Three years ago, Clay Long, who is nothing short of a legend in the club-making industry, began working with TaylorMade on a new wedge project.

If you haven’t heard of Clay Long, here’s what you need to know. He designed and built Jack Nicklaus’ clubs for 16 years. He has also has served as Vice president of Research and Development of Macgregor Golf Co., chief designer to Progroup and The Arnold Palmer Co., Vice President of Research and Development of Cobra Golf Co., Vice President of Golf Club Development for the Acushnet Co. and today, as owner of Plus 2 International, Inc. he is responsible for Nicklaus Golf Equipment and Jack Nicklaus’s golf club designs.

[youtube id=”ABBSJq9Ohkc” width=”620″ height=”360″]

To design what would become TaylorMade’s 2014 Tour Preferred wedges, Long looked back through wedge history, as well as through his own storied history, to see how the best wedges ever were designed. He also looked into the bags of some of today’s best tour players to learn why they had their wedges ground the way they did.

So what exactly did Long do to create TaylorMade’s new Tour Preferred and Tour Preferred ATV wedges? That’s what I wanted to know and I had the chance to ask him in the Q&A below.

———————————————————-

AT: TaylorMade offers both a Tour Preferred and Tour Preferred ATV sole grind. What are the differences?

CL: The ATV grind offers a little more variation, a little twist out of the box. It has the relieved heel that the Tour Preferred has, but a different sole. The ATV shows more bounce when the club is open and bites better into the turf. If you live in South Florida or somewhere like that, the ATV will be better. If you play courses with fluffy sand the ATV will be better. The standard soles of the TP will please more people. The TP is really a time-proven design.

The Tour Preferred ATV grind is available in lofts of 54, 56, 58 and 60 degrees. The Tour Preferred wedges offers the same lofts with a wider variety of bounce options, and adds 50 and 52-degree models.

AT: The heel and toe relief on the wedges seem to emulate the classic C-Grind shape. Is it a C-Grind?

CL: You know, it’s not really a C-grind shape. It’s more strictly heel relief. We went out on tour and 98 percent of them had the heel on their wedges ground off. When hitting a flop shot or cut shot, the leading edge stays lower to the ground. You can play more shots.

AT: Did Nicklaus grind off the heel on his wedge?

CL: Jack didn’t do that. He had a narrow sole, high bounce — about 17 degrees —  and a standard heel. Jack had a standard grind, but it was a perfect standard grind.

AT: The Tour Preferred ATV was said to be developed based on tour feedback, mainly Jason Day’s prototype from the Masters. Why did you settle on this shape?

CL: Everyone is telling us (the Tour Preferred wedges) have the best shapes ever. The first reaction is always “ooh that looks good.” When you combine the shapes, bounce angles, camber and leading edge radius that were meticulously worked on and are time-proven, there’s really not much to argue with.

Historically, Wilson always had the best wedges. In the 60’s and 70’s, Wilson was known as the best. The 1958 Wilson Staff was highly sought after. Tom Watson chipped in with one (at the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach). All of the good wedges today go back to the old Wilson shape.

AT: The Tour Preferred ATV wedge has a concave sole, but it’s not as concave as TaylorMade’s previous ATV model. What does this do for the wedge?

CL: It helps to have a lot of bounce out of the sand that won’t dig and won’t show bounce. The ATV offers that. It has good action off the ground, won’t show a lot of camber and cuts nicely on a regular shot from the fairway … (It also helps) a golfer that digs from the bunker and has a hard time gliding underneath the ball because he’s steep, but he doesn’t want 16 degrees of bounce because he doesn’t want it to be too bouncy.

The Tour Preferred wedges have “micro-textured faces,” which means they’re designed with small bumps that ensure the faces are flat and help create extra bite around the greens. 

AT: The Tour Preferred wedges are made from 304 stainless steel. Why did you use that material and what went into the the face design of these wedges?

CL: 304 has strength, but it’s easier to bend. It’s very soft material. It’s very good and solid … 304 also doesn’t rust, so we didn’t have to plate it. The microtexture (on the face) increases spin and the freshly milled grooves are a little sharper and allow for more aggressive performance.

AT: When you’ve built wedges for Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, your name becomes a design feature in itself. What was Clay Long’s most noteworthy influence on designing these TaylorMade wedges?

CL: I left no detail unturned.

Note: TaylorMade is releasing a 10-part YouTube video series on its Tour Preferred wedges. In the videos, Clay Long talks more about the wedge designs and how they will improve a golfer’s short game. Part 1 of the series is included at the top of this story and Part 2 is below.

[youtube id=”8glKYVYvEH4″ width=”620″ height=”360″]