TaylorMade MG4 Wedges Review: "Excellent improvements to a winning formula"

TaylorMade MG4 wedges: Key Features

• Spin Tread Technology: laser etching that helps channel water away from the face to retain spin in wet conditions
• Raw Face: Unplated material will rust over time to preserve consistent spin
• Refined Shaping: Tour inspired shape and design focused on perceived look at address
• Milled grind soles: produce optimal turf interaction and consistent performance

Some products just need small refinements rather than whole-scale changes, and the TaylorMade MG3 wedges certainly fell into that category.

Used by some of the best players in the world, including Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy, the MG3 wedges were some of the best on offer in 2022, so TaylorMade has made the smart decision to only tweak a winning formula rather than going back to the drawing board completely for MG4. Those tweaks have worked so well, in fact, we've added the MG4 wedges straight into our best wedges guide.

The key change that the brand has made for MG4 is to improve the wedge's performance in all conditions. And by all conditions, we are mainly talking about the rain. Spin retention is key when the club and ball get wet, so TaylorMade has addressed the issue by incorporating new technology called Spin Tread. 

We will get into what Spin Tread does later in the review, but it's the key tech change this year, so deserves a special mention of its own.

Additional updates include a slight increase in mass behind the striking area of the club to ever so slightly lower the CG of each wedge to improve feel and create a more solid striking sensation. 

The MG4 wedges will also be available in some additional sole grinds. Traditionally, TaylorMade offers its MG wedges in four different sole grinds, low bounce, standard bounce, high bounce and a Tiger Woods grind option.

With the release of MG4, however, three more grind options are available to give golfers greater versatility and choice when selecting their wedge setup.

The three new grind offerings include standard bounce C, standard bounce V and high bounce W, which offers a huge 13 degrees of bounce. 

So, with a variety of new features and grind options available, we took the MG4 wedges out on the course to see how they performed.

Let's get into it.

TaylorMade MG4 Wedges: Looks and Feel

These wedges feel fantastic. From the first shot to the last, the feel at impact was incredibly solid, and you can really feel the ball grip the face and give a ripping sensation as spin is imparted.

This level of responsiveness is not merely restricted to full shots, though. When we tested these wedges on more delicate shots around the green, you can really feel the ball interacting nicely off the face, which gives you excellent control on short chips and approaches.

Another thing to note is how soft yet solid these wedges feel, with the additional weight behind the striking area allowing the ball to really pop off the face at impact.   

It's fair to say that these wedges feel fairly similar to the MG3, but the new features that have been incorporated into MG4 do certainly improve the feel, especially on full shots where you get a really noticeable grippy feel, thanks to the new laser etching between grooves.

In terms of looks, the MG4 wedges are probably the best-looking offering we've seen from TaylorMade. The Tour-inspired teardrop shape looks fantastic sat behind the ball with the satin finish giving the head a beautiful premium look and feel.

The MG4 logo is in white and green, which we really liked, it reminded us a lot of The Masters, and who doesn't like to be regularly reminded of the lush fairways of August National every time they look at their wedges?

The back of the club is kept very clean in terms of aesthetics. The subtle TaylorMade logo is placed near the toe of the club, with the MG logo placed close to the heel. A channel runs through the back of the blade, giving it a sleek, contoured appearance, which contrasts beautifully against the textured milled sole.

TaylorMade MG4: Forgiveness and Performance

Before we go into how these wedges performed, it's worth first diving a little deeper into Spin Tread, TaylorMade's new technology designed to retain spin even in wet conditions. 

The technology works in a similar way to the tread on a tire, the new laser-etched treatment between the grooves creates space for water to exit so the face can have more direct contact with the ball. The result should be improvements to wet spin rates even when the ball and club are absolutely soaked. 

One thing we can confirm is that this technology works an absolute treat. During our testing period, we really wanted to max out the wetness of our club to put Spin Tread through its paces, so we dunked our wedges in the nearest pond. The results were very impressive. With full shots from roughly 110 yards, we were still able to get the ball to stand to attention on the green and rag back with plenty of spin.

There was honestly no noticeable drop-off in performance when the clubs were wet, and this will make a massive difference for players who regularly play in wet conditions or even early in the morning when there is dew on the ground. 

Wet performance was undoubtedly the biggest takeaway from testing, but the MG4 wedges are exceptional in all areas of performance.

On full shots, the wedges produced a beautiful ball flight that was perhaps slightly lower than other wedges on the market, but we really enjoyed this as it gave us the feel that we had better control over each shot. 

With half shots and more delicate pitches, you could really feel the face grip the ball, which allowed for excellent control around the greens and fantastic workability. Moving between lofts and grinds, we were also really impressed with the versatility on offer. 

For high shots that we wanted to land soft, we regularly used the 58-degree HB which has 12 degrees of bounce, and the club slid effortlessly under the ball, allowing us to execute tricky flop shots with ease. 

With regard to forgiveness, these wedges are some of the best. There is always going to be a drop-off in performance from off-centre strikes, but the MG4s did a fantastic job of retaining both spin and distance when struck from nearer the toe or heel.

Sometimes bladed wedges can be slightly intimidating for high handicappers, but the MG4s could easily be utilised by golfers of any ability.

Should you buy the TaylorMade MG4 wedges?

If you were a fan of TaylorMade's MG3 wedges but think a fresh set is in order, then we would highly recommend getting fit for a set of MG4s. While the refinements that have been made are subtle, the addition of Spin Tread will make a big difference for a lot of golfers. 

The performance increase in wet conditions is a big upgrade and one that could be especially helpful in the UK, where we don't seem to be able to go one week without a torrential downpour.

Overall these wedges are some of the best we have tested and would make an excellent addition to anyone's bag. 

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