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 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.