TaylorMade MG4 Wedges

The new TaylorMade MG4 wedges are in the same position as any band that ever took the stage right after the Beatles, Sinatra or, if you’re a teenage girl, Taylor Swift.

How the hell do you follow an act like that?

The TaylorMade MG3 (MG for Milled Grind) wedge is the only back-to-back winner of MyGolfSpy’s Most Wanted wedge testing. It ran away and hid from the rest of the field in both 2021 and 2022, scoring highest for accuracy and spin and performing well in our wet-conditions testing.

On top of that, our testers loved the design and the feel.

MG3 was, in short, no joke.

“It put us in the conversation with consumers and with our Tour players,” says TaylorMade wedge designer Greg Cesario. “This was a different wedge than they’d ever seen from TaylorMade. And it put us in the 14- to 15-percent market share for wedges for the first time in our history.”

How do you improve on that?

Carefully. Very carefully.

TaylorMade MG4 Wedges: What’s New?

If you have the top-performing wedge two years running, your first goal is the wedge designers’ version of the Hippocratic Oath: Don’t f**k it up.

And if you can improve spin, feel, shaping and add some new bounce options while you’re at it, all the better.

“Wedges are all about spin,” says Cesario. “The more you can have a unique and improved spin story, whether it’s in dry or wet conditions, you’ve got something the marketplace will pay attention to.”

Specifically, TaylorMade is trying to improve MG3’s wet performance (fifth overall in 2022) while expanding fitting options with three new bounces and improving the looks and feel. The marketing departments call it “Tour Inspired,” but Cesario says Tour player feedback makes a difference.

“As you work with Tour players like Rory (McIlroy) and Colin Morikawa, these guys have subtle, little things they want to see in a wedge. Some of those things came out over the two years of MG3 being in their bags.”

The Spin on Spin

TaylorMade’s MG wedge franchise dates back to 2017. Back then, no one paid much attention to wet performance.

“Nobody talked about it,” says Cesario. “It was an issue, but people just played around it. Tour players knew they’d be hitting high knuckleballs in wet conditions. But even the best players can’t change the effects of water, no matter how good they hit it. They’re going to lose spin.”

MyGolfSpy’s wedge testing shows that every wedge loses spin in wet conditions, save for the unicorn known as the PING Glide. Over the past six years, nearly every serious wedge maker has made strides to mitigate spin loss with various face treatments.  Cleveland introduced HydraZip in its RTX 6 wedges this year while Mizuno’s Hydroflow Micro Grooves date back to 2019. PING’s secret sauce is its unique Hydropearl finish.

TaylorMade’s MG4 wedges feature something called Spin Tread Technology.

“It’s an aggressive laser-burning process,” says Cesario. “When you wipe your fingers across the face of these wedges, you’re going to feel what we call burrs and how aggressive they are.”

Before you scream about the USGA, know these wedges are fully conforming. What TaylorMade did was last-cut a series of 45-degree cavities on the face between the grooves. The idea is to create new paths to get moisture out of the way.

Do They Work?

The MG3 was a solid performer in our wedge testing but is Spin Tread Technology a substantial improvement? It’s no surprise to learn that TaylorMade’s own testing shows emphatically that it is.

Using a 56-degree wedge as a benchmark, TaylorMade says both the MG2 and MG3 (both with raw faces) were in the 10,800 rpm range with a 28-degree launch angle when dry. When wet, both lost roughly 28 percent worth of spin with the launch angle jumping to 32 degrees.

The new MG4 with Spin Tread technology has basically the same launch and spin characteristics as its older brothers when dry. But wet spin loss is only 14 percent.

Sure, wet spin retention with a new wedge is wonderful. But wedges wear. TaylorMade tested the MG4 against the MG2 and MG3 over 200 fairway/rough shots and 80 sand shots which the company says equates to approximately 40 rounds of golf. After the test, the used MG2 lost nearly 1,300 rpm worth of wet spin compared to a new wedge. The MG3 lost 300.

The new MG4, however, lost only 92 after the simulation.

The asterisk, of course, is that this is the company’s own testing.

“USGA regulates grooves and face roughness,” says Cesario. “The groove contributes about 70 to 80 percent of spin control. But when we get into wet conditions, the grooves need some help.”

