We have good news for the fans of the brand, as TaylorMade golf just released recently the 2019 Hi-Toe Big Foot wedges, which are proudly joining the Hi-Toe wedge family, as well as the Milled Grind 2 wedges. The former are basically game improvement gear, which arrive with an interesting design feature, and we’re talking about the Big Foot’s asymmetric C-Grind, that has a wider sole compared to regular wedges (32 mm vs 26 mm), and it’s also flatter.

This interesting design works together with the anti-dig leading edge, which features a 15 degrees bounce, being aimed at enhancing playability and boosting ease of use from both the rough and sand alike. The 2019 Hi-Toe Big Foot wedges also come with a blunter leading edge, along with the wider middle, featuring a beveled leading edge radius, which is designed in such a way to help players who have an inclination to strike towards the toe, as well as those who have an outside in swing path. Moreover, the Hi-Toe Big Foot wedges are designed to provide relief as the trailing edge has a slight heel side reduction, which helps with keeping the leading edge low, and in the same time works wonders in regard to versatility. Here’s Bill Price, Senior Director of Product Creation, Putters & Wedges at TaylorMade commenting about the company’s latest Hi-Toe Big Foot:

“We have one of the best wedge line-ups on the market but realized that there was still one golfer out there that wasn’t catered for, with Big Foot we now have a game improvement wedge that’s easier to play regardless of course conditions, especially for those who struggle out of bunkers. The Hi-Toe Family of wedges now cover every aspect of the game; versatility, playability and game improvement.”

Moreover, the new Hi-Toe member arrives with redesigned center of gravity pockets, which are deeper than in previous generations; the CG pockets are designed to promote flight control and spin, and at the same time allowed for TaylorMade’s R&D team to enlarge the width of the sole, which translates into better mass distribution. Just like the rest of the family, the new Hi-Toe Big Foot wedge has an increased toe height, approximately 5mm respectively; this particular feature makes for a higher CoG (center of gravity) which in real life means lower launch and increased spin. The full face was also revamped, and the scoring lines are now delivering better spin on off center strikes as well as consistent ball contact. The new Hi-Toe Big Foot wedges are available at major retailers in North America since September 6th and have an MSRP of $169.99, in in 58 and 60-degree lofts (right hand only); the stock equipment consists of KBS Hi-REV 2.0 115g (steel) or UST Recoil w/SmacWrap 65g (graphite) shaft with a Golf PrideTour Velvet burgundy 360 GEC grip.

The new TaylorMade Milled Grind 2 Wedges are also available since September 6th, and have a retail price of $169.99 each, arriving with a True Temper Dynamic Gold S200 shaft and a Golf Pride Tour Velvet Burgundy 360 grip. In terms of tech specs, these babies use cast carbon steel, the 8620 variety respectively, along with TaylorMade’s proprietary thermoplastic polyurethane insert, and they arrive in even lofts between 48 and 60 degrees. The Milled Grind 2 Wedges are built to be the best of both worlds so to speak, as they combine the original milled grind wedge’s precision shaping with the latest spin enhancing technologies in the company’s portfolio. Some say that the new Milled Grind 2 wedges are so spiny, that they would require a warning sign on the box, due to the new raw-design face design, which comes with deeper, sharper and narrower grooves, along with a sharper radius, which according to the company, helps in a big way with generating more greenside spin. Bill Price, Senior Director of Product Creation, Putters & Wedges, has said about the Milled Grind 2 that let me quote:

“Our Tour Players have long benefited from the performance raw wedges offer and it's great to now be able to offer these performance gains to golfers of all levels. We're confident they will enjoy the look, feel and performance that a raw face has to offer”

The face thickness in the Milled Grind 2 wedges has been increased to 6.5 mm vs. the previous 5.1 mm, which is a lot if you’re an engineer, but without sacrificing weight in the process, which is kind of amazing. And in case you were wondering, that was achieved by using a TPU insert in the back cavity, a nice feature which also creates a positive, solid feel upon ball impact. TaylorMade used state of the art CNC milling technology in these wedges, which creates consistency from grind to grind and club to club, and yes, we’re talking about leading edge and sole grind stuff. The new wedges are crafted to perfection by using a computerized tool that reproduces the exact specs required by TaylorMade’s engineers, thus taking the human error factor out of the equation (the manufacturing process is fully automated). The raw face design means there’s no chrome plating to speak of, and due to this feature, TaylorMade achieved deeper and sharper grooves, which translate into more spin and control. The downside of a raw face is that the steel will start rusting as soon as it gets exposed to oxygen and moisture. To boost spin even farther, the tiny dash-like markings between the grooves are created via laser etching technology.