The MG5 isn't a reskin of the MG4. It's the first wedge in TaylorMade's Milled Grind line to be fully forged from soft carbon steel, rather than cast. That single change touches feel, groove geometry, and shaping all at once. Whether it's worth the price gap over a now-discounted MG4 depends on how much of that you'll actually notice on the course.

The scorecard

Category
MG4
MG5
Build
Cast head, milled face and sole
Fully forged from soft carbon steel, a first for the MG line
Grooves
Milled grooves, RAW face
New saw-milled grooves, steeper walls, pushed closer to the USGA limit
Wet-spin claim
Baseline: TaylorMade cites roughly 4,200 rpm of spin swing between wet and dry lies
TaylorMade claims 13% more spin retention in wet conditions, narrowing that swing to roughly 2,800 rpm
Leading edge
Straighter, some testers found it less forgiving on open-face shots
Rounded, refined with input from Collin Morikawa
Grind options
Broad lineup including SB, SC, SX, LB, HB and more
Six grinds: SB, SC, SX, LB, HB, TW
Feel
Well-reviewed, but consistently described as firmer than MG5
Reviewers describe it as softer and more connected at impact
Price position
Frequently discounted now that MG5 has launched
Priced at the top of TaylorMade's wedge lineup

Forged vs. cast: does it actually matter?

Forging is a manufacturing process, not a marketing sticker. It changes the grain structure of the steel, which is why forged clubs are consistently described as feeling softer and more responsive at impact than cast equivalents. TaylorMade built the MG5 around this specifically after feedback from tour players, including Collin Morikawa, that a forged wedge would close the feel gap between their wedges and their forged irons. Reviewers who tested both generations back to back consistently note the MG5 feels softer and more connected, while acknowledging the MG4 was never a bad-feeling wedge to begin with. It's a difference of degree, not category.

Grooves and wet-weather spin

Both wedges use TaylorMade's Spin Tread Technology, a laser-etched face pattern designed to channel moisture away from the ball at impact, similar in concept to tire tread on a wet road. The MG5's contribution is a new saw-milling process for the grooves themselves, producing steeper walls and sharper radii than the MG4's grooves, pushed nearer to the USGA's legal limit for groove geometry. TaylorMade's own figures claim this narrows the spin gap between wet and dry lies by about 13%, translating to roughly 2,800 rpm of variation instead of 4,200. That's a manufacturer claim rather than independent lab data, but the mechanism behind it (sharper grooves plus the same moisture-channeling face texture) is a real, explainable change rather than a marketing number pulled from nowhere.

Treat the 13% figure as TaylorMade's own reported number. It's a specific, testable claim rather than vague marketing language, which makes it more credible than most spec-sheet claims. It just wasn't produced by an independent test lab.

Shape and grinds

The MG5's leading edge is more rounded than the MG4's, a change several reviewers link directly to Collin Morikawa's feedback during development. In practice, this shows up most when the face is opened for greenside shots. A straighter leading edge like the MG4's can look and feel less forgiving in that position, even if the number itself is small. Both wedges offer a wide range of grinds to fit different attack angles and turf conditions; the MG5 organizes its six grinds (SB, SC, SX, LB, HB, TW) around player feedback from tour staff, while the MG4's lineup is broader but slightly less curated.

Island Greens Pick

If you play in consistently wet or variable conditions and want the softest feel available, MG5 is worth the premium. The forged construction and updated grooves are real, explainable upgrades, not just a new paint job. If budget matters more than the last 13% of wet-weather spin, a discounted MG4 uses the same core Spin Tread concept and remains a genuinely capable wedge. You're giving up refinement, not the underlying technology.

Nelly Korda and Charley Hull both carry MG4 wedges, confirmed directly on TaylorMade's own tour player pages. Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood have moved on to MG5, corroborated across MyGolfSpy, National Club Golfer, and WITBhub, and Morikawa's feedback specifically shaped the forged construction that separates the two generations.

Check MG4 price Check MG5 price

Want to know how MG5 stacks up against Vokey and Cleveland, and what bounce actually means for your swing? Read Wedge Bounce, Explained.