Equipment

The surprising backstory of Callaway Jaws Full Toe wedges

Published

5 years ago

Sep 28, 2021

Officially, Callaway engineers began working on the Jaws Full Toe wedge design following the 2019 PM Grind launch. The full story of the Full Toe, however, goes back to the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla.

Callaway’s maestro of wedge design, Roger Cleveland, was on site that week in Kentucky. And when Cleveland spotted the company’s most highly visible staffer with a classic competitive wedge with a high toe peak in his bag instead of a Callaway model, he was — needless to say — less than thrilled, maybe even uttering a four-letter word that wasn’t “Phil.”

Cleveland inquired as to why the venerable left-hander had elected to configure his high-lofters in such a fashion. Mickelson told Cleveland he loved the center of gravity and toe peak of the club and was particularly enamored of the sole interaction and the magic he could work with an open face.

Rather than getting mad, Roger decided to get even, telling Phil “let me see what I can do.”

Cleveland called the team in Carlsbad with a unique demand: “Make me a Frankenstein wedge.”

Regarding the finished product, Cleveland told us, “It’s actually two Mack Daddy 2s. They cut the top off and welded on another piece to create this Full Toe wedge. And they got it done in one day — it looks like a regular wedge!”

The prototype “Frankenstein” Mack Daddy 2 wedge.

Mickelson put the wedge in play at Valhalla, and he ultimately finished second behind Rory McIlroy in the “let’s play the 18th hole together to finish before dark” weirdness that punctuated the 2014 PGA Championship.

From Frankenstein to PM Grind

Callaway CEO Chip Brewer caught wind of the birth of the “Phil Grind” and suggested once the look and the grooves were ironed out, the company should bring a PM Grind wedge to retail.

In 2015, Callaway launched the Mack Daddy PM Grind. According to Callaway’s Senior Director, Brand & Product Management, Dave Neville, the club attained a sort of cult classic status with many non-staffers putting it in play, in addition to Mickelson. The company also found it worked very well for high handicappers who needed more forgiveness and a larger hitting area in their wedges.

Callaway Mack Daddy PM Grind

However, the PM Grind was pigeonholed as something of a specialty club with many players liking it in their highest-lofted wedge but preferring something more traditional in their 56 or 54 degree.

Roger Cleveland worked closely with Phil Mickelson to design the next generation PM Grind — the PM 19 — which features many of the same innovations that appear in the Jaws Full Toe: offset groove-in-groove technology, a higher toe for better performance on full and knockdown shots, a refined sole grind, and more.

PM Grind 19

With competitors entering the PM Grind space, Callaway saw an even greater opportunity.

Enter Jaws Full Toe

According to Neville: “With Jaws Full Toe, we wanted to take the best of what the PM Grind had to offer — amazing around the green, money from the bunker, flop shots, knock-down shots — but have a face that is palatable to tour pros and those who want it in the 54 and 56 and on full shots.”

The effort to bring Jaws technology to the PM Grind blends together the Jaws MD5 and PM Grind, Neville said, but the company didn’t want the wedge to merely be perceived as the next iteration of the PM Grind. Instead, Callaway chose the name Full Toe as a reference to both the full grooves across the face and an allusion to the fact that the wedges can be used comfortably on full shots with full control. In other words, Full Toe is not just a specialty club.

Callaway Jaws Full Toe

Jaws Full Toe wedges feature full-face Jaws grooves, offset groove-in-groove technology, and a raw face, along with a specialized C-grind.

The Full Toe shape noticeably features a higher toe peak to offer more surface area and control on every type of wedge shot — hit the high flop and the bunker skip-and-stop with confidence.

Additionally, the toe height and toe pad raise the club’s CG for lower ball flight and a more controlled trajectory. Working in concert, the Variable Weight Port System moves the CG away from the heel for more solid-feeling strikes in the hitting area.

Neville also mentioned bringing a raw face to the wedge was important to maximize spin. However, research revealed a lot of golfers don’t like the look of a fully rusted wedge, so the R&D worked hard to come up with a solution that would meet both needs. Raw up front, chrome in the back.

Offering a final word on the Jaws Full Toe, Roger Cleveland said

“We’ve very proud of how it all came out. Couldn’t be happier. It was a total team effort between Tour and R&D.”

