Callaway Golf has historically been steadfast in their two-year release cycle philosophy, and only in very special circumstances have we seen them move past that window. When it has happened, it has always been about their commitment to not just refreshing for the sake of time, but rather, creating something that is different, and in their opinions an absolute improvement from the previous iteration.
We have seen it happen with the APEX irons, and now we are seeing it with wedges. The MD5 have been a massive success for Callaway on Tour and with amateurs, but at just under a three-year life cycle, it is time for something new.
Say farewell to the Mack Daddy and MD moniker and say hello to JAWS Raw.
Callaway JAWS Raw Wedges
It is always a lot of fun to see what the one-liner for each new Callaway release will be, and with the JAWS Raw the name of the game is “Pure Spin in its Rawest Form”. I bet that caught your attention, didn’t it?
Out of the gates, yes, raw. Some will rejoice, others might be a little more resistant. As it turns out, the Full Toe was a bit of a testing ground for the company, as they and Roger Cleveland had something special on their minds with the next full line release.
The JAWS Raw showcases what Callaway claims to be the most aggressive grooves in golf, in fact, they are going so far as to call them “spin machines”. What makes them different? Well, the way Callaway has leveraged the rules to their advantages by working within the framework while thinking outside the box. The grooves here have a 37-degree wall angle as opposed to companies using much lower angles, you see, with those designs the edges must be rounded more, but here with what Callaway has done, the angles are actually sharper. As you probably know, sharper means more spin potential, and Callaway is adamant that these have that on lockdown.
However, that isn’t the only aspect making these “spin machines”. The JAWS Raw also feature Offset Groove-In-Groove tech that puts the micro-grooves on the face at a 20-degree angle to make them more effective at adding spin on precision shots. Additionally, the raw face, which was debuted on the Full Toe, is alive and well to ensure that there is no plating to interfere with the edge radius on the grooves and allow max spin potential. While the face will show rust eventually, the toe pad of the wedges is muted to ensure no contrasts in glare will occur between the two at setup.
There are also some shaping evolutions which have occurred from previous Callaway wedges. First, taking into account the feedback of the younger Tour players and their preferences, both the hosel transition and the leading edge have been straightened. The most notable change, however, is with the hosel length. This year Callaway is moving to a longer hosel, the unique aspect there however is that it is variable.
How so, you ask? Depending on the wedge, there is a different length of hosel with the lob wedges being the longest of the bunch. Naturally, this means the CG would shift toward the heel, so to counteract that the JAWS Raw are the first Callaway wedges to ever use tungsten. By placing the material in the heel side ports on the flange, they have shifted the CG to the point it was in the MD5 which will create a very familiar feel. The reason for this change was all about trajectory and spin, by lengthening the hosels the company has created more control than ever before in a Callaway wedge. The hosel isn’t all that is variable however, the weight pad on the flange section also varies in thickness through the different wedges, with the lob having the biggest pad which lends to its versatility and face manipulation potential without sacrificing consistency. All in all, these design changes have created a wedge which spins more at a flatter flight than Callaway has produced to this point, and if that isn’t enough, in wet conditions the raw face has enabled 30% more spin from the MD5.
The JAWS Raw wedges will come in 17 different loft and bounce combinations and be available in Raw Face Chrome as well as a new QPQ Raw Black Plasma finish, both of which add no surface thickness to ensure the JAWS grooves are as sharp as possible for the user. It is worth noting that the new black finish will wear and show through in time, also, it is not available in LH, though our lefty friends do have access to 13 of the 17 Raw Chrome options available in the new lineup.
Perhaps the most exciting change for Callaway is the simplification and streamlining of their grind options from the previous releases which did get confusing and offered some grinds which are not the most playable for amateurs. Now we will see the return of the high bounce X-Grind (58, 60), wide sole W-Grind (50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60), and standard S-Grind (48, 50, 54, 56, 58, 60). Notice the lack of a C-Grind? That is because the legend Roger Cleveland has introduced the Z-Grind, which replaces the C. Where the C tended to dig for anyone even slightly steep, the Z has a “Tri-Level Sole” to rectify that. The leading edge is chamfered at 33 degrees to create a “skid plate” of sorts while the middle of the sole retains an 8-degree bounce that leads to the trailing edge with a negative bounce. This is what the company is calling their “Hero Grind” and it has taken the Tour by storm.
