New Equipment: Wedge-a-palooza

There are 10 new pieces of golf equipment featured in our latest new equipment gallery, and five of them are wedges. TaylorMade, Cleveland, Callaway, Miura and Feel all have new wedges hitting the market. Also included in the roundup are Cleveland irons, Odyssey putters, Rife putters, a women's set from Callaway and a premium Japanese shaft. View the gallery to read about each.

And expect to see many more wedges hitting pro shop aisles in the coming weeks, leading up to the new groove rules for 2010. The 2010 groove specs are leading to a wedge glut for two reasons:

1. Obviously, companies are creating new wedges that conform to the new rules. All wedges manufactured must conform to the new specs after Jan. 1, 2011, and companies are rolling out those conforming wedges now with the rules set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2010.

2. But: Those new rules will affect only a tiny fraction of golfers in 2010; most recreational golfers won't be required to use post-2010 grooves for handicap rounds until 2024 at the earliest. And so manufacturers are pushing a lot of pre-2010 groove designs into the market now, too. The message to golfers: Get 'em while you can, because we can't make 'em after 2010 even though you can play them until 2024.

Many of the wedges that do conform to the 2010 rules are showing up with innovations, too, designed to minimize the loss of spin those new grooves will cause. Some companies are roughening the face of their wedges. In our latest new equipment gallery, Cleveland and Feel both take that approach. With the TaylorMade wedge featured, golfers can replace the face of the wedge without having to buy a new club. Worried about the grooves becoming worn and less effective? Remove the face and replace it with a fresh one.

View the new equipment gallery