Golf Monthly

CALLAWAY OPUS WEDGES FROM £179

“OPUS REPRESENTS A MARKED IMPROVEMEN­T ON THE WEDGES IT REPLACES. CALLAWAY HAS FINALLY MADE A POTENTIAL VOKEY DISRUPTOR”

While Titleist’s Vokey wedges have been considered the gold standard for some time now, other major brands have been hot on Vokey’s heels. Callaway’s new Opus line of wedges aims to disrupt Vokey’s presence both on tour and in the bags of amateurs.

Callaway is saying Opus is its most tour-validated wedge range to date. Every part of the shaping of this wedge has come directly from player feedback, with a near 18-month seeding period on tour to get it just right.

To me, taking this much time with the tour players was a superb move. Opus is replacing the Jaws Raw, a wedge I was never a massive fan of due to the slightly awkward shaping and the tungsten weight ports that were visible on the back of the head. Callaway has clearly listened to the feedback and Opus offers a much more classic-looking blade profile, which more confident ball-strikers will enjoy. The higher toe peak and radius on the leading edge are just a couple of the visible changes that were really appealing to my eye.

While it’s imperative that you like the look of a wedge at address, ultimately, it has to perform to a high standard to earn a place in your bag. There are two extra grooves on the face of Opus wedges compared with previous Callaway designs, which reduces the smooth surface area. This is something that isn’t overly noticeable to the eye, but the grooves do look slightly more compact on the face, similar to those on the Ping S159 wedges. Diagonal grooves run across the face between the main grooves for more friction when looking to cut across the ball, while an aggressive face blast has been used for extra bite on shorter chip and pitch shots.

Interestin­gly, I wouldn’t say I noticed a tremendous difference between the Opus and my current wedge, the PXG Sugar Daddy II, when playing from the fairway and green surrounds. But the Opus produced outstandin­g levels of spin when coming from the

rough. I saw my ball check up a lot more than I expected from thick, buried lies and it gave me the confidence to be more aggressive from tougher lies where I’d normally play a bit more conservati­vely.

Alongside the standard Opus, Callaway has also launched Opus Platinum. This model has been made using metal injection moulding, a process by which a proprietar­y blend of metals is used to create a distinct feel and to help dial in performanc­e. There is some added tungsten on the back of the head, too, which creates a higher centre of gravity to lower the ball flight for fine-tuned distance control. It’s a much better solution than the tungsten holes in Jaws Raw, both aesthetica­lly and in terms of effectiven­ess. To me, though, only the really elite players will see the

nd benefit over the standard Opus, but it’s a nice option for Callaway to have introduced into its matrix.

With four grind options, golfers are sure to find a loft and bounce combinatio­n to suit their game. While I opted for the S grind – otherwise know as the ‘situation grind’ because of its ability to help you in any situation – there is also the W grind for performanc­e similar to that of the most forgiving wedges, the C grind for maximum versatilit­y and the new T grind for precise shot-making.

The combinatio­n of aesthetics and performanc­e means Opus represents a marked improvemen­t on its predecesso­r. When they launch on September 6, I may well find they muscle my current wedges out of my bag.