We've launched the new forums! Read more here

New taylormade wedge design

SuperStroke
BigLeftyinAZ

BigLeftyinAZ

Well-known member
Joined
May 12, 2009
Messages
2,434
Reaction score
133
Location
San Antonio, TX
Link removed for confidential information. Company asked to remove.

Removable faces?What's next? Not sure I like this Idea.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think I'd rather plan to just buy new wedges than plan on replacing the face annually (or more often).
 
Just another gimmick to get you to part with your ££££££££££££££
 
We have a ton of info on these, but the embargo date has not come up yet, so we can not post the images.
 
I don't know about the whole idea of changing a wedge face, but you've gotta love the "Ad speak"!

So what are they really saying?

Exchangeable Face Technology (xFT) - another "buzz phrase" added to the TM pantheon of buzz phrases like "Fast Swing Technology" and "Flight Control Technology", which essentially explain the obvious or mean absolutely nothing, yet sound so scientific in the process.

Fresh grooves and a rough face surface promote maximum
backspin and control - No kidding? (who would've guessed?) I wonder why they didn't call it: "Clean Face Technology"?

Fully CNC-milled clubface Four-step process - virtually every machined part made in the world today is done so on some kind of CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) machine. Nothing "special" about that.

Thin urethane layer behind the clubface Ensures the face fits precisely into the milled pocket while promoting soft feel - it has a gasket.

Classic tear-drop shaped clubhead with nickelchrome plating and pearl finish Beautiful, playable and durable - just like hundreds of other wedges made in this world. And nickelchrome plating is redundant as virtually all chrome plating done today starts with a nickel plate first.

KBS High-Rev shaft Specially designed to promote increased spin - it has an 8-iron shaft (or what some simply call a "wedge shaft").


I have to say that TaylorMade hires the most hyperbolic marketing people in the industry. They make "Corinthian Leather" seem positively boring by comparison. What's funny about all of this is that anyone older than say, 40ish, must remember the "Adjustable Iron" manufactured back in the late 70's which was a mechanical gadget with an iron face and a ratcheting/locking adjustment wheel which was used to change the face angle so that you'd only need to buy this one club instead of a complete set of irons.

Back then, everyone laughed off such things as novelties yet here we are today, thirty years later, being shown countless versions of those 70's and 60's gadgets that have been "developed" into sleek and well marketed versions of those "toys". Some of those early gadgets were indeed just toys while others simply gave rise to more complex design ideas, some of which have actually evolved into a variety of marketable technologies today.

But whether the idea of removable club faces is new (it probably isn't) or worthwhile (an opinion at best), one has to admire the way that something which appears to be rather "kitschy" at first glance, can be made to seem positively ahead of its time by they way in which it's promoted.

Where would we be without Madison Avenue? :thumb:


-JP
 
My thoughts are how can any consumer complain about not having to buy new wedges anymore? Just buy the face for $40 and you have a brand new wedge.
 
I hate to do it,but I have to agree with JPsuff
What's wrong with good ol fashion type of golf clubs? This is way to gimmicky for my taste. Plus what's with all the funky bounces? 9*

Wonder if we can grind these wedges?
 
I think wedge choice is almost as personal as putter choice. So I don't see many people switching from their Vokey or Cleveland wedge just because TM has a disposable face. However, of those that do like the TM wedge, this new gimmick will likely keep them in the TM fold for a longer time since they will be more likely to just replace the face every year.
 
BigLeftyinAZ said:
I hate to do it,but I have to agree with JPsuff
What's wrong with good ol fashion type of golf clubs? This is way to gimmicky for my taste. Plus what's with all the funky bounces? 9*

Wonder if we can grind these wedges?
Click to expand...


Sit tight, Lefty.

xBT (Exchangeable Bounce Technology) can't be far behind.


-JP
 
JPsuff has a decent handle on this new TM wedge. I tend to agree with his post.

As for that adjustable ratchet type iron, I have one of those critters, I found in a bargain barrel. It's called a "Super Stick".
 
