Gear: Tour Edge Exotics Wingman wedges
Price: $139.99 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold 115 Wedge shaft.
Specs: Forged stainless steel with polymer inserts and an adjustable weight. Even lofts from 50 degrees to 60 degrees in three sole grinds with five different bounce options
Available: Oct. 2
Who It’s For: Golfers who want a softer feel and more forgiveness on shots around the green.
The Skinny: Tour Edge designed a high-toe wedge with weight removed from the back flange, then added thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to soften the feel.
The Deep Dive: Elite golfers rarely want to look down at their irons and see a significant amount of offset because the more offset an iron has, the more challenging it can be to curve the ball intentionally and shape shots. However, back in the day, wedges were designed with offset, and many golfers who were elite in the 1980s and ’90s still love to use wedges with offset because it can help them keep their hands in front of the leading edge and promote solid contact on chips. Bernhard Langer is among them, and he recently asked Tour Edge to make him some wedges that had extra offset. The company’s R&D team got to work and developed wedges that pleased the German Hall-of-Famer, and now those clubs, the Exotics Wingman wedges, are being released.
The Exotics Wingman wedge’s offset pushes the leading edge back so your hands stay forward at impact. (Tour Edge)
Each Exotics Wingman wedge is forged for an enhanced feel and features a new Triple-Traction face design. After Tour Edge mills the main grooves into the high-toe-shaped hitting area, microgrooves are milled between each main groove to add surface roughness and increase friction. The combination of the high-toe and multi-groove pattern on the face is designed to allow golfers to get more spin on a wide variety of shots and increase their ability to be creative around the greens.
To further enhance the feel, Tour Edge removed some of the stainless steel in the heel and toe areas of the back of the heads and replaced it with a polymer called Vibrcor. The material soaks up excessive vibrations and softens the feel of impact.
Adding TPU inserts to the back of the head and extra mass high in the toe softens feel and helps to create lower-flying approach shots. (Tour Edge)
Removing the steel on the bottom of the heads, and adding more material high in the toe area, pulls the center of gravity (CG) location up. Combined with the addition of the offset, Tour Edge feels that golfers should benefit from solid contact and a lower, more-controlled flight on approach shots and pitch shots.
Golfers will see an adjustable weight on the back of the Exotics Wingman wedges. It is not meant to be changed by players, but fitters can swap the standard 5-gram weight for other weights to adjust the club’s swing weight based on its length and golfer preferences.
The Exotics Wingman wedges are available in three sole grinds. (Tour Edge)
Finally, the Exotics Wingman wedges will be offered in three different sole grinds:
- M/N Grind (Medium Turf/Neutral Path): Available in lofts from 50 to 60 degrees, this wedge grind is highly versatile and has 10 degrees of bounce.
- F/S Grind (Firm Turf/Sweeping Path): Available as a sand wedge or lob wedge in lofts from 54 to 60 degrees, this low-bounce option (6-8 degrees) is designed to get the leading edge under the ball on tight lies.
- S/D Grind (Soft Turf/Digging Path): Ideally suited to golfers who play in soft conditions or who have a steep angle of attack, this high-bounce option (12-14 degrees) should help players keep the club moving through impact in fluffy sand and thick rough.