TaylorMade ATV Wedges Review - Forum Testing

[InHartWeTrust]

Went to the range last night and the grass tees were close for maintenance ...so no ATV work . I can't wait to get back out to the course and get some more thoughts up. I know I will be practicing all day Saturday, maybe catching a quick 9 (although I know I am going to the Web.com event at my old college course...OSU Scarlet), and I am playing with my old 2-man from high school golf who is playing a practice round for his US Amateur Publinks qualifier (or Mid Am?) down here on Sunday. I'm actually really looking forward to that. I will try to have him hit a few shots with the ATV to get his thoughts, but he is usually pretty focused and probably won't want to hit any clubs that aren't his.

Tomorrow and Friday night are question marks for me. Maybe nine, maybe range time, maybe short game practice, maybe a mix...who knows? All I know if I want to play some damn golf and use my ATV's!

 

[Darren K.]

I didn't even get to play. The usual Wednesday night ladies league had their playoffs tonight, so the course was packed til about 6:30. I went to the practice green just to try some stuff and struggled a good bit. I found that when I'm closer to the green, I need to take shorter back swings and focus more on acceleration into the ball, and that for longer shots, I need longer back swings and slower tempo. But I still struggled really hard with distance.

 

[InHartWeTrust]

Updated pic of the wear I'm seeing. It looks a little worse in person TBH (the scuffs are darker, the picture tends to blend them), but overall it still looks pretty solid. It is average or better in terms of wear I have seen in the past.

I can't wait til I can wear the sweetspot out real bad, I never truly like a club until that is accomplished. I've actually been TRYING to wear it out on the range, so it's even more impressive that it looks as clean as it does.


Just tap it in, just tap it in. Give it a little tap tap tappy. Tap tap tap-a-roo via Tapatalk.

 

[dleavitt39]

Went out and played 18 today. Much better, and softer greens than I had to deal with yesterday. Was sticking my 54* from 110 to within 6 inches of the ball mark :banana: Had a lot of success with every aspect of the ATV, even my atrocious sand game, I had 2, count them 2, up and down saves from greenside sand! My one area that I still had trouble with was greenside chipping.

JR, Haggis, and leavitt - Just finished reading all of your thoughts, really good stuff guys.
leavitt, great review, dude. Really good stuff there! I enjoyed reading that. What type of greenside shots do you normally use?

Hart, to answer your question, I usually line up with ball centered, or a little forward in stance, and try to take the club back no further than the outside of my back foot, and then accelerate through the shot, to give it a little air, and have it roll out a good amount. The problem I'm having, is my old wedges, I could have it stop or roll on command, and hit it nicely every time. With the ATV's, they can't make up their mind on whether to roll out or not. Was on the practice green, using the same swing, it went about 70% how I wanted, and the other 30% just stopped on 1st bounce. The other problem I've been having, is I am finding I am either blading the shots, or digging in behind the ball. Typically, I am blading the ball when it's on the fringe/short grass, and am going too heavy on it in a little longer grass/first cut of fairway length rough.

Dan

 

[Hanks]

Is hate to say for someone else's game, but I get plenty it seems with these.

I really liked the HiRevs I put in the Mizuno MPT-11's last year so they'd match up with the KBS's in my old CG16's so maybe I need to revisit them....thanks Due and Hart.....my wallet may hate you now


^^^^^^ I Tapped That.....On My iPad ^^^^^^

 

[JeffReedMO]

Heading to the course to do some work and this is all I am taking.........




Gregory Hines. Tapping.

 

[Ole Gray]

Changed my grip on my ATV wedge today to a mid size. I am looking forward to seeing how it performs with the mid size grip tomorrow.

Today was a great day with this wedge with a chip in, a beautiful high 100 yd shot over a sand trap with a tight pin position stopping eight foot from the hole, and many more beautiful approach shots. The 100 yd shot came on hole (#17) which slants away and downhill, so for the shot to stop that close to the hole, it was amazing to say the least. It's getting to the point where shots that defy my skills are becoming a familiar sight. I love it and want some more of it!

 

[InHartWeTrust]

OG, workin' it with the wedge. Congrats on the awesome shots, sir. A chip in and dropping one close on a tucked pin is awesome.

Hart, to answer your question, I usually line up with ball centered, or a little forward in stance, and try to take the club back no further than the outside of my back foot, and then accelerate through the shot, to give it a little air, and have it roll out a good amount. The problem I'm having, is my old wedges, I could have it stop or roll on command, and hit it nicely every time. With the ATV's, they can't make up their mind on whether to roll out or not. Was on the practice green, using the same swing, it went about 70% how I wanted, and the other 30% just stopped on 1st bounce. The other problem I've been having, is I am finding I am either blading the shots, or digging in behind the ball. Typically, I am blading the ball when it's on the fringe/short grass, and am going too heavy on it in a little longer grass/first cut of fairway length rough.