The JAWS Raw wedge lineup will hit pre-order on 7/8/22 with full release on 7/22/22. The steel version will come with a True Temper DG TI Spinner shaft and Lamkin UTx and carry a price of $179.99. Graphite will be available via the 80g Project X Catalyst wedge shaft and Lamkin UTx for the men, and a Recoil Wedge F1 for the ladies with a $189.99 price tag.
What do you think? Has Callaway potentially hit another homerun? Was the wait worth it? Jump into the conversation and let your opinions be heard both in the comment section below as well as right on the THP Community.
Thank you. Can’t wait to see one of them in person. Awesome looking and guarantee they perform.
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Yessssss! This is what I’m talking about. I heart this.
Need to swing that Z grind ?
They look awesome!!! That W grind might be in play on the 54.
Digging is usually accompanied with steep. More bounce and wider grind, generally would be a good play (depending on ground conditions). W and X would be the place to start.
Great advice!
Wonder what I can replace it with in the new JAWS RAW line…
Also both a boss out of the sand. I’ve played both and prefer the X grind just for the heel/toe relieve. They’re not magic but definitely help if you’re a digger.
Hammer, stamp, and paint incoming.
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Z grind needs to be tested!
Holy hell, those look good
Can’t wait to see the finished product!
1. I’m very envious and looking forward to your feedback
2. "Poundtown" …
I like that.
Time to get the shafts prepped and installed.
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Unreal!!
Looking good dude
I picked out grips and ferrules for these this morning so let’s start turning calendar pages and make this shiz happen already!!
The 4 grinds available will likely fit the majority of golfers, while keeping skus manageable.
Always possible for C to come out at retail at some point though, but I wouldn’t wait on that possibility
full toe on left, replaced with Jaws Raw on right.
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They look good! I’ll be giving the Raw a shot when available to me for sure!
Sooooo, what kind of grips, shafts, and ferrules are we talking about here
Custom ferrule order for the next nexts, and grips that I’m hoping will match well. We’ll see. If it’s not great I’m going BBF Fire on High and MCC teams red/grey in these. The shafts, are just my shafts. Don’t even get me started about the hole in you guys’ shaft offerings. The local reps hear enough from me about it.
yeaaaahhhhh, we won’t talk shafts. ?
But can’t wait to see what you build!
I think you just sold 3 of these on the pre order day. Those are gorgeous!
Haha Yeah, I actually didn’t think about general shaft struggles when I wrote that. Lol Because I was just thinking about me (cause selfish), and you guys never offered the extremely common shaft I play even before the current state of misery we’re in overall. I’ve had to swap shafts on custom orders, because they’re just not even an option. Which will forever ?. I feel for ya on the what’s available stuff though. The guys doing demo days and fittings probably have dreams (nightmares) about the current availability screens on their tablets.
If there was ever a post that I’m pre committing to ordering because of, it’s this one…even though I can’t get black
Holy balls that was awesome. These wedges have serious spin, and the turf and ball interaction is what dreams are made of. That leading edge is so nice and just gets under the ball so nicely.
I had several just one hop and stop. Squared face, opened face, full shots, the feel and consistency of these wedges today were remarkable.
I’m hooked. It was everything I wanted the Full Toe to be, in a regular look, but way better. I can’t wait for you all to try them. Just bonkers. If it keeps up, this will pass the MD 2 tour grind as my fav Callaway wedge ever.
it’s something we’re constantly looking at unfortunately
you won’t be disappointed, even if you are limited to just the chrome
How does the spin between the two compare?
i feel like the Jaws Raw have a bit more spin than the full toe. Of course these are new grooves, but I don’t remember balls zipping back as aggressively when I first got the full toes.
Saaaaaaaaaaaaammmmeeee
Get many greenside chips in? Curious on performance there a little more specifically.
They just look SOOOO good!
Well then…
Quite a bit. I’ve historically been one to get the ball on the green as quick as possible and let the ball run out to the hole. Mostly that was out of necessity, as I struggled with greenside spin. These wedges are really going to shine greenside. The Z grind really really set me up consistently greenside better than the Full Toe, for my swing.
Yesterday’s round was a lot of trying to dunk it, because it was a one-hop stop right where it landed. That said, I could get it to run out if i wanted, but this club wants to put spin on the ball. Moving to the CSX ball and this wedge, is an incredible match. I had no issues of chunking a wedge, everything was just a nice spinny ball right where it landed. I had only had 1 of a handful of shots run out past the hole, and that’s because i wanted to play a low runner, and I thinned it just a bit.
Awesome, love to hear it ?