Taylormade ATV wedge review

[craz-e]

I have been without a gap wedge for quite some time now and have been looking around at a few different options. Currently I play Nike forged wedges, sand wedge is a VR forged (original) and lob wedge is the SV Tour (best lob wedge I have ever used). A couple of years a go I had a season with the Xft's and whilst I liked them very much (most accurate wedges to date) at the time I needed more spin at the courses I played and so went back to my Nikes.

Here is a brief review on the Taylormade ATZ 52* wedge that has made it into my bag for the last half a dozen visits to the course + range time.

 

 

Background:

 

I play in a wide range of conditions in Queensland Australia, testing on course the conditions have been a mixture of wet and pretty dry (pretty normal for us), temperatures around the mid 20 deg's.

I play plenty of comps and social golf, H/C has climbed to 5 recently and strong points of my game are driving, short game and putting. Still working on the irons!. I have a fairly shallow swing and take small divots with short irons and wedges.

 

 

Looks:

 

I have read plenty of people commenting on the looks of these on here and most of it far from good, but I try to judge my equipment on performance all though a good looking club in the bag certainly is a bonus.

These are not the pretties wedges out there but knowing my swing the grind/sole on these grabbed my attention. As someone with a fairly shallow swing these interested me when I first picked them up in the shop the leading edge seemed to sit fairly square and low to the ground, something I prefer. After looking at other wedges (Cleveland 588, Vokeys, Mizuno, Nikes, Pings and Callaways) I thought I would take an educated gamble thinking back to how accurate I used to be with the Xft's and go for the ATV.

 

 

 

Feel:

 

Coming from a forged wedge these certainly don't feel as soft but they felt pretty sweet when flushed, shots that missed the middle you could tell you had missed and where you had missed, these were especially noticeable on the range during my first practice session as I was getting used to the weight and also the longer grip (which I like by the way).

 

 

 

Performance:

 

I have hit many different shots on the course with this iron, a lot more than I thought I would with a gap wedge, but this is down to the fact what ever shot I wanted to try, this wedge just flat our performed.

I have gripped down the longish grip and punched a few in to take a few yards off and have nailed the shot time after time, bump and runs have been a lot easier than usual, the sole seems to work remarkably for these. I have hit full shots, knock downs and again truly exceptional results. One of the reasons for going away from my Nike wedges was the fact I just don't need that level of spin anymore, changing countries and course conditions have altered my view.

One shot I haven't really tried but not a shot I really ever use for a gap wedge is opening the face up and hitting a higher floating shot so I can't really comment on that, and also yet to try from sand. Trust me I have found plenty but still loving my SV tour lob wedge out of the sand. From a spin point of view there are going to be wedges out there that will give you more spin, these are not spin machines but coupled with a tour ball they are going to give you the control you desire over the ball.

Flight wise a full wedge went pretty high, very similar to the Xft's but controlling that flight was easy by changing swing or ball position.

 

 

 

Overall:

 

I like this wedge very much, it isn't the best looking softest or the highest spinning wedge out there but it fits my needs, it is very versatile as advertised and I would say more than some other wedges I have used in the past. For me the combination of maybe the head and also the shaft make it a very accurate wedge (right up there with the Xft's as the most accurate I have hit) but again this is a very personal statement.

It has certainly made me look at the rest of my wedge set up and think maybe I should match them all up.

The ATV seems to be a pretty forging wedge as well so I think it could suit a wide range of H/C's.

If you want your wedges to feel "butter" soft or really need the max spin then maybe these are not going to be for you but if anyone out there is in the market these are certainly worth a shout as they perform exceptionally well with just about any shot you are going to face on a course.

[rok78]

Good review. I liked my playing partners 58* ATV so much I talked him into selling it to me (helps he is a club ho and has another great wedge replacing it).

Before I got the chance to get it from him, I bout the 54* ATV and used it during the round with no practice and it performed great. I could even hit flops with it. I previously only use my 58* around the green but used just the 54* this time because it was new and I wanted to "break it in."

I would say, if you know how to use bounce in your short game, the ATV is the best wedge out there. My previous favorites were the Cally Zero bounce wedge (which ironically played with a lot of bounce when you needed it) and the Nike VR Pro wedges, which were great, but the ATV's grind is just a very tiny bit better.

