway is entering an entirely new era with its wedge design.
No more Mickelson grinds, no Roger Cleveland influence, and a completely new groove design.
This is a bold move for Callaway Golf, but times change, and the new Callaway Opus golf wedges represent the dawn of a new era.
The new Callaway Opus golf wedges are born from what Callaway has called "Tour driven." Effectively, Callaway started with a blank sheet of paper and worked with its tour staff to design a new wedge from the ground up, culminating in the Opus wedge.
If you want proof of this process's success, Xander Scheuffele had an experimental Opus wedge in his bag when he captured the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club earlier this year.
So, if the new Callaway Opus wedges are designed explicitly by its tour staff, are they suitable for all levels of players?
Join us as we take you on a journey of what the Opus wedges are all about; we'll share with you:
The Opus range consists of two models, Opus and Opus Platinum.
Wedge enthusiasts will be taken by the new head shape design in the Opus wedges. Previous Callaway wedges didn't always score highly in the looks stakes. A mixture of top line, toe shaping, and the merging between the hosel and face meant that Callaway wedges scored poorly in the ergonomics front.
The new "tour-driven" philosophy has addressed all those issues with a wedge that now has the aesthetics to match the technology and performance we'll examine shortly.
The Opus wedge features a much more classic teardrop head design. The transition from the toe into the top line has been smoothed out, as has the transition from the hosel into the face, with minimal offset.
The brushed chrome finish enhances the classic look of the Opus wedge. If you want something that will stand out more in your bag, you can select your Opus wedges in a striking "Brushed Black Shadow" finish.
The Opus Platinum golf wedges feature the same design profile as the standard Opus wedges but are designed as the ultimate premium wedge in its engineering and mix of materials.
The Opus Platinum wedges favour a lower ball flight, which is easy for professionals but harder for amateurs. Callaway has found that amateurs tend to strike their wedges higher in the face, which imparts less spin and a higher "floaty" ball flight.
Callaway has opted for a brushed chrome finish with a CNC-milled back helping distinguish the Opus Platinum from the standard Opus wedge.
If brushed chrome is just a little too ordinary for your tastes, you can select your Opus Platinum wedges in a PVD Blue finish.
Wedges don't just have to look pretty; they need to be able to perform in a wide variety of roles, from approach shots to delicate chip shots.
The common denominator with all shots is seeing a consistent level of stopping power and spin. Callaway has returned to the drawing board to create a new face and grooves that will deliver.
Both Opus and Opus Platinum wedges feature SPIN-GEN technology, which is broken down into three constituent elements:
Both Opus wedges feature more grooves, two extra grooves to be precise, compared to previous models. Callaway has also narrowed the gap between grooves, which helped create space for the additional grooves.
Angled micro grooves can be read as "grooves between the grooves." Diagonal grooves run between the main grooves, helping to channel moisture from the face. This is ideal if you play in wet conditions or early in the morning when there is fresh dew on the ground where any moisture trapped between the face and ball can affect spin and launch levels.
The third element of SPIN-GEN is a new blasting technique Callaway has employed: using quartz to roughen the face surface, which helps to provide more stopping power on half shots or delicate-feel shots.
Opus Platinum's Additional Tech
The Opus Platinum wedge has a few extra elements it brings to the party to create the more distinctive ball flight it favours.
When watching a tournament on television, it's easy to think that when a pro has a full wedge in their hands, they generate the spin and zip you see when the ball lands on the green through a high ball flight.
If anything, it's the opposite. Pros flight the ball lower with their wedges through the compression they achieve at impact and generate the spin through the quality of the strike.
To help amateurs achieve this ball flight, Callaway has adopted a technique known as "metal injection moulding" (MIM).
MIM is a process in which proprietary metals are mixed with polymer binding agents to create a paste-like substance. This substance is then poured into a cast to construct the head.
The end result for golfers is a head that provides an exceptionally soft feel compared to the cast-standard Opus head.
Perfecting the lower ball flight and precisely placing the Opus Platinum's centre-of-gravity comes from a 17-gram tungsten weight placed on the top of the head and is fused into the MIM construction.
