Fool’s gold

If you’ve ever watched a tour broadcast and noticed the rusty, beat-up wedges in a pro’s bag, you’ve probably thought the same thing most golfers do: what’s the performance edge? The raw finish, the oxidized face, the grooves that look like they’ve been through a war—it feels like a combination most likely to be found on the secret wedge menu. (Yes, I still believe one exists.)

It’s also one of the most persistent myths in the equipment space.

Raw wedges skip the plating process entirely. There’s no chrome, nickel or PVD coating. The steel is left exposed, which means it starts rusting almost immediately. Some manufacturers have argued for years that this bare surface creates more friction on partial wedge shots, like the 30-to-60-yard range where spin and control matter most.

And to be fair, it sounds right.

But instead of buying into the marketing magic, we decided to run the test ourselves to get a definitive answer. We took a raw 56-degree wedge, soaked it in a bucket of water for a week until the face was covered in visible rust, and then put it head-to-head against a plated version of the same club on the swing robot.

What the testing revealed about spin and launch wasn’t even close to what most golfers would expect.

And the real spin killer over time? It isn’t the finish on the face. It’s something else entirely that most golfers aren’t keeping tabs on.

Fool’s gold

Our latest test determines if there’s a spin advantage to playing raw wedges

By Jonathan Wall

What You Need to Know

Jonathan Wall

Callaway is bringing club production back to the U.S. for the first time since 1998.  A $15 million 3D printing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, is the start of changing that. The plant will expand the company’s advanced titanium research and manufacturing, and it’s expected to open in mid-2027. It should begin supplying part of Callaway’s U.S. needs in 2028, starting with custom titanium products, so early output will be more of the small-batch variety, not volume.

Callaway’s U.S. manufacturing push began with golf balls. Over the past several years, the company has spent more than $100 million on its ball plant in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Fort Worth extends that commitment to clubs.

For Callaway, the pitch is focused on design freedom. Printing lets engineers build internal structures and shapes that forging and casting can’t produce, and Callaway says that’s where its next performance gains will come from.

Chip Brewer, Callaway's president and CEO, calls 3D printing “one of the most significant opportunities to advance golf club performance in decades.” The company has been printing prototypes and custom models in-house since late 2022.

Jonathan Wall

Ping's G450 landed on the USGA and R&A conforming list, and the most interesting club isn't a traditional driver. The G450 Mini Max is likely Ping's first mini driver, in a category where golfers want control off the tee without sacrificing noticeable distance. Ping's mini appeared earlier this year as an unnamed prototype, so this appears to be the retail version. The World Wide Technology Championship saw 12 pros put the G450 Max (4) and G450 LST (8) in play, including Tony Finau (LST), Austin Eckroat (LST) and Rasmus Neegaard-Petersen (LST).

E. Michael Johnson

Odyssey Ai One Double Wide putter played a key role in Blades Brown’s win at the World Wide Technology Championship.

Odyssey used Ai and machine learning to refine the insert, testing more than 2,000 design versions for off-center consistency. Brown ranked second in SG: Putting for the week, picking up nine shots on the field.  Check out the rest of the Callaway gear Brown had in the bag at El Cardonal Golf Course.

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