Equipment

In-depth: 2012 TaylorMade ATV Wedges

Published

14 years ago

Apr 26, 2012

Recently TaylorMade Golf invited GolfWRX to Bandon Dunes for the launch of the TaylorMade ATV Wedge. Dubbed ‘The TaylorMade Short Game Experience,” it truly was that. Featuring a Short Game Clinic with the legendary Jim Flick, a round at the brand new (and not yet open to the public) 13-hole Par 3 course called ‘The Preserve’ and topped off with a round at Bandon Trails, it didn’t disappoint. Getting to Bandon Dunes is not easy, but the decision to go certainly was.

We had the opportunity to try 360 Tour ATV shoes, PENTA TP5 balls, Ghost Manta putter and a set of ATV Wedges at one of the premier golf resorts in the US. The ATV in ATV Wedge stands for All-Terrain Versatility, and if you want to put it to the test, Bandon Dunes is the place. Down time on arrival day allowed some playing time at Shorty’s, a small Par 3 course adjacent to the practice range. You may think the a wide-soled wedge and a tight lie don’t mix, but the ATV performed beautifully. Shorty’s has the tightest lies this side of your kitchen floor. Surprising and impressive.

The next day was a short game clinic with the Mr. Jim Flick. Jim taught us how to hit all the shots and the crew TaylorMade showed us why we could. Don’t be fooled. Thanks to the concave sole (lack of camber) and ‘ski-like’ leading edge, the ATV can handle it. Dubbed the ‘Wonder Wedge’ in early prototyping due to performance, this ATV is not a one trick (or even two trick) pony. From sand, the wider sole seems to provide added forgiveness and ‘float’ through. I found you don’t need to open it up quite as much as you think. The club head will glide a bit, providing extra forgiveness.

There’s plenty of versatility in the ATV wedge, but what you won’t find is a bounce number. “We don’t put bounce on this wedge for a reason,” said TaylorMade’s Brian Bazzel, Manager, Iron, Wedge & Putter, Product Creation. “There’s different bounces on different parts of the sole, and those different bounces are used to hit all these different shots.”

The video illustrates some of the uses of the ATV Wedge and includes plenty of tech talk. It’s a short portion of the clip, but be sure to check out the proper use of a C-Grind for a shot off a fairly tight lie. You would not think a wide sole wedge could do this, but the ATV can. Of course, all this is great, but the true test is on course. Bandon Trails, especially first time seeing it, is a pretty tough track. I went with KBS Stiff in 50*, 54* and 58* lofts and the TaylorMade ATV Wedges performed well from all lies, all day.

As a rule, I dislike putters with insert, but I can’t discount the performance of the Manta putter and PENTA TP5 Ball. Three birdies on a tough, unfamiliar layout is not typical for me.

My last full shot of the day was a 90-yard ATV sand wedge uphill approach to about 15 feet setting up my last birdie of the day. A great ending to a great experience.

CLICK HERE TO DISCUSS THE TAYLORMADE ATV WEDGES IN THE FORUMS

[youtube id=”NHwgm_CgBZs” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Equipment

Slab city on the Korn Ferry Tour — Lead Tape Report

Published

13 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.

Joel Thelen

Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.

First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.

Mitchell Meissner

Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.

Whats in the Bag

Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)

Published

13 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX

7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX

Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

See more in-hand photos of Bud Cauley’s clubs here.

Equipment

Name every set of irons you’ve owned – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

13 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.

@Lamosteve began:

Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine

Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6

Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. 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.

macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”

Entire Thread: “Name every set of irons you’ve owned.”