My first wedges were TaylorMade. RAC Black—52, 56, 60—as was the standard progression in those days. I played them for a year, switched to Cleveland and haven’t bagged a TaylorMade wedge since.
By reputation, Cleveland was still THE brand in the wedge category. Vokey was only beginning to Spin Mill grooves but the prevailing wisdom at the time was that those were the only two wedge brands that mattered.
In the years since, Vokey has become the undisputed No. 1 while Cleveland and Callaway battle for second. Over the years, our testing has found numerous competent alternatives but the reality is that the majority of the market is plenty content with those three options.
TaylorMade’s comparative lack of success in the wedge market isn’t for lack of trying. In a category that demands little and offers few opportunities for innovation, TaylorMade has given it the old college try. You’ve got assorted groove technologies. The xFT wedge with its replaceable faces was either overly ambitious or just ahead of its time. More recently, TaylorMade has leveraged milled sole grinds for greater manufacturing consistency.
Catering to Pros and Joes Alike
Within the big picture, TaylorMade’s efforts mostly spoke to the needs of PGA TOUR pros. That makes sense given that TaylorMade is, first and foremost, a Tour brand, but at some point, even Tour brands need to create products that average golfers want to buy.
With the MG2 line, TaylorMade began to make some headway. For sure, it doesn’t hurt when circumstance allows you to stamp the letters TW on a golf club but RAW Face technology was different. Even if the realities behind its benefits often got lost in translation, golfers want spin. It’s a story that resonated. The point is that TaylorMade has finally broken through. It’s the fastest-growing brand in the wedge category and, while the company acknowledges it was starting from little more than nothing, growth is growth.
There aren’t any expectations that TaylorMade will challenge Vokey anytime soon but, for the first time I can remember, the company has momentum in the wedge category. In some countries (probably not one where you live), TaylorMade is No. 1 or 2 in the category. The success of MG2 put TaylorMade in the conversation. With the MG3 Wedge, the company hopes more of its wedges will move from the conversation into your bag.
TaylorMade MG3 Wedge Design
Nearly every element of the TaylorMade MG3 wedge design speaks to the reality that, as TaylorMade’s Bill Price says, “You only get one wedge.” With allowances for the occasional game-improvement wedge, the point is that any company’s most mainstream wedge needs to appeal to every type of golfer—plus handicaps all the way to your 20-somethings.
Needless to say, creating a wedge that can both appeal to and work for an audience that broad is no easy thing.
For average golfers, a good bit of what we want from our wedges can be summed up in a single word: spin. Fortunately, according to Price, the TaylorMade MG3 Wedges have a single setting, “spin cycle.”
About That RAW Face
For TaylorMade, the spin story starts with its patented RAW Face technology. To be sure, misconceptions about RAW Face and raw wedges are abundant and, previously, TaylorMade didn’t go too far out of its way to add any clarity.
Because of that and plenty of other mythology, a good number of golfers buy raw wedges because they rust, believing that rust adds spin.
Let’s try (again) to clear that up.
It’s important to understand that the actual benefits of RAW Face are two-fold. First, because only the face is unfinished, the rest of the wedge should look reasonably good for the duration of its life. Some golfers love gnarly-looking rusty wedges. Others prefer the look of a properly finished club. RAW face, by some measure, offers the best of both worlds.
The second benefit is the RAW Face itself. To be clear, it’s not that rust creates spin but the lack of finish means there’s nothing being applied over the grooves that could mess with the intended geometry.
Here’s how TaylorMade is phrasing the benefits of the MG3 Wedge’s RAW Face Technology:
Some manufacturers tweak their groove specs to account for the finish but most probably don’t. At a minimum, no finishing removes some risk of the grooves not performing as designed, which isn’t a bad thing.
As far as rust goes … anything that gets between the ball and grooves has the potential to degrade spin performance. Rust itself probably isn’t a good thing.
TaylorMade MG3 Wedge – Technical Details
A good bit of the other technical details aren’t revolutionary. We’re talking about the kind of “trajectory optimizing center of gravity” tweaks that most of the wedge industry is already leveraging.
To that end, TaylorMade is using a combination of think-thin face pads (strategically concentrating mass based on loft) and progressive hosel lengths (also based on lofts) to optimize the CG location such that lower-lofted clubs launch higher while higher-lofted clubs provide a more penetrating trajectory and more bite.
What’s new and different is the addition of raised microribs to the MG3 design. Billed as grooves between grooves, the microribs are there to boost spin on those little touch shots around the green. We’re talking about 40 yards and in where, according to TaylorMade, the grooves can add upwards of 200 rpm of spin.
At those distances, 200 rpm isn’t a small number so I’m intrigued. At the same time, I’m aware we’ve seen various takes on this type of technology before. With previous iterations, the additional textures offered tremendous benefit when it came to selling the wedge but, out on the course, they wore quickly and ultimately didn’t do much of anything.
For now, we’ll call the TaylorMade MG3 wedge microribs a curiosity.
Worth a mention: the TaylorMade MG3 wedge is cast from 8620. It’s pretty much the casting material of choice for anyone looking to maintain relatively soft feel without moving to a softer forged design that won’t offer the same durability which is kind of a big deal for wedge grooves.