The Opus family of wedges offers various grinds and bounces to make them playable for any type of golfer and any type of playing conditions.
There are five grinds in total spread across Opus and Opus Platinum:
Callaway's middle-of-the-road offering, the S-Grind, has 10-12 degrees of bounce and will suit a wide variety of players. It is available from 48 degrees in 2-degree increments to 60 degrees.
Callaway's widest sole makes it ideal for golfers who get particularly steep on the ball and take big divots. This wedge is also ideal for players who struggle with their bunker play. The wide sole is complimented by 12-14 degrees of bounce. Lofts are available from 50 to 60 degrees.
The C-grind is only available in the lob wedge 58 and 60-degree heads with 8 degrees of bounce. Offering more versatility than the S-Grind but more forgiveness than the T-Grind, the C-Grind will be a popular option for many golfers.
The T-Grind follows the " tour-driven" principle. It is available in 58—and 60-degree lofts with a low, 6-degree bounce. The low bounce comes from aggressive grinding around the heel, toe, and leading edge, allowing the head to be opened while keeping the leading edge close to the ground.
The T-Grind is aimed more towards players who don't fear the need to strike the ball precisely with such a low bounce.
Only available in the Opus Platinum, the Z-Grind is billed by Callaway as a friendly low-bounce design but features 8 or 10 degrees of bounce.
Wedges are referred to as the scoring clubs of your bag. They can create or maintain momentum over a round.
This can mean setting up a great birdie opportunity from an approach shot or saving par after a precise pitch shot after being in trouble earlier in the hole.
Focusing on the golf wedges you use and your wedge setup is critical.
When you invest in being custom fitted for your wedges, one of the crucial elements a fitter will look at is the gapping between your existing setup.
Ensuring consistent gapping in your wedges creates consistency in your distances and ball-striking.
Forcing a wedge or easing off on a wedge for an awkward distance affects the quality of the strike, spin, and trajectory.
The Callaway Opus and Opus Platinum golf wedges come in a variety of lofts, meaning we can create an ideal wedge setup to ensure you have consistent distance gapping.
During a wedge custom-fitting session, it's also important to understand whether you use a wedge from your iron set or a specialised pitching wedge. In this instance, we are looking at not just distances but also the consistency of feel and appearance from your wedges into your irons.
When you are in for a fitting, we can also determine through GC Quad what your typical angle of attack is, which helps us choose the correct bounce and grind for your wedges.
It's also important to understand the types of golf courses you play. If you play most of your golf on links-style courses, we might consider Opus or Opus Platinum wedges with lower bounce to help improve ball and turf interaction.
Softer inland courses with heavier coarse sand in the bunkers might require more bounce and a friendlier grind to prevent the leading edge from digging into the ground.
Once we have the correct lofts, bounces, and grinds set up, we will turn our attention to fitting the correct shafts. The right golf shaft weight and flex can tighten up shot dispersion, helping you hit even more accurate wedge shots.
The final element of fitting of investing in custom fitted golf wedges is ensuring they have the correct lie and length.
Correct lies and lengths can help you create a more consistent strike, giving you more confidence in hitting your wedges close.
With the introduction of the new Opus and Opus Platinum wedges, Callaway Golf has created a new wedge that has been designed from a blank sheet of paper through its tour players.
The net result is a new design philosophy that answers some of the criticisms of previous models with a softer, more traditional wedge shape.
Opus and Opus Platinum golf wedges have allowed Callaway to introduce a new three-step system to create more spin and consistency. Opus Platinum's build helps to create a lower ball flight that can allow handicap golfers to achieve similar trajectories and spin levels as professionals.
At Nine By Nine Golf, you can book a dedicated wedge fitting session with one of our experienced fitters, who can help you create your ideal wedge setup for either the Opus or Opus Platinum wedges.
You can also visit the Nine By Nine website and check out the Opus and Opus Platinum range of wedges and all the customisable shaft options to create your perfect wedge.
We'd be happy to help if you have any further questions about whether the Callaway Opus wedges are a good fit for you or the benefits to your golf game of being custom-fitted for your golf clubs
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