Callaway Opus SP Review: Wedges that might just make you feel like a tour pro

Key Features

• Two-piece speed pocket construction saves weight and raises the centre of gravity for lower launch and higher spin
• SPIN GEN 2.0 face creates more consistent launch and spin on longer shots
• 8620 cast body with a 1025 form-forged face for a soft feel
• Choice of five grinds

While Titleist's Vokey wedges and, more recently, the TaylorMade MG line have spent the last decade mopping up most of the plaudits on Tour, the fact remains that Callaway has a legacy of making wedges that most club manufacturers can only dream of.

The American brand has conceptualised many of the best golf wedges ever made across the decades, from the long-revered Mack Daddy range and its PM-spec grinds, to the more recently revived JAWS nameplate.

In recent times, however, the brand's short game offering has been a little more under the radar, with a good chunk of Callaway's attention going towards selling their yearly driver and iron updates. However this changed late last year with the brand's biggest wedge release in a good five years: the Opus range.

The Opus wedges received critical acclaim and, importantly, revived the brand's wedge game at a tour level, with team players like Jon Rahm and Min Woo Lee slotting the Opus range straight into their bags.

Now, the successor to the Opus, the Opus SP, is here, and despite the name suggesting this is more of an incremental update, it's actually a wedge that could fundamentally shift the way the major brands approach wedge development going forward. It also might be the best new wedge release of the year so far, and one that brings Callaway back into the pantheon among the elite wedge manufacturers in the industry.

To put the new launch to the test, we took took the Opus SP out for a round at Kent's stunning Princes Golf Club. Here's what we found.

Looks and feel

The Opus SP takes a pretty radical sidestep from the wedges we've become accustomed to the brand releasing in the last decade, and quite frankly, we absolutely love what they've done to bring their wedges into a new aesthetic era.

The biggest change is that Callaway have done away with their traditional logo stamping, instead taking a minimalist line with the brand's chevron stamped at the top and a more modern Callaway insignia stamped across the back of the club head. This carries through to the grip, with the same Callaway lettering featured at the butt end of the club.

It's a simple change, but a fantastically effective one as wedges from other manufacturers become increasingly busy. The Opus SP immediately stands out as one of the prettiest wedges we've ever seen, and being offered in either a clean chrome or satin black option, will blend seamlessly in with a set of bladed irons.

Callaway have also done well to ensure those clean looks inspire confidence at address. The clubhead feels clean and compact with a nice high too and not too much leading edge, while the grooves take up plenty of the face to make you feel like you're going to get a tangible result even on a less-than-perfect swing.

Callaway have gone to significant lengths to make the Opus SP their most luxurious-feeling wedges ever, and it shows on contact with the ball. The wedges employ a 1025 form-forged face that's softer than what was previously offered in the Opus, creating a super smooth sensation on impact. 

Performance

The founding principle of the Opus SP range lies in the name. 'SP' stands for Spin Pocket—an innovation that fundamentally alters how Callaway thinks a wedge should perform in the hands of the everyday golfer. 

While most woods, and irons and wedges focus on achieving a low centre of gravity to aid launch and forgiveness, the Spin Pocket construction, which features two pieces of steel with a hollow cut-out, moves the CG higher. The idea here is that the Opus SP will empower every player to hit their wedges lower—theoretically improving accuracy and distance consistency—while the clubface itself spends longer in contact with the ball, thereby improving spin. Put simply, it puts the pro-style knockdown shot into the arsenal of more people. 

Suffice it to say they've succeeded. In our testing out on course, the Opus SP generated absolutely incredible levels of spin—the combination of the Speed Pocket and the new SPIN GEN 2.0 face, which features newly-angled grooves and more aggressive cross-hatched laser etching across the entire face, working to incredible effect. And while we haven't been able to get these in front of a launch tracker yet, we're confident in saying these are probably the spinniest wedges on the market right now.

This is both a blessing and a little bit of a curse in the case of the SP. There's no doubt that the Opus SP will generate a ton of spin for every player, changing the game in particular for mid-handicappers who struggle to stop the ball around the greens. We tested the Opus SP predominantly around links courses with tight lies and sandy greens, and better players will find the bite on both fuller approach shots shorter chips exemplary. 

The main drawback here, of course, is that if your ball striking is less consistent, you may find the Opus SP produces more spin than expected if you catch it particularly clean, while poor strikes will come out lower. This isn't a particularly bad problem to have if you're used to that style of play but we also firmly believe that the Opus SP will truly shine in the hands of a better player, while amateurs could find the Opus SP pretty unforgiving, particularly around the greens and on tight lies. 

Should you buy the Callaway Opus SP wedges?

Being compact in nature and fairly aggressively engineered, it's easy to see why the Callaway Opus SP has already proven a resounding hit at tour level. The Opus SP completely redefines the amount of control a wedge can offer a high-level player, generating immense amounts of spin and helping more players unlock the lower, spinnier wedge shots you so often see the pros pulling off on TV. They're fantastic approach wedges, and when you strike them well around the greens, offer incredible control and stopping power on the greens.

This may, however, take the Opus SP out of the reach of the less experienced player. If you're used to floating your wedges high and achieving a soft landing, these probably won't suit your style. That being said, Callaway does offer a number of grinds designed to help less consistent players find their sweet spot with the Opus SP, most notably the wide-soled W-Grind. So if you're intrigued, it could be worth going down this road and working this out with a fitting professional.

With an RRP of £179 per club with a steel shaft, the Opus SP is fairly conventionally priced for a wedge of its calibre. They are, however £10 per club more expensive than an equivalent Vokey SM10, which is food for thought—although most retailers are already offering them at a slight discount.

Verdict

Either way, it's clear that Callaway have achieved something extraordinary with the Opus SP wedges, and we're happy to say that the Opus SP firmly puts the brand back in the conversation among the most elite wedge manufacturers in the industry right now. 

The Opus SP is gorgeous to look at, and in the hands of a higher-level amateur, might just make them feel a little more like a tour pro with the amount of check and spin the wedges are able to create around the greens. A such, we're fairly confident in saying that if you fit this profile, the Callaway Opus SP should be among the first wedges you test out if you're on the hunt for a new set.

The Callaway Opus SP wedges are available to pre-order from August 11.