And, yeah, as the name suggests, the TaylorMade MG3 wedge still offers the milled sole. If you don’t replace your wedges as often as a Tour pro, you’re unlikely to benefit directly from the technology but it does help ensure every sole comes off the line exactly as TaylorMade designed it.
TaylorMade MG3 Wedge – The Subtly Important Stuff
Most of the rest of the story is subtle, not necessarily sexy, stuff that golfers are only likely to sense on a subconscious level.
You might care that the first groove has been lowered closer to the leading edge. That request came from Tommy Fleetwood, though it probably won’t be the first thing that catches your eye.
Likewise, you’re unlikely to notice the changes to the toe shaping of the TaylorMade M3 wedge or the improved hosel transitions. These aren’t necessarily performance tweaks. Instead, it’s all about improving lines in the spirit of making MG3 less of a stand-alone thing and more something that looks like an extension of your iron set.
The idea is to flow from your set—whether that’s from a 9-iron or a pitching wedge into something that looks like an extension of that set. If that set happens to be a P-Series iron, I’m sure TaylorMade would think that’s all the better.
Like the new P-790 Iron, TaylorMade’s MG3 wedge is modern and minimalistic. It’s a pretty significant change that you’ll almost certainly notice, even if you can’t quite explain why it looks better.
TaylorMade MG3 Wedge – Loft/Bounce/Grind Options
MG3 will be offered in requisite low-, mid- and high-bounce options as well as the Tiger Grind.
Bounce is one of those things not every golfer wraps their head around so TaylorMade’s Price likes to talk in terms of resistance. A low bounce offers very little resistance to turf. It goes in and out with ease. A high-bounce wedge offers up to 20 percent more resistance. It’s not that it won’t dig; it’s that it won’t dig as easily.
Beyond that, the standard rules apply.
TaylorMade’s MG3 Low bounce (56, 58, 60 degrees) wedges work well for shallow attack angles and tight lies. The MG3 iteration features a slightly wider sole with a bit more trailing-edge relief and more camber. The leading edge sits close to ground. The objective is to get into the turf quickly and smoothly and get out just as fast.
The TaylorMade MG3 Wedge Standard bounce offering (46, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60 degrees) is the middle of the road, playable for most options. While it’s absolutely going to be the best fit for many golfers, it’s also the one you buy when you don’t know what to buy. With MG3, TaylorMade has tweaked the sole geometry to put more of the sole in play. It’s a tick wider (1mm), has a bit more camber and more trailing-edge relief for greater versatility around the green.
The MG3 High Bounce Wedge (52, 54, 56, 58, 60 degree ) is the requisite steeper attack, soft ground wedge. Like the other MG3 wedges, it has a wider sole (compared to MG2), more camber and additional trailing-edge relief. There’s also some additional leading-edge relief.
The TW (Tiger Woods Grind, in case that wasn’t obvious) is a sand and lob (56 and 60 degree) available through custom only. It’s described as a dual-sole wedge with heavy heel relief. On paper, it’s a high-bounce wedge but with the shaved heel, it can be opened up around the green for those who dare to hit the flop shot while there’s enough leading-edge relief to allow it to sit under the ball on tight lies. It’s inarguably the most versatile of TaylorMade’s grind but likely offers the most risk-reward.
Finish Options
The TaylorMade MG3 wedge will be available in Satin Raw Chrome and Satin Raw Chrome Black. Not every finish is available in every loft/bounce combination. Likewise, not every option is available in LH so check the spec sheet now to avoid disappointment later.
MG3 Wedges – What’s Missing
It’s not a stretch to say the MG3 Wedge is TaylorMade’s best looking to date. In a category where golfers don’t get fitted at anything approaching the rate they should, that goes a long way. Those little things like shape of toe and the way the TW grind sits under the ball also get me excited.
TaylorMade’s limitation with the MG3 wedge—as it is with most any challenger brand in the wedge category—is a comparative lack of options. Vokey and Callaway now offer well over 20 loft/bounce/grind combinations. TM at 17 trails a bit but the number is impressive given that company isn’t yet a force in the wedge category.
What the company offers will cover most golfers and then some (and again, most aren’t getting fitted anyway) but some niche offerings are MIA. Acknowledging that bounce numbers aren’t always clear cut, eight degrees worth is as low as TaylorMade goes and the grind count (four) trails both Vokey (eight) and Callaway (six).
For TaylorMade in the wedge category, there’s still work to be done but that also means there’s opportunity. If the MG line continues to grow in the market, additional options will almost certainly follow.
TaylorMade’s MG3 wedge projections are aggressive. The COVID boom paired with an expectation of increased share has TaylorMade more excited than ever about the wedge category. That excitement should be tempered by the awareness that SM9 is likely coming in January, Callaway is ready for a refresh as well and the future of the market isn’t entirely certain.
Still, confidence isn’t unwarranted. Increased consideration brings with it no guarantees but TaylorMade believes it can become a force in wedges.
TaylorMade MG3 Wedges – Pricing and Availability
Stock shaft for TaylorMade MG3 wedges are True Temper Tour Issue S200. Stock grip is Lampkin Crossline 360. Retail price is $180.
Retail availability begins Sept. 3.
For more information, visit TaylorMadeGolf.com.
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