Key Takeaways
- TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw wedges: full-face grooves on the higher lofts, full raw face
- TaylorMade adds more lofts to the Hi-Toe line, 50 through 62 degrees.
- Big Foot wedge line gets an added loft.
- MSRP $180, available Feb. 19
The TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw and Hi-Toe Big Foot wedges are a mouthful. And very soon they’ll be a “raw” mouthful.
TaylorMade is updating and expanding the Hi-Toe lineup, giving you more lofts and more bounce options. And the entire line is going with a raw face, with full heel-to-toe grooves on the higher lofts.
So what is this mouthful of a wedge all about? Let’s break it down.
TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw: Niche is the Word
Full-face wedges aren’t for everyone and Hi-Toe-style wedges aren’t for everyone. Super-wide-soled wedges aren’t for everyone, either. The math, therefore, is telling you that you have wedges that might not be for anyone. In this case, however, versatility trumps math.
High-toe wedges are officially a thing now. You can trace the idea back to the PING Eye 2 but Callaway made them mainstream with the Mack Daddy PM Grind in 2015. Callaway gave the PMs the full-face treatment and, since then Wilson, Cleveland and others have followed suit with their own high-toe, full-face groove options.
The TaylorMade Hi-Toe has been in TaylorMade’s lineup since mid-2019. This year, however, Hi-Toe is going full face. The combination of a high-toe wedge with full-face grooves actually makes sense. The whole point behind a high-toe wedge is versatility around the green. You can open the sole way up on tight lies and in heavy rough and full-face grooves mean even slight miss-hits out of the rough will find some groove and have some spin.
The new models also feature sharper, narrower and thinner grooves as well as TaylorMade’s signature laser face etching. The face itself is raw (as opposed to the entire head) so it will rust over time. As we’ve shown in wedge testing, raw wedges retain spin, particularly in wet conditions. However, it’s the lack of plating and not the rust that makes that spin happen.
Another update you’ll find from the previous Hi-Toe model is Taylormade’s Thick-Thin Design. First introduced in the MG2 wedge series, Thick-Thin features a thinner topline, a thicker face and additional mass high in the clubface for a higher CG. That creates a lower ball flight and enhanced spin.
TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw: A Full Line?
The high-toe, full-face combo is a niche club. They can be stupid-easy to hit out of the sand and, for fans of the flop shot, they’re Christmas, New Year’s and another Tom Brady Super Bowl all rolled into one. As a result, most high-toe, full-face offerings are in higher lofts only. TaylorMade’s Hi-Toe line stretches from 50 up to 62 degrees, in two-degree increments. However, only the 56- through 62-degree models get the full face treatment.
Callaway, on the other hand, offers its PM Grind in 54- through 64-degree options. Offering a full line of Hi-Toe wedges is a curious decision for TaylorMade. You may be one of the chosen few who has the ability to open up and flop a 50- or a 52-degree wedge with nine-degrees worth of bounce.
If it’s a shot you face often, well, here’s your tool. For most, however, the value of a lower-lofted, high-toe, full-face wedge is debatable.
And speaking of bounce, the TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw wedges feature nine-degrees worth of bounce in the 50- and 52-degree models. The 56-, 58- and 60-degree models have 10 degrees of bounce and the 62-degree goes back to nine degrees. TaylorMade is offering a low-bounce (seven-degree) option for both the 58- and 60-degree models.
The 50- through 60-degree models are available for both lefties and righties. The 62-degree standard bounce and the 58-degree low bounce are right-handed only.
The new TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw wedge also includes TaylorMade’s milled sole grind. CNC milling the sole grind isn’t as sexy as hand-grinding but it is more repeatable and consistent. And despite being relatively low-ish bounce, the Hi-Toe Raw sole itself is wide – some 26 millimeters.
Big Foot Sighting
Now comes the real mouthful: the TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw Big Foot. Let that roll off your tongue a time or two.
