TaylorMade Golf can genuinely be described as the consummate all-around performer. This year has been memorable for the successful launches of the Qi10 series, giving golfers increased accuracy with explosive...
TaylorMade Golf can genuinely be described as the consummate all-around performer.
This year has been memorable for the successful launches of the Qi10 series, giving golfers increased accuracy with explosive power.
More recently, TaylorMade has also successfully refreshed its P.770 and P.7CB irons to critical acclaim. Within weeks, TaylorMade also introduced us to the fourth generation of its Hi-Toe golf wedges.
TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges bookend a comprehensive lineup of highly engineered wedges that provide ample performance and variety for golfers of all abilities.
For the purists, there were the limited-release MG4 Raw TW wedges featuring grinds inspired by those used personally by Tiger Woods.
The standard MG4 wedges are also classically designed and offer a broader range of grind and bounce options to suit more golfers.
The Hi-Toe design offers something a little different for golfers. Its looks can be polarising, but nothing should be taken from what the Hi-Toe wedge is engineered to deliver.
With this in mind, join us as we dive into the new Hi-Toe 4 wedges. To help you decide whether your game could benefit from adding one or several Hi-Toe wedges to your bag, we’ll cover the following areas:
The design principle TaylorMade has engineered into the Hi-Toe is not new. The original concept can be traced back to the 1980s and the hugely successful Ping Eye 2 irons, which featured a high-toe concept and wide soles in the wedge designs.
Callaway updated and reintroduced the design in 2015 with Phil Mickelson’s help.
TaylorMade introduced its first Hi-Toe wedge design in 2018 and finished it with a distinctive copper finish, transcending into the newly released Hi-Toe 4 design.
So, what’s the story behind the design, and how does it help golfers?
When we miss the green with an approach shot, we can be faced with a variety of shots where we are required to manipulate the clubface to hit a shot with the desired trajectory.
If we require more elevation, we opt for our most lofted wedge and add more loft by opening the clubface. Research found that opening the face started to affect the quality of the strike, with many shots coming out of the toe area of the clubface.
As we know from conventional design, irons and wedge grooves are framed in the centre of the clubface, so if we are striking lob shots toward the toe, we aren’t getting the full amount of spin because part of the strike could be coming from an area of the clubface without grooves.
This theory also holds for bunker shots and shots out of the rough, where guaranteeing a consistent strike becomes more difficult.
Extending the grooves across the face helps you get more consistent spin across the face if you are a player who plays a lot of shots where you like to open the clubface.
Professional golfers hit their golf wedges much lower than we think because lower-flying shots are much easier to control and hit the specified distances they want to hit. The spin they generate comes from the consistent quality of their ball striking.
The distinctive high-toe design raises the centre of gravity, helping us hit those lower-flying wedge shots that are still loaded with spin.
Now we understand more about the design principles behind full-face high-toe wedges, what else is TaylorMade bringing to the party with the new Hi-Toe 4 wedges?
The critical area of focus for any new wedge is the technology story about what will give us monumental stopping power from a variety of lies.
TaylorMade answers this question with its Spin Tread technology.
Spin Tread is a process using laser etching to roughen the surface of the face between the grooves. The angled tread pattern created by the laser etching helps channel moisture away from the face.
In other words, Spin Tread is designed to work similarly to the treads on your car’s tyres. The tread helps move moisture away from the surface, creating more grip so you don’t spin off the road in wet conditions.
Removing moisture from the face of the Hi-Toe 4 helps ensure consistent spin numbers and stopping power whether you are playing in wet or dry conditions.
To aid grip further, the face is left in a “raw” state, which makes the laser-etching process easier.
TaylorMade’s MG4 wedges share Spin Tread, so if you are thinking of combining wedges to make your ideal setup, you’ll experience consistent feel and stopping power.
In previous generations of Hi-Toe wedges, TaylorMade cut cavities low in the rear of the head, which helped to move the centre of gravity (CG) higher.
With the Hi-Toe 4, TaylorMade has reduced the size of the cavity and placed it towards the heel of the wedge. TaylorMade has also engineered a more prominent toe pad in the rear to position the CG exactly where it needs to be.
Combining these two features helps reduce the launch angle but maximises the spin from the Hi-Toe 4.
It’s fair to say that with the introduction of the Hi-Toe 4, TaylorMade has softened the looks of the original version. While the appearance can still polarise opinion, if you are a player who likes opening the face on your wedges, you’ll be happy with how the Hi-Toe 4 looks.
At address, the Hi-Toe 4 looks to have a bigger profile than other wedges, which again will come down to personal preferences of whether you like it or not. TaylorMade has coloured the bottom groove gold to help you line up the head more effectively and the copper look.
Speaking of the copper look, it is designed to wear over time, which, combined with the raw face, will give the Hi-Toe 4 a more distinguished look without it going too “rusty.”
The Hi-Toe 4 golf wedges are available from 50 degrees through to 60 degrees.