Dan

Hope you can adjust quickly, dl. I am sure it is frustrating having troubles on the short/easy ones. Keep us posted on how it progresses, I'll be curious to hear if it gets better for you with some reps.

I really liked the HiRevs I put in the Mizuno MPT-11's last year so they'd match up with the KBS's in my old CG16's so maybe I need to revisit them....thanks Due and Hart.....my wallet may hate you now


^^^^^^ I Tapped That.....On My iPad ^^^^^^

My wallet already hates me, it's only fair that your's hates me too.

 

[JeffReedMO]

Date - Thursday July 26th, 2012
Course - Timber Lake Golf Course, Practice Green and Chipping Area
Weather - 100 degrees, no wind to speak of
Ball - TaylorMade Penta TP5

I set out today to work on my short game with the ATV wedge, without having the rest of my game bog me down and hold me back from really focusing on the wedge and what it can do. In every review I write for the ATV, I am going to include this.........

DISCLAIMER - I have never been confused for a strong wedge player in my entire golfing life.

Now that I have that out of the way, I am exactly one month in with the ATV wedge from TaylorMade. My initial hello to the world can be found on Page 1 of this thread, dated June 25th, with pictures of my wedge.

To start my practice session, I did some green side chipping. I removed all of the other hole markers on the practice green, so I could 1.) focus in on 1 target and 2.) give the readers here a good idea of what I was shooting for. Probably about 20 yards or so, from light rough. I found that my comfort shot for here was a kind of mid-trajectory flopper, where I opened the club face up, placing my right thumb on the top dot of the Lamkin PP grip, and opening the dots up to the 1'oclock position, opening my stance a touch. Hopefully my pictures show up well enough for you. I had 8 Penta TP5's I was practicing with.

And here is my results. All eight balls are on the putting surface. 1 Gimme. 3 or 4 makeable putts. With my mid-trajectory flop type shot, most of the balls hit, jumped forward a foot or less, and "jitterbugged" (wiggled and stopped) for me. I am so pleased with my results here, I almost threw the club down and screamed "Good Night, Timber Lake".

Moving on.

I moved to another flag, with less green to work with, but almost the same distance to cover. Placed the eight balls in pretty much the same lie, and focused on making the same shot, but with a higher trajectory, in hopes of stopping the ball quicker and not running them off the back off the green. When I want to hit the ball higher, I open to 2 o'clock using the dots, and put my right thumb on the bottom dot on the Lamkin PP grip. I really focused on coming through the ball and not trying to lay off.

Hopefully you can see in the photo (I am pointing to my target with the wedge), I placed my hat on top of the marker.

And here is my results. As you can see, I actually knocked my hat off the marker with one of my shots. I left myself 4 or 5 makeable putts. I was VERY happy with these results. This is a shot I would have either chunked in the past and left a mile short, or got cute with and bladed or worse, long and right.

Next, I went out about 50-60 yards to hit some pitches into the green. I was UBER thrilled with my results here. I found my best results at this range, came from me using the top dot with my right thumb, and keeping the club face open to 1 oclock using the dots. Again, accelerating through the ball and not trying to lay off.

Again, pointing at the target with my wedge.

The lie I gave myself.

And my results. 5 of 8 on the putting surface. 1 gimme. 3 that are makeable. Again, thrilled!

Next, I stepped out to about 75-85 yards. I didn't alight my thumbs on any dots this time, but kept the club at the 1 oclock position. From this distance, I am a lost pup usually. It's just so in between and I either blade them or chunk them from trying to lay off. My results today were fabulous and I would take them any day of the week.

My results here. 5 balls on the putting surface, and hopefully you can see it, but there is one sitting just left of the flag for a tap in.

Next. This was by far, the funnest, most successful shot I hit all day. It was also, in my experience, the toughest. Short sided, tucked pin. A nightmare shot for me and many others.

To give you an idea.

Here, I open the clubface to 2oclock, place my right thumb on the bottom dot, and make a short, sweeping swing, just popping the ball into the air.

Here is my results here. I have 6 balls on the putting surface (two got hunk up in the fringe), with all of them being pretty makeable putts. Not too bad, considering its a pretty tough shot to execute, let alone leave yourself a makeable putt.

