TaylorMade Golf Company has introduced its new rac Black TP, a wedge that features the same distinctive dark finish as the original rac Black wedge and the same classic, teardrop shape, but which incorporates three distinct improvements.
The first improvement concerns the grooves. The rac Black TP is engineered with TaylorMade’s tour-proven Y-cutter grooves, which feature sharper edges and a wider, deeper design. Y-cutter grooves are 100% individually CNC milled after the face is milled flat, resulting in clean, sharp, consistent groove edges that grip the ball better, and a perfectly flat clubface. The sharper groove-edges grab the cover of the ball more effectively, and the added groove-width provides more room to channel debris into. It’s the sharpest edge TaylorMade engineers could come up with that wouldn‘t damage the covers of today’s premium-performance balls. Y-cutter grooves consistently deliver up to 300 additional RPM than our Dual-Draft grooves, promoting enhanced control and stopping power.
Where did the name “Y-cutter” come from? TaylorMade engineers name each groove iteration that they develop after a letter of the alphabet. The “Y” groove revision was developed with the intent of making a more aggressive spinning groove. On tour, TaylorMade’s technicians and tour staff pros began calling them Y-cutter grooves, and the name stuck.
The second improvement concerns the sole. The rac Black TP’s sole is ground low on the trailing edge and especially at the toe and heel, so that when the sole is viewed from above the trailing edge appears curved, resembling the letter C. This sole configuration, which was developed on tour, allows players to open the clubface around the green to play high, soft chips and pitches. Also, the leading edge is radiused, enhancing players‘ ability to hit low controlled shots without digging. The versatility created by both the “C-grind” sole and radiused leading edge make it possible to hit an extraordinarily wide variety of approach and greenside shots with only a single bounce configuration.
The third improvement concerns the rac Black TP’s Feel Pockets, which are larger than those on previous rac wedges, including the rac Black. In the past two years, since the launch of the original rac wedges, TaylorMade engineers have continued to improve rac technology and the ability to enhance feel in wedges. These larger Feel Pockets more efficiently channel unwanted impact vibration to strategic locations in the club head, promoting improved feel at impact. As good as the original rac wedges feel, the new rac Black TP, with its larger Feel Pockets, feels even better.
Although the rac Black TP looks identical to the rac Black at first glance, closer inspection reveals subtle differences. As mentioned, the rac Black TP features larger Feel Pockets. It also includes a small “Y” stamped on the upper toe section of the clubface, a reference to the Y-cutter grooves and the TP badge located on the back of the club.
“Though the rac Black TP is just now being launched at retail, it, like many TaylorMade TP products, has already been played on tour in prototype form, where tour pros have coveted it for its beauty, feel and control,” says Bret Wahl, director of irons and wedges. “And as part of TaylorMade’s TP line, which stands for Tour Preferred, consumers can be confident that the rac Black TP that they buy is the same wedge played on tour.”
TaylorMade rac Black TP wedges will become available at the end of October 2005 at a recommended retail price of £ 89.00 per club. The rac Black TP wedge will be available in five different loft and tour bounce configurations: 52.08, 54.10, 56.12, 58.08, 60.06.
TaylorMade Golf www.taylormadegolf.com
Global Edition
