Equipment

Custom wedge company Hopkins Golf opens it doors

Published

11 years ago

Jun 26, 2013

For most amateur golfers, the ultimate goal is to play like a pro and shoot as close to par as possible. Most will never get there, but players can now customize their clubs like tour pros at a “better value” in hopes of lowering their score.

Hopkins Golf officially launched its website this week with the goal of providing golfers with “tour authentic, custom-built equipment factory direct at a fair price.”

“This is a banner day for us,” said Greg Hopkins, CEO of Hopkins Golf who has more than 30 years of experience in the golf business. “For a long time, we’ve been preparing to be able to get golfers custom wedges just like Tour players get. We can’t wait to hear their reactions when they receive the true tour experience for themselves.”

By heading to its website, golfers can customize their wedges the way the pros do in eight steps or less. The wedges are available for men and women, in six different lofts and seven different grinds. The price of the wedge runs about $100 each, with some additional fees for extra features such as custom engraving, stamping, paint fill, ferrules, grips and shafts.

Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., Hopkins Golf has partnered with UPS and placed its club assembly inside UPS facilities. UPS will handle shipping for the company and will allow for less overhead cost for the company, leading to a lower cost for the consumer. The typical golf company takes five steps before his or her clubs are delivered to the player, the company said in a press release. Hopkins Golf golf takes three.

Chart courtesy of Hopkins Golf.

Hopkins Golf was founded earlier this year when Greg Hopkins left his position as CEO of Cleveland Golf to start his own company.

According to its website, professional players who use Hopkins include Don Pooley Jr., who won the 2002 U.S. Senior Open and the 1985 Vardon Trophy, John Huston, who has seven PGA Tour wins, and Danny Pohl, a member of the 1987 Ryder Cup Team.

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David Cheng

David Cheng is a former ESPN Production Assistant. He is currently pursuing his master's from Villanova's School of Communication and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism with a marketing minor from Emerson College.

26 Comments

Taylor Made

Dec 12, 2013 at 3:00 pm

They dont offer different bounce. So much for “custom”. LOL

Reply Report comment
Taylor Made

Dec 12, 2013 at 2:57 pm

Who cares if their assembly is inside UPS?? The savings is not passed on to the consumer. It goes in Hopkins pocket. This whole operation sucks. Can get better clubs off the rack.

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Brock Libby

Sep 25, 2013 at 12:44 pm

Intrigued by these, but the graphic implies that some UPS worker is the one building the wedges.

Reply Report comment
Kyoung

Jul 19, 2013 at 12:41 pm

Anybody test out these in the field?
Does anybody know the bounce? Forgive me if i should know.
I ordered a 56 Heel/Toe Grind, and 52 helf Grind
Wanna know how the 56 compares to a Cleveland 56 14 bounce i’ve played for 3 yrs

I couldn’t pass on the custom club with some grind options.
It does add up when you start customizing, but i was in abut 165 for custom color, grip, grind options.
Personally i dont think its that bad considering some of the new Clevelands with the “milled face” are 120. I dont really buy into the more spin with the milling on the face. Especially if youre a hi80’s/90 hitter like me.
Thanks and please let me know if you’ve tested these out on the course!

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Karl

Jul 9, 2013 at 11:29 am

I bought a 56* wedge fully customized with engraving, paint fill, and a free shelf grind promotion, added a colored lamkin midsize grip, and colored ferrule for $136 shipped. +1″ shaft, with 3* upright lie for no extra charge. I got the wedge in about 6 days and I could not be more pleased. It’s absolutely perfect and feels amazing! I will be ordering a 52* and a 60* soon.

Reply Report comment
- Karl
  
  Jul 9, 2013 at 11:43 am
  
  You just cannot get that level of customization off the shelf. Thank you Hopkins Golf!
  
  Reply Report comment
- Kyoung
  
  Jul 19, 2013 at 1:00 pm
  
  Hi,
  Just ordered a 52 Shelf Grind, and 56 Heel Toe Grind.
  Did u get to use these on the course?
  I used a Cleveland 56 14 bounce for years and wanna know how the 2 compare.
  Thanks.
  
  Reply Report comment
Randy

Jul 3, 2013 at 12:29 pm

Hey, marketing guy at Hopkins Golf here. I have to say that I’m really surprised by the cast vs. forged discussion. I’ve toured the factories and worked out on the tours and I thought that argument was put to bed. Heat treating changed the game. Cast 8620 that when heat treated properly is the best of all worlds; the consistency of casting and the feel of forging. If tour players can’t tell the difference in feel, why are amateurs so concerned about it?

