Ever since seeing some MG prototype wedges arrive in the bag of TaylorMade’s staff professionals a few months back, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on what was to become the new MG5 wedges. A simplistic, yet premium aesthetic, is matched with a new forged head to offer a buttery-soft feel through impact. So, are the TaylorMade MG5’s in the conversation to become one of the best wedges of 2025? I took them out on the golf course and used my Foresight Sports GC3 launch monitor to gather data and analyze their performance.
While I loved the TaylorMade MG4 wedges, there was one main thing I was hoping would be changed with the MG5 wedges. That is the shaping, specifically the leading edge. To hear this leading edge has been rounded out a little more was music to my ears.
On the MG4’s I just found it to be very straight, and while this was fine for shots played with the face square to the target, I felt a little uncomfortable when opening up the face to hit more creative shots. This leading edge now sits beautifully on the ground behind the ball and looks as though I can slide the club under the ball, whether I’m opening or closing the face. This curvature is also replicated on the top line, which now flows much better into the hosel, rather than the straighter top line that ran directly into the hosel with the MG4.
Of course, the main storyline with these wedges is the fact that they are softer than any of TaylorMade’s previous wedges, thanks to being forged from a billet of soft carbon steel. The R&D team at TaylorMade had spoken to their tour players and concluded that a wedge can never be soft enough. The softer the feeling, the more control, and ultimately, this leads to better scores. I noticed this feeling as soon as I started clipping shots away. The ball feels as though it stays on the face forever, which helped improve my distance control when chipping and pitching.
To combat the extremely soft feeling forged head, TaylorMade has also introduced new Saw-Milled grooves, which push the groove design as close as possible to their legal limit. These grooves have steeper walls and sharper radii to help grip the ball and produce high levels of spin. Using TaylorMade TP5 Golf balls and one of the best launch monitors on the market - the Foresight GC3, I hit a series of 50-yard shots using the 54° wedge. I saw consistently high levels of spin, with the ball dancing around the pin once it had hit the deck. The lowest amount of total spin I saw within my 10-shot selection was 7625rpm, with the highest being 8274rpm, and my launch angle remained in a solid window at around 27/28°.
Despite living in England, believe it or not, I’ve been starved of wet weather to try the new Spin Tread Technology on the raw face of the MG5 wedges. This is a reimagined version of what appeared on the MG4 wedges, and TaylorMade is claiming it helps deal with moisture management on the face up to 13% better than on the MG4 wedges.
The idea is to help disperse water on the face, while the grooves can still grip the surface of the ball. This is supposed to also help with launch conditions when playing in wet conditions, rather than seeing the ball ride the face, launching high with less spin. I can say that I saw a minimal drop in spin when hitting shots from the rough and the bunkers, which is a fantastic confidence boost when finding yourself in a tricky short-sided situation.
I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed testing these new TaylorMade MG5 wedges due to the updated look at address as well as the control I felt I had on the ball around the greens. Depending on the ground conditions you play on or your angle of attack with a wedge in your hand, there are six different grind options to help you choose the best MG5 wedge for your game. I love the SB grind in my 50° and 54° while using the wide-sole SX grind in my 60° to help me hit every shot I need to around the greens and make sure the leading edge doesn’t dig too much through the turf at impact.
While I couldn’t recommend any more for any golfer to try and test these wedges in the higher lofts, I do feel as though mid-high handicapper golfers would benefit from a more forgiving wedge in a 52° or 50° due to the bladed nature of these wedges. Those who lack speed and consistency of strike may just need a little more ‘pop’ out of a gap wedge.
The TaylorMade MG5 wedges will retail at $199/£179 (£199/$219 for the TW grind) and will be available for purchase in stores and online starting August 7th, 2025.
