Why Callaway's new Opus SP wedges might be a genuine game-changer

When they first arrived back around this time last year, Callaway's Opus wedges represented something of a fresh start for the brand's short game offering. It wasn't a spin on the JAWS range. Nor was it some derivative of the Mack Daddy. 

The Opus was something entirely new, with a clean, minimalist look and a profile that many tour players, including Min Woo Lee, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, were so enamoured with they put it in the bag for this season.

Now, the next chapter in Callway's storied wedge range is here. It's called the Opus SP, and despite the tech, it's one that takes Callaway's trademark aesthetic in an interesting new direction.

First, and most notably, viewers of the Opus SP will notice the brand's well-recognised logo is entirely done away with, with Callaway printed along the side instead in crisp block lettering and a simple chevron nodding to the brand's logo at the top of the clubhead. It's a dramatic turn towards the modern for the brand, and one I personally love.

From a performance standpoint, the Opus SP also represents quite a significant step forward for the range. The SP in the name stands for Spin Pocket, with the 2-piece head having been completely re-engineered from the original opus to move the club's centre of gravity higher on the head. 

The result fundamentally changes the concept of how a golf wedge traditionally functions: rather than the high launch and soft landing that we typically associate wedges with, the Opus SP is designed to help you hit it lower. Basically, the idea is that enabling players to achieve a more penetrating flight while maintaining spin will allow for more accuracy and consistency, while taking wind further out of the equation.

The face, too, has had an upgrade on the original Opus, with new 17-degree grooves and a deeper cross-hatch laser pattern across the face for more bite around the greens.

Carrying over from the original Opus is its overall profile, with the tour-inspired shape for a clean, inspiring look behind the ball. As with the original Opus, the wedge also comes with five different sole grinds on offer, from the tour-derived T-grind for precise shotmaking to the forgiveness-oriented, extra-wide W-grind. The X-grind, a higher-bounce grind that gives better players both forgiveness on fuller shots and versatility around the greens, also makes its long-awaited return in the Opus SP range.

The SP seems to have already proven a hit on tour. Callaway reports that 32 of them were in play at last month's Open Championship, with Rahm, Schauffele, Akshay Bhatia and Min Woo Lee all having switched out of the original Opus straight away and into the SP.

For us mere mortals, however, the Opus SP ($199.99 steel, $209.99 graphite) will be available for pre-sale from August 18, with a general on-sale date of August 22. You can find out more at Callaway's website.