He could have added it was an effort seven years in the making.

More photos of Callaway Jaws Full Toe wedges in the forums.

Equipment

Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

3 days ago

May 29, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been discussing the most forgiving wedges on the market. WRXer ‘aaronpoling’ lays out his current setup and what he’s currently considering, saying:

“I am looking at getting new wedges, but looking for a forgiving wedge.

I currently play Ping G25 50°, MD4 54° and 58°. I used to play the CBX2 in the 50°, 54° and 58° and liked them a lot; but like any good dad, my son took them.

I am currently looking Callaway’s CB12 and Cleveland’s CBZ. Anyone have thoughts on these? Or recommendations of other wedges that I should check out?”

And our members have been weighing in with their thoughts and recommendations in response, with one brand coming out emphatically on top.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

boggyman: “CBZs are amazing wedges!”
drewbens: “Agreed, the Cleveland CB wedges are great! Already had a CBX Full Face 2 54 and recently added a 50 and 58 (for well under $100 a piece). Was chipping so well last week that my brother-in-law asked if the wedges were legal. Definitely underrated wedges for those of us that are not scratch golfers.”
BogeyTed: “Get Cleveland CBX/CBZ. Very underrated clubs.”

Entire Thread: “Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss”

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset putter

Published

3 days ago

May 29, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @negncic has a Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset putter up for grabs.

From the listing: “34” Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset. Ping composite shaft Ping PLD Pistol grip. No issues. $345 shipped.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules

Equipment

I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

4 days ago

May 28, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been reacting to a WRXer who claims to have built the “worst fitting clubs ever.” ‘dlow206’ recounts his experience with plenty of insightful findings for where he can go better next time in a detailed post, saying:

“Here’s my story of building the worst fitting clubs ever (for me). And my findings of what a better fit is.

I am short in stature, as well as a very short wrist to floor of 30.5″. I went down a rabbit hole of wanting to try irons 1″ shorter of more than standard length. Given the shorter lengths, the swingweights would be super light unless I added back a ton of weight to the heads, but I don’t like adding an extreme amount of weight back to the heads, so I decided to compensate with heavier shafts (115 grams instead of 95). Played with this set for a while and was hitting all irons extremely poorly. Thin, fat, right, right, left. My swing didn’t deteriorate that much because I was hitting my driver well, woods well, etc.

Went back to my older set of irons, playing at standard length, and my iron play improved immediately. Since then, have been doing more testing, while paying more attention to different possible variables. What I have found is I actually prefer lighter total weight with relatively normal or slightly heavier swingweights. Did a recent fitting and found that 85 gram shafts were better for me than 95 grams with standard length and relatively standard swingweights.

Still trying to dial in a final iron shaft choice, so have a few contenders that I will be testing. Will be moving away from my current Steelfiber i95 S parallel to lighter and softer

MMT 80 parallel R – worked pretty well in a limited number of swings at a fitting
Fujikura Travil 85 R – the fitter liked the Axiom 95 R for me at Club Champion, but i didn’t love the effort required to swing them. If there was a 85 Axiom, that would probably have been a great fit. So i am going try a Travil 85 R which is japan only
Steelfiber i80 CW R – i have been playing Steelfibers for a long time, so need to give one Steelfiber shaft a shot

Given I do club building work, I am going to build all of these shafts with the All-Fit universal iron adapters to pair with a Srixon 7 iron head for testing. With these adapters, there isn’t a swingweight issue because the amount of weight from drilling out is about equivalent to the universal adapter components.”

And our members have been sharing their reactions in our forum.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

Mikey_HACKilroy: “That length cut costs you a fair amount in swing points. I’d posit the length mattered more than the weight because a 115g shaft isn’t going to actually add enough back after cutting an inch off. Does it mean 115 would ultimately work? Hard to say. Maybe try a 1/2″ cut and add 2g to the head to compensate assuming the 7i is 37″ long. Maybe that will feel better. It translates to the same ~D2 you’re swinging at with the 95g shafts (estimated based on common weight, but you can weigh your parts on your own obviously).”
Stuart_G: “Your process is good – keep at it and trust it.”

Entire Thread: “I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss”