Woods’ TaylorMade MG4 Proto wedge was photographed on Monday at Royal Troon.
Getty Photographs
Tiger Woods’ arrival at Royal Troon for the 152nd Open Championship confirmed one thing we’ve recognized for many years: any gear adjustments, regardless of how massive or small, transfer the needle.
The newest instance got here on Monday when Getty Photographs posted closeup pictures of Woods’ TaylorMade MG4 Proto wedges that drew curiosity from none aside from GOLF.com’s personal Claire Rogers. Whereas we wouldn’t take into account Claire a gearhead, her commentary of the rusty look of Woods’ scoring instruments drew some attention-grabbing responses from the commentariat.
Return to the U.S. Open and also you’ll discover Woods’ wedges have been a subject of debate after he swapped out the 56- and 60-degree TaylorMade MG4s for a prototype model that appeared to have a distinct sole geometry. Examine the above wedge picture to 1 from final month and also you’ll discover the layer of rust has elevated exponentially — to the purpose you may see the place the ball impacted the face. The rust is thick.
Jonathan Wall
So what’s up with the layer of rust overlaying the pinnacle? When you’ve by no means heard the phrases “plated” and “non-plated” earlier than, right here’s a fast explainer: a big majority of wedges discovered on cabinets characteristic a nickel chrome plating over the uncooked metal that retains the pinnacle and grooves from growing a rusty look.
In fact, not everybody desires a plated wedge. For tour professionals, eradicating the plating many years in the past made it simpler to carry out loft, lie and sole modifications on the fly. The one downside was the layer of rust and patina end that fashioned on the uncooked metal which made it look as if it had been mistreated for years.
Some professionals and weekend golfers desire to maintain their instruments in pristine situation, however there’s a contingent who swears by the worn, weathered look of a uncooked head. Some producers have even expanded the checklist of non-plated choices in recent times to incorporate sure iron fashions. The newest set that involves thoughts is Callaway’s Apex MB Uncooked.
If something, the layer of rust overlaying Woods’ wedges confirms he doesn’t thoughts the worn look. He prefers it. Eradicating the plating may make the wedge really feel softer at affect, however these are the one two issues separating plated and non-plated wedges.
You heard me proper: the rust doesn’t present a noticeable efficiency profit.
In our personal model of tools MythBusters, we put a non-plated 56-degree wedge to the check in opposition to a plated model, with the assistance of Gene Parente’s Golf Laboratories swing robotic, to see if a noticeable spin distinction exists. The non-plated wedge was soaked in water for every week till a big layer of rust developed on the pinnacle. (Just like the layer overlaying Woods’ wedge.)
“The water was wanting fairly orange-ish,” Parente mentioned. “You possibly can see it was fairly nasty wanting.”
From there, each wedges have been hit at 85 miles per hour out of the identical middle affect location to check numbers. Though the non-plated wedge had a rusty face, it nonetheless produced almost equivalent numbers to the chrome model at roughly 10,000 RPMs. The launch angle, ball pace and complete distance have been nearly the identical as effectively.
“They have been inside 45 RPMs of one another, which is statistically insignificant,” Parente mentioned. “They appear completely different. However from a launch monitor perspective, from a distance perspective, all the things was virtually the identical.”
What does this inform us about as we speak’s wedges? Groove expertise makes a world of distinction. Ultimately, the one noticeable distinction you’ll discover with a non-plated wedge is a softer really feel and grooves that’ll put on out sooner because of the lack of plating.
That may come as a disappointment to some, however it’s necessary to set the report straight on rusty wedges, particularly these belonging to the G.O.A.T.
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