It’s been almost a decade since Callaway introduced golf to the original X-Forged Jaws wedges. There is no other golf club in my (admittedly failing) memory bank that was possessed of a more appropriate name. The grooves on this thing were like sharper than anything I’d ever played. Perhaps, a little too sharp; these things shredded golf balls. It got to the point that I tried to avoid hitting full shots with any of my wedges as they rendered the golf ball nearly unplayable.
Today, thankfully, we now know this was a bad thing. Not only did it destroy perfectly good golf balls, but the shearing motion that bit into the ball and would shred the cover, actually cost us spin since the shearing led to the ball slipping while the grooves were tearing into the cover. It would have been more effective if the groove held the ball in place while in contact with the clubface.
Enter the new Callaway MD5 Jaws wedge.
The most salient features of the MD5 Jaws wedge are its grooves. The draft angle (where the clubface’s surface transitions to the groove) is much more acute than the grooves on the MD4. The new grooves meet the legal limits of the USGA and R&A but are on the edge. The grooves are also extremely hard to cut. Each clubface takes 10 full minutes to complete and that doesn’t include the work to make the microgrooves. Initial prototypes suffered a 50-percent failure rate, with that many failing the USGA specifications.
Callaway’s solution was to change the cutting tool after every 15 wedges. Now that’s not as frequently as a few other manufacturers but more frequently than most but the net effect is the consistency of the new grooves and the promise that production tolerances remain as tight as possible from wedge to wedge.
The MD5 wedges also feature Callaway’s Groove-in-Groove Technology which saw production in the MD4 wedges. These aren’t grooves, per se, but more like micro-ridges that provide additional points of contact with the golf ball. All told, if anyone’s counting, that’s a total of 84 points of contact with the golf ball. It shouldn’t make a huge difference on good hits in dry conditions, but on damp fairways, they could make a huge difference.
The effect of the improved face design is 500 rpm more spin than the MD4 on a series of shots from 40 yards. Launch angle is down 1 degree, something that better players will appreciate.
Another change this year is that Callaway has refined the shapes of the MD5. The 58- and 60-degree wedges are the same as before, but the lower lofted wedges are slightly more compact to mimic the shape of an iron. The smaller heads increase the club’s ability to flight the ball better on full swings. This also smooths the transition from the irons to the wedges, especially if you carry the 46- or 48-degree MD5 instead of the set’s pitching wedge.
The MD5 Jaws wedges now boast five different sole grinds; four were carried over from the MD4 with the new addition being a low bounce variation of the wide-soled W-grind. This grind features relief grinding on the heel of the wedge to facilitate opening up the face at address.
The other grinds weren’t just carried over, either. From the C-grind to the W (wide) sole wedges, everything has been tweaked. There is more heel relief across the board, allowing just a bit more versatility without compromising the grind’s intended function.
The skinny on the grinds is as follows: The C and X grinds both feature significant relief around the heel and toe of the wedge. The C works best for golfers with a shallow angle of attack or that play in firm conditions. The X-grind is appropriate for golfers that like to play wedge shots with an open clubface but are steeper coming into the golf ball or play in softer conditions. The W high remains the high bounce option for golfers that play most of their shots with a square clubface and have a steep angle of attack or play in soft conditions.
The W low features the same wide sole as the W high but slimmed down somewhat with some heel relief and less bounce. It’s ideal for golfers that are shallow into the golf ball or that play in firm conditions. The S-grind is Callaway’s most versatile grind. It features a ribbon milled across the back end of the club and mild heel relief. Although it’s best played square to the target line, mild heel relief allows you a bit of creativity.
With wedges the adage is that, “bounce is your friend.” With the MD5 Jaws wedges, the gap between the lowest bounce offering and their highest bounce offering is a mere 4 degrees. Now, that isn’t as big a gap as other manufacturers offer and golfers that require more or less bounce will have to look elsewhere. But in initial testing, the wedges seem to work as needed. Only extended bag time will tell whether the grind designs can make up for any perceived deficiencies in the range of bounce available.
Callaway has made great strides with the quality and range of wedges that they offer. It might come as a shock to some, but Callaway is now the No. 2 wedge on Tour (Titleist’s Vokey wedges own the top spot by a large margin) displacing Cleveland Golf. That kind of demand from the best players in the world is endorsement enough of the quality of Callaway wedges.
Callaway has done everything right and little wrong with the MD5 Jaws wedges. They have gone over every detail of the wedge, from grooves to grind, in an effort to make the best wedge that you can buy. From where we sit, they’ve hit their target.
If you’re interested in this or the other new releases from Callaway, head down to the Transview Philippines proshops in Solaire, Podium and at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club today.