I like the head shape of the ATV's and found them to spin plenty. I saw no difference versus the VR Pros.

[craz-e]

Anyone else out there got any experience with the wedge

[Old_Lefty]

I would like to know if hit the high short flop with a 58 or 60 * model ?
gb

[Splitter]

[quote name='craz-e' timestamp='1339536562' post='5079008']
Anyone else out there got any experience with the wedge
[/quote]

I love mine. Besides liking the head, they come with a great shaft and grip.

I bought the 54* to test and liked it so much I replaced the 58* as well. Then I liked them both so much I replaced my 50* with one. I normally play the 50* that comes with the set but I had such good results with the 54/58 it was hard to stay away. I've had great luck off every lie with all clubs.

One of the key reasons I picked the 54 up was sand play. I am a terrible/horrific bunker player. Since buying the first wedge I have only needed two tries out of a bunker once. Now I use them all. I don't even open them up, just pick the wedge based on the carry or loft needed and wade into the bunker. The only wedge I've ever had the same luck with from the sand was my 64* JAWS wedges. But that was one loft.

I've seen some complaints about the leading edge and flop shots but I haven't had trouble. If there's just a little grass I can flop with the 54*, although the 58* is easier. No so much with a tight lie, but I wouldn't trust anything but that JAWS low bounce 64* on a tight lie anyway. That said, I think this is a YMMV thing.

I hate posting stuff like this because I switch clubs too often and sound like such a Homer, but for me they have been great.

[trapp20]

The sole isn't as gimmicky as you might think. With over 100 shots on the 60* I can tell you it performs from 50 in perfectly for me. Chips that I normally used the 54* for, seem easier (with slightly less run out) on the 60*. Haven't tried sand yet, but I have hit many flops, chips, pitches, 1/2 and full shots and I wouldn't hesitate to go with a full ATV setup.

[driverhead]

These wedges are amazing. I have a 50 54 and 58. They make every short game shot a lot easier. The 50 has been the money club for me, as a gap wedge and around the greens. I actually had a freakish round 2 weeks ago where I had 23 putts due to 4 chip ins with the 50.

They have a forged version in Japan but I havent hit it yet.

[SliceJones]

Are these on par with Clevelands?

[SliceJones]

What's hard to understand with these Wedges are - it claims to be an ATV - aka all in one...yet we have people who own 3 of them?

If your PW is 45-47 - what should be the ATV of choice?

[jdmorris1980]

[quote name='SliceJones' timestamp='1349834768' post='5773971']
What's hard to understand with these Wedges are - it claims to be an ATV - aka all in one...yet we have people who own 3 of them?

If your PW is 45-47 - what should be the ATV of choice?
[/quote]
You are misunderstanding, they are ATV referring to the bounce, as there are no bounce options, just a sole with various grinds/relief which allows it to be very versatile. It is not an "all in one" wedge. Loft still dictates length and trajectory.

[NickPhillips]

A little late reply to the OP, but I currently have a sand wedge 56 ATV in my bag. I love it, I'm selling my old 60 and 52 and replacing them with ATV's. its a great wedge.

[ROPERSTJ]

great club, no complaints!

[Armyflyer23]

Just replaced as my primary wedge set and I love them!

[Rebel420]

I have an ATV 56 and 60....for now. The ATV wedges out of sand are like auto-pilot for the ball. Probably what the ATV does best. I have also been able to pull off flop shots with ease. The 60 was my go-to club around the greens. With that said, I needed to get a gap wedge for my new irons, and tried the older XFT and kinda liked the look and feel on full shots better. Also seemed to spin the ball better. Made me try the XFt 56 and 60 as well. Lets just say, my wedges all match, and the ATV are going up on BST soon. Don't get me wrong, the ATV are great wedges, I just like the xft more.... With that being said, if I couldn't get xft I would still be using the ATV. Still better than just about anything else I tried

[rege24]

I had a playing partner who is a horrible golfer show up with these wedges ,after watching him hit shots around the green and bunkers like never before...i took them to the practice area and tried them. Bought a set the next day...50,54,60 I had been playing Cleveland wedges forever!!

