TaylorMade MG5 Review: Wedges that any player can stop on a dime

Key Features:

• Forged carbon steel construction for a softer feel
• RAW face and retooled club face profile for more spin
• Additional grind options over the MG4

There's a fair amount riding on the success of the TaylorMade MG5 for arguably the most illustrious club manufacturer in golf.

While they've consistently made some of the best wedges in golf for some time now, the enduring struggle of TaylorMade has long been convincing players long loyal to brands like Titleist and Callaway to give their shorter clubs a shot. This is an issue for the brand not just at tour level, with even Team TaylorMade players like Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood preferring their trusted Titleist Vokeys, but also in showrooms and pro shops, with most golfers naturally drawn to the lineage and heritage that more historic wedge ranges boast.

The key for the brand, it's long felt, has been convincing players that they have a wedge that truly matches the industry leaders in terms of both feel and prestige. Incrementally, since the launch of the MG (Milled Grind) range almost a decade ago, they've been inching ever closer. And with the new MG5 model, a product more than two years in the making, they think a couple of fundamental changes to the brand's wedge DNA might give their biggest rivals market something to really be concerned about.

Whether or not the MG5 finds its way into more tour bags is, of course, down to their fitting teams. But how to they perform in the hands of the everyday player? Thankfully, we were able to get hands on with the new MG5 wedges on release day to see how they play.

Looks and feel

It feels as if there's been a shift towards the minimalist in the way manufacturers are designing their wedges of late, and the MG5 is no exception. TaylorMade have done away with the colourful flourishes of the MG4 and gone instead for a more monochrome look, which we think looks great. 

The TaylorMade logo and MG5 branding have been moved slightly to make the look more cohesive with the brand's P-series irons, which is a great call and helps to add a great sense of synergy across the range. I must confess to being slightly more enamoured by the look of the new Callaway Opus SP overall, but these are still some seriously clean clubs.

The most fundamental update TaylorMade have implemented with the MG5 range is centred around feel. The request they got from their Team TaylorMade members—in particular Collin Morikawa, who played a significant role in the MG5's development—was to make the wedges softer

In order to do so, TaylorMade have completely rebuilt their wedge manufacturing process from the ground up. The MG5 is the first wedge in the range to be fully forged, this time from a softer carbon steel, with the aim of bringing the feel of the MG5 more firmly in-line with tour-preferred wedges like Titleist's Vokey and  Callaway's new Opus SP.

While we didn't have the MG4 to hand for a direct comparison, it's definitely fair to say the new construction process brings the MG5 into line with other forged wedges in its class. In side-by-side tests against a non-forged wedge I brought for comparison (the Cobra King), the MG5 felt far sweeter on well-struck chip shots. It also did a great job of muting that harsh feeling you'd normally get when catching the ball low on the face on fuller shots.

The MG5 isn't, however, a club that dulls the sensation of chipping completely. There's still a definite clickiness the MG5 has on shorter shots around the green, but it feels supple and controlled, with the right amount of feedback to know straight away when you've flushed a chip perfectly or, importantly for a player of my skill level, caught it slightly off centre.

Performance

I felt a slight sense of trepidation coming into this review, as high-end wedges tend to really only sing in the hands of players who can generate high-level spin rates. As such, I was worried I wouldn't be able to say definitively whether or not the MG5 generated a real sense of control around the greens for a mid-handicapper, let alone a low one.

However, I needn't have worried. Compared to the Kings I'd been testing previously, and certainly when played alongside to the older wedges I had in the bag before them, my ability to stop the ball on chip shots and shorter approaches was taken to an entirely new level using the MG5. 

This is partly due to a re-engineering of the face, with a more aggressive grooving profile that's saw-milled for the first time in a TaylorMade wedge. A wavy Spin Tread pattern is also laser-etched into the face between the grooves, making this by far the most aggressive face TaylorMade have ever put on to a wedge. As a more average player, being able to suddenly to stop a ball on a dime, even the relatively low-spinning Titleist TruFeel that I was playing, was fantastic. 

I'm excited to get these in front of a launch monitor with a better player to see how they compare with the Opus SP and Titleist Vokey in terms of raw spin rates, but I'm sure they'd come close.

The MG5 also retains the raw face finish of the MG4, which theoretically helps the wedge generate more spin in damp conditions. I'm not sure whether it takes a while for the face to age, but playing the clubs brand new as they were, I found the spin the MG5 generated was significantly lessened playing out of dewy grass. Unfortunately there's no way to get around this, so if you want a set of wedges that keep a pristine look across the years, you'll have to look elsewhere

I also found the MG5 was a great performer in terms of forgiveness around the greens. The set I received consisted of a 50 and 54 in TaylorMade's middle-of-the-range SB grind, as well as a 58 in the slightly more aggressive SC grind. I was expecting to struggle with the latter, but once I got my chips dialled in (an area where I tend to struggle even with more forgiving soles), I found working the ball over bunkers and hazards both not just manageable, but fun.

It is worth mentioning, however, that the MG5 is very much a tour-profile wedge, with a bladed design and a smaller head. This naturally makes the club less forgiving for amateurs, particularly on fuller shots, and while the turf interaction is wonderful when your ball striking is on point, these clubs will punish thin shots if you have a tendency to bottom out early in your swing.

Should you buy the TaylorMade MG5?

As someone who's yet to tested the whole industry selection of wedges side-by-side, I'm surprised by how confident and comfortable I am in saying the TaylorMade MG5 wedges will be my gamers for quite some time to come. 

I can heartily recommend them not just for better players wanting a wedge that finally captures the luxurious feel of wedges like the Titleist Vokey, but one that offers genuinely game-changing short game performance for every player.