JPsuff said:
Sit tight, Lefty.

xBT (Exchangeable Bounce Technology) can't be far behind.


-JP
Click to expand...

I saw that on some japanese wedge....adjustable bounce anyway. Was a butt ugly wedge though!!!

Another one generally agreeing with JPstuff here.

I recon TM are smart here, you will see people buy it, replace the face a few times (at $40 a pop) and then change to another wedge like they would anyway, at the same time as they would anyway.

Good looking wedge though....apart from the two screws anyway
 
It is funny to me how technology changes baffle people yet they become the norm later on. Nickent was laughed at for interchangeable shaft tech 2 years ago and now every company is doing it and consumers seem to love it.

Players cavity backs were frowned upon 6 years ago and now 78% of PGA players use them.

Hybrids were considered taboo when Taylormade launched them and not a single PGA picked them up at the beginning and now everybody has them and they have made the game better for so many amateur golfers.

It is a never ending cycle. Companies 1st to the market get ridiculed and then everybody follows them and they become the norm. I look at this as an incredible opportunity to save money for consumers. BUying wedges every year or every other year for avid golfers can get expensive. If the face can be changed for less than half the cost, that is a win.
 
Can you say.....

[YOUTUBE]j5u6DmH4y2A[/YOUTUBE]

This one's only $59.95, but wait there's more....
*Non-USGA conforming*
 
JB said:
It is a never ending cycle. Companies 1st to the market get ridiculed and then everybody follows them and they become the norm. I look at this as an incredible opportunity to save money for consumers. BUying wedges every year or every other year for avid golfers can get expensive. If the face can be changed for less than half the cost, that is a win.
Click to expand...

I gotta agree with you in regards to the potential. However, i reckon it will hapen as i said above...buy a few faces and then change the wedge same as normal...with nearly no difference in time frame for the 'new wedge craving'.

Have to admit though, i am very tempted by the concept. For me to buy it though, the wedges would have to make the screws less evident (they are the only ugly part of the club), it would have to feel good - yet to be proved or disproved, and finally the faces would have to be even cheaper...no more than a third of the cost of a new wedge.

Thats just me though, i have no doubt these will be very successful!
 
The new faces will be priced around $40 compared to $109-$120 for a new wedge by top companies.
 
JB said:
The new faces will be priced around $40 compared to $109-$120 for a new wedge by top companies.
Click to expand...

I take back my comment about price then...that is pretty reasonable. Hopefully that sort of difference will make it across the pond. Sadly i can see the faces costing £40 and new wedges the £80 they do currently.
 
I don't believe I saw many people laugh at Nickent for exchangeable shafts without having to go to a club guy.

Hybrids were around long before TM or whoever says they pioneered them. They were called the Spalding Cannon set, the 3, 4, and 5 were basically hybrids, and the rest were made to look more like woods as well. Some people still hate hybrids by the way, I have only found one I can hit.

Moveable weight technology is silly as it has been shown by multiple independent groups that not enough weight can be moved to make a difference. This is because there is extra weight tied up in each socket to thread the weights into.

Moveable face technology is not laughed at, I know for me I have always had to buy tour heads with open faces, now I can get an ordinary head and turn it open and save a pile of money.

I know Taylor Made will probably sell plenty of these but by the time you truly wear out your wedges there are so many dings, gouges and other problems most people will still want to replace their whol wedge.

I respect some of what TM does, but this is just a silly idea to grab the average hackers eye. I can almost guarantee that none of the high level amateurs I know, play with or see will EVER put something like this in their bag. Any time you add urethane, caulk to those of us not swayed by marketing, you are allowing for holt and cold zones because of that material. This is why many people have distance control problems with putters with caulk around the insert. A wedge with a much faster swing going at it should be even more suceptible to this.
 
SunsetBeachGolf said:
I don't believe I saw many people laugh at Nickent for exchangeable shafts without having to go to a club guy.

