A decade into dealing with the USGA's 2009 groove regulations, Callaway Golf has decided to rethink its approach to working within the confines of what a groove can look like. The result of that new approach is the Jaws MD5 wedge line, which the company unveiled this week.
The big change is in the shape of the grooves themselves. The USGA equipment guidelines require grooves to have certain characteristics in terms of depth, shape and sharpness. Most wedge grooves are more U-shaped with sharp radii designed to impart maximum spin. With the Jaws MD5 wedges, Callaway lead designer Roger Cleveland thought of changing the angles inside the grooves of the higher-lofted wedges, with the angle going away from the base of the groove and increasing to 37 degrees over the 20 degrees found on the higher-lofted wedges in the MD5 line and throughout the MD4 line.
The grooves aren't V-shaped, but the bigger angles gave Callaway room to engineer a sharper edge, which the company says is the true key to adding extra spin.
In other words, the emphasis in designing and producing these wedges is on the part near where the ball hits first, not where it hits last. Callaway says that shift in thinking has led to a wedge with sharper edges that are the same from wedge to wedge.
On top of the new groove design, Callaway has brought forward its groove-in-groove face roughening design found in the MD4 line. These raised ridges in between the grooves on the face are designed to create additional friction points and impart more spin.
In total, the Callaway Jaws MD5 line features 23 different loft-bounce combinations. The loft range is 46-64 degrees, accommodating players with sets in the stronger range of lofts to help close gaps. The new groove design is available in 56-64 degrees, with 14 total options.
Grinds have been introduced or modified, including a new low-bounce wide W grind. At the request of tour staff who wanted versatility of the whole sole, Cleveland designed the new W grind with heel relief and a sole taper in a 58- and 60-degree wedge. The C grind has been refined with lower bounce, a wider middle portion of the sole and more heel relief (meaning it's shaped instead of flatter) for additional versatility.
The S, X and original W grinds are available, too.
The Callaway Jaws MD5 wedges are available Sept. 20 for $170 each with a 115-gram True Temper Tour Issue steel shaft, an 85-gram Project X Catalyst graphite shaft or a lightweight UST Recoil graphite shaft.