The 50 and 52-degree wedges feature normal face grooves, as you are unlikely to open the face of these lower-lofted wedges.
The full face grooves appear from the 54-degree wedge up the 60-degree wedge.
Grind Options
Grind and bounce options are important because of the diversity of golf courses we play and our favoured types of shots, where we either open or close the clubface. Having the right bounce and grind ensures the right contact with the ball and turf interaction.
TaylorMade has put together five different grind options to provide flexibility in choosing the correct Hi-Toe 4 wedge to use. The five grinds are:
Aimed at the widest variety of golfers, the ATS is suitable for all types of swing and course conditions and comes with a mid-bounce leading edge.
It is ideal if you are not much of a “digger” and play a lot of golf on links-style courses where the turf is generally harder than parkland equivalents. The ATV’s asymmetric sole provides more bounce when the face is opened. ATV is available in 56, 58, and 60 degrees.
Newly introduced for the Hi-Toe 4 golf wedges, the ATX features a leading edge designed not to dig into the ground, a midsole section designed to enhance stability, and a sharp trailing sole to help get through the ground effectively.
The ATX is a good fit for most course conditions and is suitable for steeper swingers who like to take a divot. It is available from 56 to 60 degrees.
ATC provides the lowest bounce in the lineup (eight degrees), making it more effective on firmer golf courses where the ball lies tighter on the turf.
It is a good choice for golfers with a shallower swing profile and is available in the 58 and 60-degree models.
ATW offers the widest sole out of all the models and the highest bounce at 14 degrees. The ATW sole is available on the 56 through 60-degree wedges and will favour golfers who get a little steep into the ball.
If you are looking for new golf wedges, the most important factor must be how they look and feel.
Because we can play a lot of feel shots, especially with our more lofted wedges, the idea of custom-fitted golf wedges surely isn’t going to help.
This school of thought is, of course, wrong.
We class our wedges as scoring clubs because they can help create birdie chances or help save us from running up a high number on the scorecard. Understanding our wedge game really does make a big difference.
TaylorMade, along with other manufacturers such as Callaway, Cobra, Mizuno, and Vokey, offers wedges with a variety of bounces and grinds designed to help us improve our ball striking, from full shots to delicate lobe shots.
The question to ask is, if you haven’t been on a launch monitor, how do you know which bounce and grind option is right for you?
When you’re booked in for a custom fitting session, we can precisely track your angle of attack into the ball. Knowing whether you are more of a digger or a sweeper will help us pinpoint the right kind of bounce and grind you need.
An experienced fitter isn’t just relying on the numbers they see from the launch monitor. They will also ask you about the different types of shots you like to play around the green and the different golf courses you play.
Another crucial factor for good wedge play is consistent distance gapping in your wedges for full shots. If you currently game a 50-degree wedge and your next wedge is 56 degrees, you are going to be compromised on some of your approach shots because of the difference in distance between these two wedges.
Looks and feel do play a part in what you choose. Although the Hi-Toe 4 golf wedges have been refined in shape, the full-face grooves can still prove to be a visual challenge for some golfers.
A solution to this is blending your wedge makeup. Using TaylorMade as an example, you could opt for the more traditional-looking MG4 wedges for your pitching wedge, gap wedge, and maybe your sand iron, and put a Hi-Toe 4 wedge in as your lob wedge.
You would not lose spin performance as both wedges employ TaylorMade’s Spin Tread technology. The design of the Hi-Toe 4 gives you the added advantage if you do like to open the face for bunker shots and lob shots.
Specialist wedge shafts, available from manufacturers such as True Temper and KBS, can help improve spin and launch further.
Even fitting the right grip can help improve your feel around the greens. All of these options are considered when custom-fitting to find your perfect wedge setup.
TaylorMade’s Hi-Toe wedge has been a success, and the fourth generation refines the design further while maintaining the design advantages offered by the original models.
Full-face models like the Hi-Toe 4 generate consistent spin for golfers who like to open the face to execute flop shots or generate more elevation for bunker shots.
The centre of gravity is designed to sit higher in the face to reduce trajectory while maintaining the correct spin levels, giving you more control on fuller approach shots into the green.
If you do like to experiment with different shot types, the Hi-Toe 4 wedges are worth looking at if you are in the market for new wedges. TaylorMade also provides a comprehensive array of grinds and bounce to ensure that every type of golfer can generate consistent strike and spin levels.
At Nine By Nine Golf, we fully believe that custom-fitted golf wedges will help golfers of all capabilities shave shots off their scores.
If you visit our website, you can easily book a session with one of our experienced fitters. Then, you can test the new TaylorMade Hi-Toe 4 wedges and see how well they can match your game.
The Hi-Toe 4 wedges can be ordered directly from our website. All lofts and custom options are available to choose from and will be built in-house at Nine By Nine Golf.
We’d be happy to help if you have any further questions about the TaylorMade Hi-Toe 4 wedges or how custom-fitted golf clubs can benefit your game.
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