TaylorMade Golf has introduced the TP wedge with xFT (Exchangeable Face Technology), which allows players to easily remove a worn clubface and replace it with a new one to maintain peak performance in terms of spin and control.
Taylormade introduces exchangeable face technology
“Though the face of a typical iron is sturdy, it isn’t impervious to wear,” said Bret Wahl, senior director of iron, wedge and putter development. “A wedge’s face wears from contact with the ball and from the dirt and sand that’s often sandwiched between the ball and the face at impact. Every time you explode from sand with your wedge it’s like rubbing a piece of sand paper on your clubface. Over time the face wears down and the edge-radius of the grooves becomes dull. In addition to the normal wear and tear a face suffers from normal play, it can be nicked and damaged in a variety of other ways such as when clubheads bang together when you put your bag down or when you walk or drive your cart, or when you hit out of waste areas, or when you unintentionally scrape the clubface against debris when hitting the ball from poor lies off the fairway.”
The negative effect is three-fold:
- The groove’s edges lose the ability to grab the cover, reducing spin.
- The groove loses volume into which moisture and debris once were channeled. Less groove volume means that more substances will come between the ball and the clubface, further reducing the amount of spin that can be imparted, especially from the rough.
- The texture on the surface of the face (from milling or sandblasting) is reduced, which limits the face’s grip on the ball.
How quickly does the face of the average wedge show signs of wear? TaylorMade studies indicate that after about 1,000 shots the edge-radius of each individual groove changes and the roughness of the face surface is worn away. For players who play with reasonable frequency, 1,000 shots add up pretty quickly; they add up even faster for players who practice between rounds.
Taylormade xFT Wedge
xFT: Keep the Clubhead, Exchange the Clubface
xFT is a simple, cost-effective way to give tour pros and amateurs fresh grooves while allowing them to keep the same clubhead. Our new Exchangeable Face Technology (xFT), which is incorporated into our newest TP wedge design, allows you to quickly and easily exchange an old, worn wedge face with a brand new one. The xFT face is held in place with two screws located on the back of the clubhead that can be loosened and tightened with a white R9 torque wrench. Simply loosen the xFT screws to remove the old face and tighten the screws to lock in the new, fresh face. Each xFT face is backed with a thin layer of Poron®, which is a soft, urethane, microcellular foam to facilitate a tight fit within the clubhead and to cushion the face from metal-on-metal contact, and which also promotes superior feel. The clubhead and particularly the wedge face and the pocket the face fits into are precision-milled to fit snugly and securely together. The tolerances in terms of length, width and depth have to be extremely tight to ensure a tight fit, so that the TP xFT wedge feels the same, sounds the same and performs the same as a traditional one-piece clubhead.
Each TP xFT wedge face is forged from soft 304 stainless steel, then completed with a four-step CNC precision-milling process. First, the surface of the face is milled flat. Second, the back and perimeter of the face are machined to ensure a precise fit into the pocket in the clubhead. Third, texture is milled onto the face surface. Fourth, the grooves are milled into the face with care taken to ensure that the depth, shape and edges are perfect.
TP xFT Wedge and the USGA Rules Change on Grooves
- Two types of xFT wedge faces will be available for purchase, either with our new ZTP groove design that conforms to the USGA’s new rules change, or with our current Z groove that conforms to the pre-2010 rule on groove design. (Older groove designs will be disallowed in high-level professional competitions starting January 1, 2010 by ruling of the USGA. However, recreational golfers aren’t required to adhere to the groove-change rule until 2024). In 2011 and beyond, xFT wedge faces will incorporate only grooves that adhere to the new USGA rule, such as the ZTP groove.