[rafal]

Most WRXers would sneer at anyone using ATV wedges, especially a full 52-56-60 setup. They are not for serious players and are garbage like most(all?) of TM clubs.

 

[TheMoneyShot]

I'm looking forward to seeing what TM does differently with the new ATV wedge that they are suppose to be coming out with.

[sbjinx]

^^^^ me too, i really hope they go all satin or black, i really hate the current 2-tone with the chrome. I need new wedges and the ATV have my attention. My buddy has one and i've liked it everytime i've used it to chip around the green (from all sorts of lies) and in the bunker.

i get more spin with my vokeys but they are also the non-confirming SMs

[nova6868]

Yeah, I thought they were coming out with an updated version of the ATV wedge this year...?

[TheMoneyShot]

[quote name='sbjinx' timestamp='1371660675' post='7282612']
^^^^ me too, i really hope they go all satin or black, i really hate the current 2-tone with the chrome. I need new wedges and the ATV have my attention. My buddy has one and i've liked it everytime i've used it to chip around the green (from all sorts of lies) and in the bunker.

i get more spin with my vokeys but they are also the non-confirming SMs
[/quote]

I believe the new ones will be black. Well, that is what the rumor mill is churning currently.

[TheMoneyShot]

[quote name='nova6868' timestamp='1371661392' post='7282706']
Yeah, I thought they were coming out with an updated version of the ATV wedge this year...?
[/quote]

It got nixed last minute in march. Who knows why though?

[NFD]

Most WRXers would sneer at anyone using ATV wedges, especially a full 52-56-60 setup. They are not for serious players and are garbage like most(all?) of TM clubs.

 

 

Justin Rose has ATV wedges starting with a PW on down. I would say the US Open champ is a serious player.

[Fade to Black]

Love my ATVs, although they're a little tricky to play delicate chips with on super tight lies/hard packed turf.

[Moleman]

Bought a second hand 56deg ATV on the strength of this thread alone, not the prettiest wedge out there but the performance has been fantastic, really impressed!

I was playing old red spin milled vokeys, 50, 56 & 60. I'm loving the atv so much I'm considering changing my 60 as well. Only thing concerns me slightly is my home course is links and lots of very hard, tight lies where the fairways have dried out, I'm used to my low bounce 60 deg vokey and am a little concerned the 'chunkier' sole on the atv might make these tight lie shots more difficult?

[OspreyCI]

I have the 50-56-60 and on the fence. Flops are tough for me with the 60 off tight lies.

[Maverick22]

I have been playing the ATVs this year in 52-56-60. I quite like the 56; it has made a very real (and good) difference to my bunker play. The 60 has also been good, particularly for chips and pitches around greens. I am only so-so on the 52 and will probably replace it. My biggest complaint is that these wedges don't spin anywhere near as much as the Vokeys they replaced, but the sole grind on the ATVs suits my game much better so they are better for me.

[pmcuk]

I'm wondering about longer-term opinions on the ATV. Have read posts saying such as:
"I have played them for almost a year and I hate them. I just cannot get used to the huge sole on them."
"Exactly - me neither, and I really tried to like them. they're awesome on full shots, but that's about it. Simply not for me"

I'm still liking my 58*.

What's a long term view with those of you who played or are still playing ATV?

[OspreyCI]

[quote name='OspreyCI' timestamp='1371689990' post='7286274']
I have the 50-56-60 and on the fence. Flops are tough for me with the 60 off tight lies.
[/quote]
Mine are on BST now. Good wedge, just need to practice with them.

[deck]

I found the ATV wedge out of the sand pure goodness. Easy to slide right through and get the ball up and either land softly or stop on a dime. Great out of the sand for me. I however wasn't a big fan of rough or fairway lies. Just did not like the sole on those shots.

[duffer18]

I have a 50 degree ATV that I've come to love over the last year. It's taken some time to dial it in, but the more I use it and practice with it, the better it is for me. I use it for all sorts of shots within 100 yds. I'm a hacker--16 handicap--but I can't blame my failings on the ATV. It's replaced a succession of Cleveland wedges, none of which I could use as well as I can the ATV.