Callaway JAWS MD5 wedges provide extra bite

By Drew Mahowald -- 2nd Swing Staff Writer

It happens far too often during a round of golf. You’re faced with a short approach shot to the hole and anticipate that, with good contact, your ball will check up near the hole and give you a good chance at successfully getting up and down.

However, instead of checking up near the hole, your ball instead scoots several feet past the hole, and you’re faced with a lengthy putt.

Callaway Golf has attempted to solve this issue with its creation and release of the Jaws Mack Daddy 5 (MD5) wedges. Master wedge designer Roger Cleveland made some major adjustments to his construction method, particularly with the grooves, while maintaining the same classic look and feel that have made Callaway wedges so popular.

The new grooves in the Jaws MD5 wedges are designed with a 37-degree wall angle, a radical change from the five-degree wall angle featured in the MD4 wedges. This change results in sharper grooves that will grab the ball more at impact, generating more spin.

Callaway’s Groove-in-Groove technology, which consists of smaller grooves placed within the larger grooves to create even more spin, is also present in the Jaws MD5 design. Overall, the grooves provide 84 different contact points with the ball, promoting short game control.

Cleveland and his team are especially confident in the performance of the grooves within 80 yards and say golfers should expect the one-hop-and-stop action that amateurs see on display regularly from tour professionals.

That’s quite a claim to make. So, when I had the chance to take out a couple of Jaws MD5 wedges out to a local practice area and test them for myself, that was the first shot I hit.

When I began to hit some shots, the first thing I noticed was the appearance looking down at address. It’s a simple, classic look with an effective satin platinum chrome finish. For some, the Jaws MD5 wedges would be easy to look at with the growing popularity of high-toe wedge shapes.

In order to provide context, it’s worth noting that my current wedge setup consists of a 50-, 54-, and 58-degree wedge, and I was able to use 56- and 60-degree Jaws MD5 wedges for testing. Because of this, it took a few swings to get the distance control down.

However, I immediately noticed the performance from the grooves. From fairway lies in that 70-80 yard range, I like to hit a lower shot that spins rather than loft the ball into the air. Every one of my approaches hit with the Jaws MD5 either took the one hop and stopped or even took a hop and started retreating back toward me.

While some of the added bite I noticed may have just been due to the presence of fresh grooves, I was nonetheless impressed by the spin the Jaws MD5 wedges generated from that distance.

The 56-degree wedge I tested featured an S-Grind, designed with moderate bounce and added heel relief, that performed well on full shots. The 56-degree S-Grind also appeared to have a smaller footprint at address, as Callaway has constructed the lower-lofted Jaws MD5 wedges to look and play more like short irons, whereas the higher-lofted wedges feature more of a traditional lob wedge shape.

Around the greens, the 60-degree Jaws MD5 wedge with the new low-bounce W-Grind was superb on every type of shot. I was especially surprised by its performance from the bunker given that it is a low-bounce sole grind.

When I’m faced with a fragile wedge shot near the green, I typically like to open the clubface to give myself added height and a softer landing. The Jaws MD5 wedge allowed this with no restrictions, and the club was able to glide through the turf among a variety of different lies.

Additionally, I was impressed by the feel and sound. At contact on every shot, full swing or shorter swing around the green, contact felt soft but solid. Furthermore, the sound was generally a mild thud that did not resemble a clicky noise. Callaway forged the Jaws MD5 wedges out of 8620 mild carbon steel to produce the excellent sound and feel.

The Callaway Jaws MD5 wedges check all the boxes, but the key takeaway is the added spin that golfers are in for if they put a set of these in their bags. The new groove construction implemented by Cleveland and his team has helped deliver the promise of more control and more spin around the greens.

If you find yourself struggling with wedge shots running out too far past the hole, the Callaway Jaws MD5 might be worth a look.

After all, Callaway did name the MD5 wedges ‘Jaws’ for a reason. You should expect some extra bite.