TaylorMade MG4 Wedges: Looks and Feel

Yeah, looks and feel are entirely subjective and don’t really matter when it comes to actual performance. But they do matter in that six-inch golf course between your ears. So it’s fair to ask: what does a wedge need to feel like?

“It needs to feel solid,” says Cesario. “It needs to feel soft and it needs to feel consistent across the face. As Rory likes to say, it needs to feel like a deeper hit into the head without vibration.”

How do you do that with a single hunk of metal?

“We repositioned a fair amount of mass behind the ball and lower behind the ball,” says Cesario. “We didn’t affect launch or spin but we did bring the CG (center of gravity) down slightly.”

And if there’s one thing TaylorMade has nailed with the MG wedge line, it’s looks. By all accounts, it’s a pretty wedge.

“That’s probably the most critical part of wedge design that I would say is sometimes overlooked by many designers,” says Cesario. “Either they don’t have the eye for it or they don’t understand the subtle differences that shaping can have on player performance.”

Specifically, the MG4 features a slightly darker chrome satin finish to minimize glare. And the leading edge features a little bit more of a belly so it will sit better when you open the face. And that combines with some adjustments to flow from the hosel to the top line to the toe.

“You might see a little bigger look head compared to MG3,” says Cesario. “You’re definitely going to see a more rounded look. But, overall, it’s a subtle, nice improvement.”

Three New Grind Options

More so than any other club in your bag, wedges have to work for different swing types in different turf conditions. To round out the line, TaylorMade is adding three “sub-bounces” to its standard LB (Low Bounce), SB (Standard Bounce) and HW (High Bounce) grinds.

“We realized that we’re now a serious contender in the wedge marketplace,” says Cesario. “So let’s introduce some additional grinds that fit into each of those three buckets.

Specifically, TaylorMade is adding an LBV grind, an SBC grind and an HBW grind, available in 58- and 60-degree lofts only.

LBV stands for Low Bounce V-sole. It’s low bounce for greenside versatility with a narrow sole and aggressive leading-edge bounce and is designed for firmer conditions.

“This is for guys like Scheffler and Fleetwood,” says Cesario. “Guy with great hands playing tight lies that pick the ball and leave very shallow divots.”

SBC is Standard Bounce with a classic C-grind sole. It’s more versatile with more bounce and camber in the middle of the sole but with a softened trailing edge.

“It has kind of a hidden C-grind,” explains Cesario. “It’s all about opening the face on this sole.”

And HBW stands for High Bounce with a wide sole for softer conditions and easy bunker play.

“Good players can play this high bounce because it has a beautiful, symmetrical camber to it,” says Cesario. “Unbelievable bunker club, great off soft lies. A very versatile club.”

 The MG4 will also include a TW grind. It’s Tiger’s wedge and it’s not for everyone.

“He doesn’t like any offset,” says Cesario. “(The TW Grind) has a very small, narrow leading-edge bounce. It doesn’t protect you from digging but Tiger doesn’t need that.”

Final Thoughts, Price and Availability

Replacing a back-to-back Most Wanted wedge is a dicey proposition. The Mr. and Mrs. Havercamps among us won’t notice much difference. But Tour pros who’ve enjoyed success with the MG3 will invariably say something like, “Make it better, just don’t change anything.”

In other words: Don’t f**k it up.

The minor tweaks and refinements TaylorMade is giving the new MG4 wedge follow that playbook. While there’s no major departure in appearance, the three new grinds are welcome. We’ll put our samples through our own MGS dry and wet testing but potentially cutting wet-spin loss by 50 percent is an attention-getter.

The MG4 wedges come in standard lofts from 46 to 60 degrees in two-degree increments. The 46- through 52-degree models are in Standard Bounce only. Low Bounce is available in 56 through 60 degrees while High Bounce is available in 54 through 60 degrees. The new LBV, SBC and HBW grinds are available only in 58- and 60-degree models.

The Tiger Grind is available in 56- and 60-degree models.

If you want a dash of pizzaz, you can custom order MG4 in a black, copper or raw finish, with personalized stamping and paint fill.

The stock TaylorMade MG4 wedge line retails for $179.99. They’ll be available at retail on Sept. 8.

The MyMG4 custom line retails for $229.99 and is only available via TaylorMade’s website.

For more information, visit TaylorMadeGolf.com.

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