Equipment

Cobra unveils Limited Edition Tour Trusty Wedge

Published

11 years ago

May 13, 2013

Cobra has announced a limited-edition version of its new “Tour Trusty” wedge, a 1600-club release that gives golfers the chance to play the company’s tour-inspired wedges several months before their full launch in the fall.

The wedge is identical in performance and shape to the retail version of the Tour Trusty wedges that are scheduled to hit shelves on Oct. 1, but it features custom hand stampings on the back of the wedge that were designed by Cobra-Puma Tour Staff Member Rickie Fowler (Click here to see the clubs in Fowler’s bag).

According to Jose Miraflor, director of product marketing for Cobra-Puma, the Tour Trusty wedges were inspired by the company’s Tour Staff, namely Fowler, Jonas Blixt and Ian Poulter. For this reason, the wedges have much less offset, bounce and a straighter leading edge than the company’s current “Trusty Rusty” wedges, which were created with higher handicappers in mind.

The Tour Trusty wedges are cast from 8620 Carbon Steel, and will be available for righties and lefties in odd-numbered lofts from 47 to 63 degrees on Oct. 1 for $119. They’ll be released in two different finishes — Tour Satin Chrome and Matte Black — with True Temper S200 shafts.

The Limited Edition Tour Trusty wedges will be available on June 1 in a 55-degree model with 12 degrees of bounce (right-hand only) in the satin finish with a True Temper S400 Tour Issue shaft for $149.

A Deeper Dive

One of the most eye-catching features of the Tour Trusty wedges is the strip of chrome finish on the rear portion of the sole, which highlights the wedge’s special grind.

Like the Trusty Rusty, the sole has a notch in the back, which Miraflor says is important because it helps the leading edge sit closer to the ground at address. It also works with the heel grind to allow the sole to slide more efficiently through the turf on open-faced shots.

But what he says is equally important is the curvature of the leading edge, which is shaped like the front of a ski to keep the club from “sticking” or digging in the ground.

[quote_box_center]”Most wedges rely on the bounce to do all the work,” Miraflor says. “But the bounce is what gets [a wedge] to come out of the ground. With [the Tour Trusty wedges], we created a leading edge that reduces the amount of digging so it’s a smooth transition into the ground.”[/quote_box_center]

Each wedge is available in only one grind, with the exception of the 55- and 59-degree models, which will come in high- and low-bounce versions. The 55-degree will be available with 8- or 12-degrees of bounce, and the 59-degree with 6- or 10-degrees of bounce, each with different sole configurations to accomodate different angles of attack.

The lower-bounce models will have less camber and less leading edge radius, as well as a wider sole that is designed for golfers with shallower angles of attack. The higher-bounce models will have more camber, more leading edge radius and a narrower sole that is preferred by golfers with more aggressive attack angles.

Note: Camber is the curvature of the sole from front to back. If a wedge has more camber, it has a more “round” sole. Leading edge radius is the visual curvature of the leading edge that is seen from address. More radius means more curvature, and vice versa.

The face of a Tour Trusty wedge.

The Tour Trusty wedges also feature new grooves, which are 100 percent milled and have sharper edges and steeper sidewalls than past modes from Cobra. To add even more zip, the wedges have a half-moon shaped milled face texture that varies the spacing and height of the milling marks to maximize surface roughness within the USGA’s current rules.

Miraflor says that by changing the spacing and heights of the milling marks, the “average roughness” of a wedge faces can be maximized without having to worry about “peak roughness,” two variables that are tracked by golf’s ruling bodies. And because a golf ball touches between four and five grooves on good wedge shots, shots will be exposed to a consistent range of face textures that will normalize spin in the same way as a uniform face texture, he says.

Rickie Fowler has been testing the Tour Trusty with custom grinds since the Word Challenge in December. Click here to see photos and discussion about the 59-degree wedge he was trying at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, or click here to see what members are saying about the Tour Trusty in the “Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum.

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Equipment

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

Published

9 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

10 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)