Could the Opus be Callaway wedge makers’ masterpiece?

The attractive new wedge from Callaway has finally been released to the public after 18 months in the prototype stage

By Tony Dear

Companies these days are very careful about when new products are announced and released. Mega-buck marketing campaigns are designed long in advance of the product’s release date and timed to create the most powerful promotion possible. A system of embargoes prevents anyone in the media from announcing that so-and-so is introducing a certain product before so-and-so wants the information to hit the internet where it will be free as a bird and spread like water, quickly seeping into every part of society, and good luck trying to stop it.

It’s why Callaway has had some of its staff players using prototype wedges disguised as JAWS Raw wedges for 18 months. That’s right, Jon Rahm was hitting this new wedge at last year’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool and the Ryder Cup in Rome. Xander Schauffele won the PGA Championship ten weeks ago with it and Yuka Saso the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster CC in early June.

Callaway revealed the club a couple of weeks ago and it hit retail last Friday.

The first thing you notice about the new Opus wedge is the shape – cleaner, smoother, better. It’s a rounder, teardrop shape that was the preferred shape of Callaway’s high-profile testers.

Next, the grove technology, referred to as ‘Spin-Gen’ features three elements that together are designed to create more spin and more consistent spin, no matter what the conditions. First, Callaway’s aggressively milled grooves are positioned closer together meaning space for more of them. Second, a new face blast using tiny quartz crystals helps to create a rougher surface which produces more friction, and, third, angled micro-grooves between the main grooves channel moisture away ensuring the wedge performs much the same in wet conditions as dry.

Then there’s the choice of grinds – W (wide with 12-14 degrees of bounce for players who take big divots or play in soft conditions); S (good for any situation with bounce from 10 to 12 degrees); C (available in 58 and 60-degree lob wedges with eight degrees of bounce); and T(aggressive heel/toe/trailing edge relief which helps the club sit tight on the ground.

$180
Lofts – 48˚ – 60˚  (check the website for each dexterity’s available lofts and bounces)
Shafts –  Dynamic Gold MID 115g (steel); UST Recoil DART HDC 65 and 50 grams (graphite)
Finish – Brushed Chrome and Black Shadow
Right and limited left-hand (check website for left-hand options)

Opus Platinum
The Opus Platinum places 17 grams of tungsten (not platinum!) in the top line to help less-able golfers who tend to hit the wedges too high, hit the ball … er … lower, with more control. The Opus Platinum is made using MIM or Metal Injection Molding where powered metal is mixed with polymer binding agents creating a metal paste that forms the clubhead when injected into a mold. The binding agents are then melted off to leave the final clubhead. Available grinds are S in 54-degree to 60-degree lofts, and Z which Callaway says is a low-bounce option. A chamfered leading edge with trailing edge relief adds to the club’s versatility.

$230
Lofts – 54˚ – 60˚  (check the website for each dexterity’s available lofts and bounces)
Shafts – Dynamic Gold MID 115-gram (steel); UST  Recoil DART HDC 65-gram (graphite)
Finish – Platinum Chrome and Platinum Blue
Right and limited left-hand (check website for left-hand options)

Various finishes, stamping, custom paint-fill in up to six zones, custom shaft bands and custom ferrules are available at Callaway Customs.

callawaygolf.com

Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram