CROMWELL, Conn. – For the past few weeks, a handful of Callaway staff players have used prototype wedges in PGA Tour events, and Tuesday marked the first day the brand allowed all its tour pros to test and put the new Opus wedges into their bags.
While the Carlsbad, California-based company has not released official details about the Opus wedges, several different clubs were made available to Golfweek for photos and in-hand inspection.
The word “opus” is typically used to describe a musical piece, oftentimes a masterwork or large-scale composition, and it is also commonly used to describe someone’s greatest work or achievement.
Unlike woods, which often have technologies that are visible, wedges (and irons) can be made with new technologies and features that are not visible. But it is still interesting to study the shape and sole configurations to see what Callaway might be trying to do.
In the address position, the Opus wedges appear to have no offset. On close inspection, there appear to be microgrooves and milling marks between the main grooves in the hitting area. While most of the wedges are chrome-plated, the hitting area has a different finish. It could be raw steel or simply a non-glare treatment added in place of the chrome.
Golfweek was shown four sole configurations: S, C, T and W.
The S grind has a straight design with a small amount of heel relief, while the C grind has heel and toe relief with the lowest portion of the bounce set back from the leading edge. The T grind appears to have some heel relief, significant toe relief and a slightly wider sole than the C, while the W has the widest sole width – likely making it ideal for use in greenside bunkers – and no visible seam in the bounce.
Below are several close-up images of the yet-to-be-released Opus wedges.