I also practiced really hard with the toe down chip from off the green and in the fringe. This is going to become a useful addition to the shot arsenal going forward. I LOVE this shot, especially when I have to cover some green. And I practiced it from fluff. I practiced it from dead lies and each time, I pulled it off with ease. I align myself just right of the target, close the clubface up (if I were to give the dots a position on a clock, 11 oclock for me) and make a putting stroke, with length based on the amount of real estate I need to cover. It pops the ball up, usually for me spins a touch left after landing (why I align to the right of the target). Getting distance dialed in takes a bit, but once you get that figured out, it is such a useful shot.

Here are a few pictures of me using toe down from just off the green.

And my results. Not bad. Not great. Like I said, it takes some practice, especially when you want to use it from different lies.

As I said, I am not a great wedge player, never have been, but the ATV has instilled so much confidence in my short game, it's a great feeling and a NEW feeling. Also, I am not a big spinner of the ball, but I get a kick out of hitting these green side chips and pitches, watching them hit, "jitterbug", and stop.

I am not ready to induct the ATV wedge into the "Greatest Club EVER! Hall of Fame", but it is certainly first ballot, greatest wedge I have ever played worthy. If it can save me a few strokes during a round (and it has already), it's for sure worth that honor.

 

[InHartWeTrust]

Great review there, JR. I love the pictures...really gives us a great look at what you were looking at shot to shot. On that first shot from 20 yards, it looks like you had really solid distance control...the misses seem to be lateral, which means you had the hardest part out of the way. Overall, those results (for all shots) are damn impressive my man, especially after your claim of not being the strongest with your wedges.

As you backed up further and further, and especially that tough short sider, I expected the results pictures to be worse and worse, much worse than what you saw...but you had some really nice results, and nothing that was not manageable for a 2-putt at worst. Lots of 1-putt up and down potentials. Seems like with some short game practice to sharpen everything up, you could really be on to something good here. Impressive.

 

[JeffReedMO]

Great review there, JR. I love the pictures...really gives us a great look at what you were looking at shot to shot. On that first shot from 20 yards, it looks like you had really solid distance control...the misses seem to be lateral, which means you had the hardest part out of the way. Overall, those results (for all shots) are damn impressive my man, especially after your claim of not being the strongest with your wedges.

As you backed up further and further, and especially that tough short sider, I expected the results pictures to be worse and worse, much worse than what you saw...but you had some really nice results, and nothing that was not manageable for a 2-putt at worst. Lots of 1-putt up and down potentials. Seems like with some short game practice to sharpen everything up, you could really be on to something good here. Impressive.

Yeah, I was very thrilled with my results tonight. I can't stress enough how bad I am from 100 yards and in. And I always have been, and I have always been honest about that. Green side, I have always liked to get a little creative, and either my equipment wasn't right for the shot I was wanting to pull off, or it was user error keeping me from pulling it off. For me to put 6 balls on the putting surface, with a couple of potential 1 putts, on that short sided flop, excites the hell out of me. In the past, I may have had 2 maybe 3 balls on the putting surface, tops. If I am able to add that confidence and that shot into my arsenal, and be somewhat consistent with it, that's big to me.

I actually went to about 100 yards out, but by that time, the sun was setting hard (you can see it setting in a few of my pictures) and I couldn't see a damn thing. I hit one ball (on the green BTW, but a long putt), and picked up the rest of the balls, because I was going to burn my eyes out trying to keep track of what I was doing. But yeah, the pitches had me excited as well. Just the fact I am giving myself a putt, is a minor victory for me. Our courses are short. I hit the ball a long ways. There is no reason for my short game to be as bad as it has been in the past. If the ATV can help me with that, and all signs point to it will and it is, than its going to be a big kick in the arse moving forward.

I love, love, LOVE this wedge.

 

[Tedfroop]

Kicked the 60 out of the bag this morning with a little trepidation as it is deadly withing 70 yards and just kept the 52 and 56 ATV in the bag.

When IHWT said you just get more and more confidant every time you have this thing in your hands he was right. I got more nice shots called and kept dropping them in close all day. I just need to get used to not having the drop and stop I am used to with the 60 from inside 50 yards. However after yesterday when I made a few really nice shots from difficult positions close in I feel like I can hit any shot I need to.

I got out of the sand 3 times, one just out (hard pan under less than 1/2 sand) and two nice outs despite wet (and unfamiliar) sand.

Chipping was OK but still a little not so great, but its comi ng. I guess that it will improve with a little time and more familiarity with how it behaves out of different lies. I guess right now its a matter of not wanting to chilli dip and hitting a little too hard out of poorer lies.

All in all I think this is a gamer. I am still working out whether I am going to keep the 60 or not. I will likely put it back in the bag tomorrow as Banff Springs is not that long a course and it may come in handy.

Dropped 2.5 off my handicap since its been in the bag and confidance is building.