All kidding aside, the Big Foot is a wider-sole, higher-bounce version of the Hi-Toe. Big Foot comes by its name honestly, with a 32-millimeter wide sole and 15 degrees of bounce. The milled sole is more of a modified C grind, offering more heel-to-toe relief to be more playable for a wider range of golfers. The closest comp you’ll find out there is the Cleveland CBXs Full Face wedge.
Like its smaller-footed brother, Big Foot features a raw face and TaylorMade’s aggressive milled and laser-etched groove pattern. Both wedges come in what TaylorMade calls its Aged Copper finish.
The original Big Foot was available in 58- and 60-degree options for both lefties and righties. TaylorMade is adding a 56-degree model to the new lineup, in right-handed only.
The entire lineup is 8620 carbon steel.
The new TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw wedges will retail for $180. They’ll be in stores on Feb. 19. Available for pre-order now.
For more information, visit TaylorMade.com.
John
2 weeks agoInteresting. It says “Tour Preferred”, I’m guessing no one on Tour is playing these?
gticlay
2 weeks agoI’m really excited about these new wedges because a new model means they were a valid idea. I am going from a 47/54/60 setup to a 46/53/58/64 to give me another full shot into the green as I average carry 131 with the 60* and 121 carry with the 64* (so you can see, I NEED that extra full shot) and backing the 60 down to a 58 will give me a little more room between the two wedges. I was actually disappointed that the 64 didn’t go a little shorter but that was the trackman average after 10-15 shots and the fitter said that as you go up in loft, the gaps need to be bigger degree wise to widen the gap and that’s why a lot of long irons might have only 3.5* between them while a longer hitter might need 6* between wedges. Now I need to practice my partial shots.
Claygay
1 week agoYou’re in better shape than me. I hit my 64* 145yds, so I’m hoping they come out with a 68* soon!
gticlay
1 week agoHa ha – you can already get them if you want. I feel like we probably hit a point of diminishing returns, however and going up further isn’t going to do much. Maybe one of those crazy frankenwedges that produce 11,000rpm from 50 yard pitches that the TXG guys built up on a recent video.
Nick
2 weeks agoI guess if I’m going to play a course where I might find myself in deepish rough at the bottom of a steep climb onto the green, a 9° bounce opened wide would be the club I would want for that. Probably not something to put in the bag every round, but I don’t usually need all 4 wedges every round, anyway. Planning your shot starts way before you get to your shot.
Wes
2 weeks agoYou sound more high than me…and that seems so impossible right now.
Bladeho
2 weeks agoAre the soles of the new Hi-toe wedges wider from front to back than the original Hi-toes? Does anybody know the exact width of the sole of both HiToe wedges measured from edge to edge along the curvature, especially on the 52 wedge?
I have an original Hi-Toe Big Foot in 58 which really helps against fat shots and look for an addition of a gap wedge with a wider sole than my Miura gap wedges.
David
2 weeks agoAny talk of a complete iron set?
Lance Sedevie
2 weeks agoI have a pm 60. I love the playability from all lies. I personally love it for square faced shots from the rough. If the ball is sitting up slightly this wedge provides more mass which results in a shot closer to the hole compared to the one that come off dead. For that reason alone I think it’s helpful for a wide skill range.
C Cruz
2 weeks agoThx for the article. FYI . I don’t believe the 50, 52, 54, are full face based on the website, but maybe you know something I don’t.
Mark Smolens
2 weeks agoWon’t buy any more TM wedges after their bait and switch on the XFT wedges
raynman
2 weeks agoBait and Switch? what just because we can’t get the replacement faces like they promised.
I have bought a few cheap XFT’s online if the faces looked good, but still the used wedges are $10 or $20 more than the replacement face would be
The sad thing is its the best wedges they have ever made
Louis Pounds
2 weeks agoLove the full face grooves, have the rtx 4 and as a novice learning player, I find the “extra” grooves helpful. Looking forward to trying these.
Bob Kendall
2 weeks agoI had an original 58* Hi Toe. For short shorts it was fine but on full shots it always wanted to go left. I’ll stick with my two PXG built Glide wdges at 54 and 58*.