Equipment
In-depth: 2012 TaylorMade ATV Wedges
Recently TaylorMade Golf invited GolfWRX to Bandon Dunes for the launch of the TaylorMade ATV Wedge. Dubbed ‘The TaylorMade Short Game Experience,” it truly was that. Featuring a Short Game Clinic with the legendary Jim Flick, a round at the brand new (and not yet open to the public) 13-hole Par 3 course called ‘The Preserve’ and topped off with a round at Bandon Trails, it didn’t disappoint. Getting to Bandon Dunes is not easy, but the decision to go certainly was.
We had the opportunity to try 360 Tour ATV shoes, PENTA TP5 balls, Ghost Manta putter and a set of ATV Wedges at one of the premier golf resorts in the US. The ATV in ATV Wedge stands for All-Terrain Versatility, and if you want to put it to the test, Bandon Dunes is the place. Down time on arrival day allowed some playing time at Shorty’s, a small Par 3 course adjacent to the practice range. You may think the a wide-soled wedge and a tight lie don’t mix, but the ATV performed beautifully. Shorty’s has the tightest lies this side of your kitchen floor. Surprising and impressive.
The next day was a short game clinic with the Mr. Jim Flick. Jim taught us how to hit all the shots and the crew TaylorMade showed us why we could. Don’t be fooled. Thanks to the concave sole (lack of camber) and ‘ski-like’ leading edge, the ATV can handle it. Dubbed the ‘Wonder Wedge’ in early prototyping due to performance, this ATV is not a one trick (or even two trick) pony. From sand, the wider sole seems to provide added forgiveness and ‘float’ through. I found you don’t need to open it up quite as much as you think. The club head will glide a bit, providing extra forgiveness.
There’s plenty of versatility in the ATV wedge, but what you won’t find is a bounce number. “We don’t put bounce on this wedge for a reason,” said TaylorMade’s Brian Bazzel, Manager, Iron, Wedge & Putter, Product Creation. “There’s different bounces on different parts of the sole, and those different bounces are used to hit all these different shots.”
The video illustrates some of the uses of the ATV Wedge and includes plenty of tech talk. It’s a short portion of the clip, but be sure to check out the proper use of a C-Grind for a shot off a fairly tight lie. You would not think a wide sole wedge could do this, but the ATV can. Of course, all this is great, but the true test is on course. Bandon Trails, especially first time seeing it, is a pretty tough track. I went with KBS Stiff in 50*, 54* and 58* lofts and the TaylorMade ATV Wedges performed well from all lies, all day.
As a rule, I dislike putters with insert, but I can’t discount the performance of the Manta putter and PENTA TP5 Ball. Three birdies on a tough, unfamiliar layout is not typical for me.
My last full shot of the day was a 90-yard ATV sand wedge uphill approach to about 15 feet setting up my last birdie of the day. A great ending to a great experience.
CLICK HERE TO DISCUSS THE TAYLORMADE ATV WEDGES IN THE FORUMS
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Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Faustina Borgert
May 31, 2013 at 1:41 am
The term “ATV” was originally coined to refer to non-straddle ridden six-wheeled amphibious ATVs such as the Jiger produced by the Jiger Corporation, the Amphicat produced by Mobility Unlimited Inc, and the Terra Tiger produced by the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company in the mid 1960s and early 1970s. ;:'”
Most current write-up straight from our personal internet site
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dc
Mar 20, 2013 at 11:17 am
I just got a set of these puppies and am starting to try them out. The first sand shot I hit with the 56 was sculled over the green. It seemed that the effective bounce with the face open was much more than I am used to.I guess I will have a bit of a learning curve with these, maybe don’t open up the face as much (which is a mixed bag–probably more forgiving, but less loft). Also I am a bit worried about hitting shots from tight lies with these wedges. They set up nicely and I like the shafts a lot, so hopefully I can figure these out.
triedntrue
Oct 31, 2015 at 7:22 pm
I had the same effect when I played with these clubs too. Could you tell me if you ever figured out how to compensate on bunker shots and tight lies?
blando12
Jun 1, 2012 at 1:06 pm
ive hit the wedges and they perform better than any other wedge ive used. so ive ordered mine a week ago and just playing the waiting game now. ready to get the vokeys out of my bag
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Jason
May 3, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Nice article and vid. Thanks for posting!
gticlay
Apr 30, 2012 at 5:47 pm
Hey Hipcheck – very jealous of both the wedges you got, AND that trip!! Wish I went too.