Callaway Jaws RAW Full Toe Wedge - Review

Callaway’s new Full Toe wedge is a bit of an unusual beast.

Its stretched, elongated toe concept was originally intended to allow Phil Mickelson, one of the greatest short game talents in the game, do his thing.

But the Full Toe has evolved into a club that high handicappers fall in love with for an entirely different reason.

In an equipment market that is largely divided down talent lines, is Callaway’s new Jaws Raw Full Toe a unifying force for good?

And should it be in your bag?

Read on to find out.

WHAT’S THE POINT OF A FULL TOE WEDGE?

Doesn’t a wedge with a higher toe and full-face grooves kind of miss the point?

After all, the sweet spot’s still in the middle of the face, right?

To understand the concept you have to travel back in time to when Phil Mickelson was more focused on winning majors and trophies rather than scheming and sniping behind the scenes.

Phil’s thinking was when he opened up the face to play his famously wristy greenside flop shots, an extended toe meant he could catch the ball higher on the face and pop it out with more height and spin – especially out of thick rough.

THE NEW FULL TOE WEDGE: FROM TIP TO TOE

The new JAWS Raw Full Toe is oversized. But it’s nowhere near the monstrous size of Phil’s PM Grind Callaway wedge, the model that seeded the high-toe movement.

In fact, it’s been diluted to the point where its most distinguishing feature isn’t immediately apparent until side-by-side with a regular-sized wedge.

In the hands, however, the extra mass of the Full Toe head is evident along with its heavier swing feel.

The phalanx of JAWS full-face grooves, which Callaway suggest are the gnarliest in the game, cover every square centimetre of the Full Toe face.

And they are accompanied by a milled face texture (offset by around 30) that an experienced chippy would approximate to P220 on the sandpaper grit chart.

The Raw face was hardly resplendent with its unappetising dull grey finish.

But remember: it’s all about what happens when the sticker comes off the face and air and moisture intervene.

The oxidation process begins. And things start to get rusty.

A RUSTY RECAP ON THE FULL TOE

Designating a wedge line “JAWS Raw Full Toe” perhaps implies the entire wedge is completely unfinished.

However, only the face is un-plated and ready to rust.

So why would you want to play a rusty club?

Back in the day, players noticed that when the chrome plating wore off the face, their wedge seemed to generate more spin.

The conclusion was the rusty coating increased friction and spurred the rise of the un-plated wedge.

A NEW J-GRIND

The Full Toe features a new J-grind sole, which sees plenty of relief taken out of the heel area and an upsized heel-to-toe camber that becomes much wider towards the end of the toe.

The J-Grind is exclusive to the Full Toe and is available in four lofts (54°, 56°, 58°, 60°) with a standard bounce of 10°, which turned out to be a significant contributor to the new Full Toe’s overall performance.

The extra bounce, in conjunction with the camber, meant the sole sat quite evenly on the ground with the face open.

The snugness of the sole allowed me to be super aggressive through the ball, which is rather important when attempting to sling shots high in the air over a short distance.

In that regard, the Full Toe and its J-grind arguably provides a safety net for players who already have the flop shot in their repertoire.

The J-grind and the Full Toe’s increased bounce lessens the risk associated with playing such a flashy shot.

But what about the other less dazzling shots?

WAS THE FULL TOE WEDGE ANY GOOD?

The Full Toe’s J-grind is intended to suit players with a moderate angle of attack on the ball - the Goldilocks zone of not too steep, and not too shallow.

As expected, open faced shots popped up with almost laughable ease when testing a 60° Full Toe.

It was confidence boosting knowing the J-grind sole would keep its end of the bargain when playing open-faced shots off turf, but it almost led to complacency in bunkers.

I found the Full Toe was almost too efficient when attempting to play a shallow splash out of the sand.

However, adjusting with a slightly more closed “open face” seemed to strike the right balance for my bunker technique.

But out of the rough was the true barometer of the Full Toe’s effectiveness.

Playing the ball off the extreme edge of the toe had an acute impact and there was a palpable awareness of the longer toe’s stepladder effect, especially out of the thickest rough where the ball popped out with an indulgent level of ball-stopping height and spin.

Meanwhile, the progressive camber of the J-grind meant there was minimal sole-turf contact at address when playing full shots with a square face and it helped me pinch shots very cleanly from tight and firm lies.

The Full Toe’s weight ports are tuned for a higher centre of gravity in an attempt to create a lower trajectory, however, I barely noticed any effect on full shots. 

But the wedge surprised when playing low, chasing shots with a slightly closed face.

It’s more the new C-grind’s forte (more on that later) but the Full Toe performed robustly for a wedge synced more for open face action.

And if you’re wondering, it took less than a day for the raw face to begin turning orange with rust.

WHY ALL SKILL LEVELS WILL LOVE THE FULL TOE

Taking a macro view of the Full Toe, the wedge will offer buzz-worthy performance in the hands of both low and high handicappers - for different reasons.

It will certainly help better players access their artistic spirit around the greens, however, high handicappers may get even more love from the Full Toe in a practical sense.

The Full Toe’s larger face will be attractive to the game improvement iron player while its wall-to-wall grooves should be a monumental advantage for the scatter-gun strike pattern of less consistent players.

Another bonus is the forgiving profile of the J-grind and its 10° of bounce, which should safeguard against chunked shots if a swing is too steep - a common ailment of the higher handicapper.

And finally, the heavier head weight may arguably promote better rhythm for players who struggle to find their own sense of timing.

IS IT TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?

The new Full Toe model extends Callaway’s Jaws Raw wedge that was released last year.

The introduction of the new Full Toe and a new C grind bumps the number of unique loft/ grind combinations in the Jaws Raw ecosystem out beyond 20.

It’s an extravaganza of choice that will no doubt flummox many golfers.

But there is some logic to it.

Different styles of grinds can make the game easier; and players rarely select identical grinds on a wedge because characteristics needed to play from a bunker or from the fairway are inexorably diverse.

Callaway are leaving nothing to chance by filling every conceivable gap. But it does introduce extra layers of complexity into the process of selecting a wedge.

NEW CALLAWAY JAWS RAW C GRIND WEDGE

Callaway have also released a new C-grind wedge, the sixth grind to round out the JAWS Raw wedge range (C-grind and Full Toe J-grind join the Z,S,X and W).

It’s a ubiquitous crescent-shaped sole grind, with a little reduction of the leading edge to prevent the wedge digging at impact, and features 8° of bounce.

It will perform well in firm conditions and suit players with a shallow swing arc.

THE VERDICT

WHO WILL IT SUIT

• Both high and low handicappers. Players who prefer heavier wedges. 

SIMILAR CLUBS

• TaylorMade Hi-Toe 3 Wedge
• TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw

CALLAWAY JAWS RAW SPECS

• Australian Release Date: 7th Apr 2023
• JAWS RAW Full Toe Lofts: 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
• Bounce: 10° (J-Grind)
• Shaft: Dynamic Gold Spinner

• Australian Release Date: 7th Apr 2023
• JAWS RAW Lofts: 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
• Bounce: 8° (C-Grind)
• Shaft: Dynamic Gold Spinner

Written by Jamie Martin Jamie Martin is currently locked in a battle to keep his handicap hovering around the mid-single digits. Despite his obvious short-game shortcomings, Jamie enjoys playing and writing about every aspect of golf and is often seen making practice swings in a mirror.