TaylorMade Golf's new ATV wedge
TaylorMade-adidas Golf has been making some terrific wedges going back to the days of the original RAC – still one of the favorite wedge lines. Now comes the new ATV (All-Terrain Versatility), a wedge the company says was created to offer golfers a “simple choice” to handle the multitude of shots and course conditions. With its strategically designed sole geometries, TMaG says the ATV is the “most versatile” wedge in golf.
That’s quite a statement given the plethora of good wedges on the market, but TMaG has never been shy about touting its product line.
“Prior to the introduction of the ATV, the wedge is a piece of equipment that traditionally forces a player to sacrifice a certain shot type,” said Brian Bazzel, product creation manager for irons, putters and wedges. “The ATV wedge is engineered to perform beautifully on a multitude of different types of shots, including chips, pitches, sand shots, full shots from fairway, out of the rough, off hardpan, flop shots and bump-and-runs.”
The ATV’s sole design, Bazzel said, was designed with every curve, angle and edge serving a purpose to make the club more versatile. Significant relief at the toe, heel and trailing edge reduces resistance and changes how the sole reacts with turf and sand, depending on how the club is positioned at address and how much the face is opened. Each ATV sole is slightly different, depending on the loft.
Interestingly, you won’t find a bounce number etched anywhere into the ATV club head, although the wedges come in lofts of 52, 56, 58 and 60 degrees. Bazzel said that’s because the sole takes on different bounces depending on how you position the club for the type of shot you’re hitting, including where your hands are positioned in relation to the club head and depending on whether the face is square or to what degree it’s open.
The ATV wedge incorporates a new groove design TMaG says generates nearly as much spin as its previous highest spinning groove ever, the Z. Just as reference, the Z was one of the groove designs outlawed the U.S. Golf Association last year when the organization reformed its definition of acceptable groove design.
The ATV wedge sells of shelves for $119.99.