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- Steven
  
  Sep 23, 2013 at 4:24 pm
  
  hey randy,
  since you work at hopkins golf can you tell me why their phone numbers are not in service and their email is essentially the same. i have been trying to return my wedges which rusted in a matter of two days back and i finally called five days ago and got a woman on the phone who was nice and said i would be receiving the free shipping label via email. im no computer wiz but emails go through in a matter of minutes, not a week. i am very displeased with the quality of the wedges, the price, and the customer service. i just bought two vokey design wedges for $227 compared to the $246 i spent on hopkins wedges just to have a four leaf clover… dumbest decision i have made in a long time. all i want to do is get my money back and be done with hopkins golf. worst experience of my life. if your a serious golfer. go to cleveland or titliest, bottom line.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Taylor Made
    
    Dec 12, 2013 at 2:51 pm
    
    It says right on the site that the wedges will rust.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - David Smith
    
    Dec 12, 2013 at 8:53 pm
    
    They’re meant to rust… dumbest decision you say? perhaps you should read what you’re buying before making arrogant remarks.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - john
    
    Jan 27, 2014 at 1:43 pm
    
    hey goof-ball they are meant to rust.
    
    Reply Report comment
Joe

Jul 2, 2013 at 11:11 am

Sic Golf has custom handmade wedges forged in japan for the same price as these… lol

Reply Report comment
Eve

Jun 27, 2013 at 3:08 am

CAST. Nuff said.

Reply Report comment
- Liam
  
  Jun 27, 2013 at 3:37 am
  
  Hey Eve
  
  Where did you read that they were cast, I’ve been trying to find out for the past hour haha.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Eve
    
    Jun 29, 2013 at 12:27 pm
    
    It says so right on their website. It’s 8630 steel, which is not forged.
    https://www.hopkinsgolf.com/select-product.php?product_id=1&reset_order=true#/select-set
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Eve
      
      Jun 29, 2013 at 12:28 pm
      
      Sorry, my typo, 8620. I typed too quick
      haha
      
      Reply Report comment
- neil
  
  Jun 28, 2013 at 1:02 pm
  
  hard to custom grind forged wedges without replating etc?
  
  Reply Report comment
Jimmy

Jun 26, 2013 at 10:52 pm

Overpriced and nothing really “custom” about them, so you can get some stamps and engravings, wow, who cares? Everything else you can get at any reputable golf store like grips, shaft, etc. They can keep them. I doubt it outperforms my Cleveland 588 RTX wedges that I got for 40$ a piece brand new.

Reply Report comment
- J
  
  Jun 28, 2013 at 10:32 am
  
  What about the custom grinds, loft, lie? The grind is very important, and not something you just get off the shelf… Looks good to me
  
  Reply Report comment
G

Jun 26, 2013 at 3:10 pm

$166 isn’t bad for custom wedges. Maybe you should cut back on all the unecessary stampings/paint fill/colored grip and only concentrate on what you need to PLAY the game

Reply Report comment
- J
  
  Jun 26, 2013 at 9:01 pm
  
  I didn’t do anything other than standard paintfill and ZERO stampings…
  
  Purely for a grip ai could tolerate and the grinds I want…
  
  The point is… A brand new company charging those prices is a bit pretentious..
  
  I will be able to get my choice of grips and grind from Callaway when the MD2’s come out for about the same or less… And besides that… I just said no thanks. I didn’t actually say it was out of one or criticize… Maybe the two of you should learn how to read and stop making assumptions…
  
  I said what I did and said no thanks. Was a pretty simple statement.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Adam
    
    Jun 26, 2013 at 11:05 pm
    
    I just went through the process with one wedge and it came out to $130.99 with spinner shaft, upgraded grip and colored ferrule.
    
    Not to bad for a semi custom wedge (no stampings or paint fill).
    
    Maybe there was an option that you had in there by accident???
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Jake
    
    Jun 28, 2013 at 10:30 am
    
    I just did it for three wedges, without custom stamping or engraving, with the black steel shaft, lamkin grip, custom grinds, and it was $367 for my three wedges! I think that’s a phenomenal deal. Maybe their was some glitch on the page or something like that, b/c I’m not sure how it could get to $500.?
    
    Reply Report comment
Ryan

Jun 26, 2013 at 11:29 am

So you want custom wedges for off the rack prices then? $166 each seems reasonable…

Reply Report comment
J

Jun 26, 2013 at 10:56 am

After one trip through the customization program I was over 500.00 with Hi-Rev shafts… Lamkin grips and grinds on 3 wedges… 500.00

No thanks.

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Equipment

Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage

Published

8 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.

It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.

When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”

“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”

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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.

Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:

“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.

“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.

“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.

“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.

“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”

So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.

His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here

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Equipment

Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron

Published

9 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Brian Knudson

It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.

We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.

From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.

“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.

TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°

TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

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Whats in the Bag

Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)

Published

10 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos Collin Morikawa’s clubs here.

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)