Really? Nickent and Hoefy say otherwise. He told us just recently that they were laughed at. He said "consumers laughed at us and fitters were angered."

Hybrids were around long before TM or whoever says they pioneered them. They were called the Spalding Cannon set, the 3, 4, and 5 were basically hybrids, and the rest were made to look more like woods as well. Some people still hate hybrids by the way, I have only found one I can hit.

However they were not mainstreamed and used on tour at that time. The Cannon set (my father used those) were not the same as the hybrids you are seeing now. And while many do not like them, it is hard pressed to call them gimmicky, a fad, or anything else. They are part of mainstream golf.

Moveable face technology is not laughed at, I know for me I have always had to buy tour heads with open faces, now I can get an ordinary head and turn it open and save a pile of money.

While it may not be laughed at, just read the threads on this board and others and you will hear tons say it is nothing but a gimmick
Click to expand...

........
 
BigLeftyinAZ said:
Link removed by the request of the company
Removable faces?What's next? Not sure I like this Idea.
Click to expand...

For anyone who doesn't get free clubs this is a great idea. I don't see it as a gimmick, not like changing the loft, bounce or even the shaft on the club, it is basically just renewing the grooves and to be honest due to the USGA insanity over grooves and the new groove rules this seems like a good idea for the clubmakers too. TM has hit on a solution to a real problem, that is having a bunch of wedges they make this year that won't conform next year or the year after.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I like the idea. I will buy it! My only concern is how secure the face will be. But I know Taylor Made will have it perfect.
 
Huh, it certainly sounds interesting. This will be a wait-and-see thing for me. I have thrown away wedges due to grooves wearing out. Yes they were dinged up, but I would have kept them if I could replace the face for $40 instead of spending $109 for new ones.
 
What I'd like to know is what happened to bringing a wedge to a club guy and having him sandblast the face and re-score the grooves?

This is the way wedges have been cared for over the years and it works very well and usually only costs about twenty bucks or so. Of course the only drawback is that one would likely have to leave the club with someone for a few days, but I've never known that to be any sort of "deal breaker" before.


-JP
 
JPsuff said:
What I'd like to know is what happened to bringing a wedge to a club guy and having him sandblast the face and re-score the grooves?

This is the way wedges have been cared for over the years and it works very well and usually only costs about twenty bucks or so. Of course the only drawback is that one would likely have to leave the club with someone for a few days, but I've never known that to be any sort of "deal breaker" before.


-JP
Click to expand...

Nothing is wrong with that at all. The one guy that does that around here charges $35 though and this would only be $5 more. But with technology brings new ideas.

While nothing is wrong with a corded phone, the cordless one may cost a few more dollars but offers much easier use and flexibilities.
 
JPsuff said:
What I'd like to know is what happened to bringing a wedge to a club guy and having him sandblast the face and re-score the grooves?

This is the way wedges have been cared for over the years and it works very well and usually only costs about twenty bucks or so. Of course the only drawback is that one would likely have to leave the club with someone for a few days, but I've never known that to be any sort of "deal breaker" before.


-JP
Click to expand...

How many times can you do that though? Once maybe twice? I have a set of MP32s that I have beat the heck out of - the PW and 9i are getting shallow int he grooves, they need to be either refurbished and rechromed or I can just go out and by new LP62s for maybe twice the cost. If I buy new I get new grips, new faces, new shafts, new everything. I like new. I might try refinishing these but to be honest I don't know if it is worth waiting several weeks and risking shipping them off somewhere to do it. I can keep them as a back up set and leave them as they are. Same with the wedges. Why refinish for almost half the price of a new wedge? By the time you add shipping cost and the wait time it isn't worth it to me.
 
JB said:
While nothing is wrong with a corded phone, the cordless one may cost a few more dollars but offers much easier use and flexibilities.
Click to expand...


Yes but you can't beat an old fashioned "land line" when the power goes out!

You say "To-MAY-to, I say To-MAH-to.

Same thing, just different ways of looking at it.


-JP
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top