Tour Edge has your back
The company’s new Exotics Wingman Wedges make a fine follow-up to its popular Wingman putter.
by Tony Dear
Better golfers don’t much care for offset clubheads. The feature does a good job of enabling less-able, slice-prone players to square up the clubface at impact and thus avoid making contact with an open face that imparts left-to-right spin (right-to-left for left-handers), but elite players are able to square the face without help, and offset makes it difficult to shape shots on purpose.
As the club gets shorter, however, you’re more likely to find an elite player with a touch of offset. Indeed, there was a time 30 or 40 years ago when even the best players used sand wedges whose heads were offset by a couple of degrees. With so lofted a club, you’re not looking to hit a fade (or draw). You need to hit a controlled, high, straight shot that lands softly and comes to rest close to the hole.
With a little offset, it is that bit easier to keep the hands ahead of the leading edge and have the face hit the ball as it descends into the turf thus creating a touch more backspin. Germany’s Bernhard Langer, one of the game’s most reliable ever chippers and pitchers used offset wedges in his heyday, and it was the two-time Masters champion and Hall-of-Famer whose experience, knowledge, and input led to the creation of Tour Edge’s new Exotics Wingman Wedges.
As well as the offset, the Wingman has other features that will appeal to a wide range of golfers. For starters, the head is forged from 1025C Carbon Steel which improves the feel. Pockets of Tour Edge’s Vibrcor TPU material is positioned near the head and toe to increase perimeter-weighting and reduce the vibrations caused at impact. Together with the forged head, the Vibrcor creates impressive feel and performance for a club at this price-point – indelibly the Tour Edge way.
The high-toe raises the clubhead’s Center of Gravity (CG) which prevents shots from ballooning high into the air, instead tracing a lower, flatter, and far more controllable trajectory. And the face-milling, which Tour Edge is calling ‘Triple Traction Milled Face’, adds micro-grooves in between the larger grooves to create more fiction and help your ball stop quicker.
The club comes with an adjustable five-gram backweight positioned between the Vibrcor pockets, but 2.5g, 7.5g, 10g, and 12.5g weights are also available. Fitters can therefore adjust the weighting to find the optimal set-up for the golfer. There are also three Grind options, and six lofts to ensure you find a combination of wedges that fit your game and the course you play most often.
It’s hard to say whether the Wingman Wedge is intended to be the Wingman Putter’s co-pilot or vice-versa. Whatever it is, this team of clubs will come to the aid of many golfers looking for a little help.
Price – $140/wedge
Lofts – 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
Grinds – F/S for firm ground and sweeping strikes; S/D (‘Soft Digger’) for deep strikes on soft ground; and M/N (Mid-Neutral) for everything in between. Note – the F/S Grind is only available in 54°-60°.
Shaft – Dynamic Gold 115 Wedge
Right-hand only
Available – October 2nd
touredge.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.
GET COLORADO GOLF NEWS DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX
Leaving Negative Thoughts Behind when You Head to the Tee Box
How does worrying impact our golf performance? What strategies can we use to manage it?
All in the Family Meal
The secret ingredient of Colorado golf course success is well-fed caddies, cooks and groundskeepers
CSU Grad Davis Bryant Discusses His Rise as a Pro Golfer
Colorado State grad Davis Bryant opens up on his path to the pros and what keeps him busy when he’s off the course
