First look: Callaway's Opus wedge line makes its official tour debut

For more than a decade Callaway’s Jaws line of wedges has made significant strides in terms of technology and serious inroads into the retail wedge market. Which makes the official tour debut of its latest wedge line at the Travelers Championship all the more intriguing. That’s because the Jaws name no longer adorns the clubs, but rather has been replaced by Opus.

We’ll get to the significance of the name change later. Although the company is keeping the full details of the technology behind the wedges under wraps for now, prototypes have been on tour in recent months under the S6 name, representing this design was the sixth iteration of the prototype. Among those using the S6 were Xander Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship, and Yuka Saso, who captured the U.S. Women’s Open. Not a bad start.

At TPC River Highlands expect Schauffele to be joined by Adam Hadwin, Akshay Bhatia, Nicolai Hojgaard, Alex Noren, Eric van Rooyen and Chris Kirk, the latter very influential in the design of the new wedges.

“We leaned on players heavily on the design, “said Joe Toulon, PGA Tour rep for Callaway. “How it looked, how it performed, the different grinds, bounces, etc. [manager of tour operations] Dean Teykyll and Roger Cleveland have been great sounding boards for the players.”

Some of the input included a desire for a more rounded shape. “It can be tricky to find a shape that is pleasing to everyone’s eyes on how it sits at address,” said Toulon. “However, we got consensus from the players on a more rounded shape and a slightly rounder leading edge that players prefer when they open it up around the green. We tried different toplines and toe shapes and leading edges, too.”

The grinds have evolved over time but there are four offerings including a lower bounce option for firmer turf conditions on tour. Among the options are a C, S and W grind which have been seen on the previous Jaws Raw line along with a T grind.

Oh, as for the name, Opus is a nod to a composer’s created work. “This is a journey we’ve been on for 18 months to two years and it’s a nod to that journey,” said Toulon. “A wedge for the players designed by the players and we think everything that we’ve learned along the way has led to the best wedge design Callaway has ever produced.”