 

[Kmac]

Jeff, great update and pictures man. For someone that isnt ever confused for being a good wedge player you had some really good results. The ATV sure seems to make someone a better wedge player if you trust it. That is what Im finding at least. I just need to execute the shot, the routine, the motion or whatever you want to call it and the ATV will do its thing. Nice update!

 

[JeffReedMO]

Jeff, great update and pictures man. For someone that isnt ever confused for being a good wedge player you had some really good results. The ATV sure seems to make someone a better wedge player if you trust it. That is what Im finding at least. I just need to execute the shot, the routine, the motion or whatever you want to call it and the ATV will do its thing. Nice update!

Thanks, dude. I had a blast last evening practicing with the ATV, and had Kelly not been calling me home for dinner (opening myself up for razzing there), I would have stayed out there until dark. It's just a blast and amazing to hit all those shots without switching back and forth or having to worry about your set up.

 

[10YardDraw]

Just wanted to give a little update, its official! Ordered my 56* with KBS Hi Rev from Blind9 and it will be here TOMORROW! Can not wait to test this out Sunday on the course. I canceled my Saturday tee time to be home when it arrives haha.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Just wanted to give a little update, its official! Ordered my 56* with KBS Hi Rev from Blind9 and it will be here TOMORROW! Can not wait to test this out Sunday on the course. I canceled my Saturday tee time to be home when it arrives haha.

That's some serious dedication and ATV love there haha, what finally pushed you over the edge?

 

[Kmac]

Just wanted to give a little update, its official! Ordered my 56* with KBS Hi Rev from Blind9 and it will be here TOMORROW! Can not wait to test this out Sunday on the course. I canceled my Saturday tee time to be home when it arrives haha.

Congrats on the new wedge. Hopefully you see the same success as we have with it. Im confident you will.

 

[10YardDraw]

That's some serious dedication and ATV love there haha, what finally pushed you over the edge?

I have been over the edge since I saw this wedge before they were even out lol, just finally got the $$$ to do it.

Congrats on the new wedge. Hopefully you see the same success as we have with it. Im confident you will.

Thanks Kmod! Im sure I will I can't wait to test it out!

 

[thedue]

Just wanted to give a little update, its official! Ordered my 56* with KBS Hi Rev from Blind9 and it will be here TOMORROW! Can not wait to test this out Sunday on the course. I canceled my Saturday tee time to be home when it arrives haha.

Congrats, hope it does everything you need of it.

 

[Ole Gray]

I chipped in for the second day in a row with my ATV 56 and today it was for an eagle! For the short period I have played with this wedge, I chipped in more shots than I have in five years. That's no joke.....

 

[JeffReedMO]

I chipped in for the second day in a row with my ATV 56 and today it was for an eagle! For the short period I have played with this wedge, I chipped in more shots than I have in five years. That's no joke.....

Isn't it crazy? I haven't chipped in during a round yet, but I have came SO close a few times. And my results last night show that I am trending in the correct direction. Congrats, OG.


Gregory Hines. Tapping.

 

[JeffReedMO]

BTW, I forgot to add to my review last night, that I tried hitting out of the bunker with the ATV for the first time. However, we received some rain the night before and the bunkers were in pretty poor shape. Very wet and it just wasn't happening. I ended up trying to hack four balls out of it, before I finally gave up and moved on. We don't have many bunkers at my home course and I think I have been in two, this whole year, which is why I haven't done any bunker work with the ATV. Hopefully, I can get in there and work in the bunker when they are in better shape, but it's not something that is super high on my list of priorities, simply because I don't play courses with a lot of bunkers and don't have access to any practice bunkers.

Just wanted to add that.

 

[InHartWeTrust]

Just wanted to give a little update, its official! Ordered my 56* with KBS Hi Rev from Blind9 and it will be here TOMORROW! Can not wait to test this out Sunday on the course. I canceled my Saturday tee time to be home when it arrives haha.

Congrats man, can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!

I chipped in for the second day in a row with my ATV 56 and today it was for an eagle! For the short period I have played with this wedge, I chipped in more shots than I have in five years. That's no joke.....

Atta boy OG! That is pretty damn impressive, dude. Keep it up!

 

[Darren K.]

Gonna look into trading in my 54 and 60 degree CG14's to put toward a 60* ATV. Love the ATV, just can't use the 56* the same way I normally would use my 60*.

 

[InHartWeTrust]

Gonna look into trading in my 54 and 60 degree CG14's to put toward a 60* ATV. Love the ATV, just can't use the 56* the same way I normally would use my 60*.

I'm with ya. It gets the job done (the 56°), but for me, I still need a true lob wedge...it is an in the bag requirement for me.