Is This Wedge The Ultimate Short-Game Weapon?

Short game is all about confidence and control, and having a club that meets your specific needs both technically and visually is half of the battle. With five grinds available, the new TaylorMade Hi-Toe 5 wedge can easily be fitted into any golfer's bag and joins the MG5 model as a forged wedge option from the brand.

I recently got my hands on them and put them through their paces in the Golf Monthly performance lab as well as out on the golf course to see if you should consider them as a new addition to your set-up.

When it comes to the aesthetics, I am a massive fan of the clean backing to the wedge and the subtle T-Bug logo positioned neatly at the top. It gives the club a distinctly premium, uncluttered look in the bag, while the Copper finish demands attention. You can also opt for Satin Chrome through custom orders, or explore the MyHi-Toe 5 configurator for Charcoal Black and Tour Raw finishes.

As someone who has typically played a smaller-profile wedge, the Hi-Toe 5 is quite the change visually when you set it down behind the ball. The expanded toe area and larger overall profile take a brief moment to get used to.

However, once I started hitting shots, I understood how the performance benefits of having those full-face grooves make complete sense, particularly when opening the face on finesse and bunker shots. Having that massive hitting surface instantly boosts your confidence when resting the club behind the ball and will definitely please golfers who have been struggling with their short games and want one of the most forgiving wedges.

Each wedge in the Hi-Toe 5 family is now fully forged from soft carbon steel - something completely new for the Hi-Toe franchise, helping deliver a softer, much more responsive feel at impact. The precision tolerances of the forged head produce incredibly consistent feedback, something that tour players look for in their wedges.

The Hi-Toe 5 wedges also benefit from the same full-face saw-milled grooves found in the MG5, extending them from the heel to the toe for versatility when you want to get creative around the greens.

As someone who likes to open the face up around the greens and especially from deep bunkers and cut across the ball, I often find my strike pattern leans towards the toe. After just a few shots, I noticed how much more my ball was grabbing on the green from these shots than with my traditional faced wedges.

I took the 54° Hi-Toe 5 wedge into the Golf Monthly performance lab to use my Foresight Sports GC3 launch monitor, in order to gather some data on these wedges and truly see what the new design has to offer. I hit a series of targeted 50-yard pitch shots to gauge the consistency, flight, and spin capabilities.

The soft feel on the 54° wedge I tested helped me regularly dial in that 50-yard range I was looking for in order to gather my data. The ball speed sat at 52.9 mph, and the wedge produced a wonderfully controlled launch angle of 26.9° - a degree or two lower than I have seen in some of the best wedges I have tested recently, such as the Cleveland RTZ2 and Ping S259. The peak height measured out at a trajectory of 27 feet, which was nice and low, where I felt as though I was in full control of the flight.

Generating over 7600 rpm of spin on a 50-yard pitch is exactly where this wedge proves its worth. The combination of the sharp saw-milled grooves and the soft forged feel allowed me to flight the ball nicely, where I felt as though I was in full control, all while generating serious stopping power.

With five sole grind options - including the incredibly versatile ATS that I preferred and the wide-soled ATW for maximum forgiveness out of bunkers, the Hi-Toe 5 gives you all the tools required to dial in your short game. Priced at $199/£179 standard or $249/£209 for the MyHi-Toe 5 personalisation programme, it’s at a competitive price point, but one that absolutely pays dividends when you need to save strokes around the green.