TaylorMade M4 Irons Review - Plugged In Golf (2024)

on August 1, 2018

50 Words or Less

The TaylorMade M4 irons are designed to be the company’s longest. Very forgiving.

Introduction

Lofts be damned, there are some golfers that just want to have the longest 7-iron on the course. If that’s your style, and you want loads of forgiveness, too, the TaylorMade M4 is right up your alley.

Looks

Where the M3 irons are designed to appeal to some of the better players, the M4 irons are definitively super game improvement clubs. The top line and sole are thicker, and there’s much more offset. Additionally, the face is chrome and a bit larger.

In the bag, the M4 has more flash than the M3. The cavity is covered in carbon fiber, and the M4 branding is done in the red/white/blue color scheme that you see on the woods.

Sound & Feel

With all of the tech in the M4 irons designed to make the face flex, it makes sense that the ball creates a trampoline-like sensation when it’s hit well. The sound is hard to define. It’s fairly muted, but it has a springy, lively character to it.

There’s a surprising amount of feedback on mish*ts with the M4. The sound is much duller, and you don’t get the bouncy feel. That said, the feedback is far from precise: small and large misses feel quite similar.

Performance

TaylorMade packed a similar tech package in the M4 irons that they used in the M3. The Speed Pocket, Face Slots, and RIBCOR are all used to enhance face flexing for more ball speed across more of the face. What’s unique to the M4 is the 360° Undercut which allows for more weight to be placed low in the head for easier launch.

The first thing I noticed in my testing was the distance. This won’t come as a surprise given the lofts, but they were two clubs longer than my gamers in the mid irons. However, the distance boost in the short and mid irons leads to problems in the long irons. There is little difference between the 4 and 5 for me, and I expect that could extend to the 6 for many players.

What impressed me was the forgiveness, particularly on thin shots. Balls hit on the bottom grooves launched only 1 to 1.5 degrees lower than flush shots. This meant that they retained most of their carry distance. Spin was also very consistent between pure and thin strikes.

The one element that I couldn’t get around was the offset. Every normal swing produced a draw/borderline hook. If I worked at it, I could hit a reliable straight shot, but fades were very hard to come by. That said, for the higher handicap player that these are designed for, that draw bias will be most welcome.

Conclusion

The TaylorMade M4 irons are a very strong offering in the super game improvement segment. They pack a ton of forgiveness, and the strong lofts make them very long. For the chronic slicer, the draw-boosting offset will be an added bonus.

Buy TaylorMade M4 Irons HERE

TaylorMade M4 Irons Price and Specs

Author
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Matt Saternus

Editor In Chief at Plugged In Golf

Matt has worked in nearly every job in the golf industry from club fitting to instruction to writing and speaking.

He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.

Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.

17 Comments

Kevin Kelly
August 2, 2018 at 11:35 am ·Reply

These lofts are crazy jacked up!
Bill Brott
August 2, 2018 at 9:14 pm ·Reply

Super jacked lofts. Could be a lot of fun……ant my style, but I’m a mid capper trying o get to single digits…..
Fritz Flokstra
August 22, 2018 at 3:17 pm ·Reply

How would these compare with the Ping G700’s? I imagine the M4’s would be longer than the G700’s . Which ones would be more forgiving? which ones would have a tighter dispersion?
Thanks
- Matt Saternus
  August 22, 2018 at 5:54 pm ·Reply
  
  Fritz,
  I don’t think there’s much difference between the two on any objective metric. Both are long and forgiving. It will come down to preference and which one fits a given player’s swing the best.
  -Matt
Todd Williams
September 11, 2018 at 3:55 pm ·Reply

Wow. 43.5* PW. #SecretGiveaway
Ricky Richard
January 22, 2019 at 9:26 pm ·Reply

I just bought a set of these (screamer deal before new versions are out) and can’t wait to get them on the course. I’m a mid capper looking to get into single digits and was looking for something more forgiving. I’ve been hitting some older 713 Titelist AP2’s and after hitting the newest AP2’s vs the M4’s it was a dramatic difference in feel and forgiveness, plus the M4 was at least a club longer!
Wally
February 7, 2019 at 11:29 am ·Reply

As age creeps up, you begin to realize that the 7 irons can’t go 155+ as was in the past. Coming from the CF16, I found my distances in each club getting shorter and the forgiveness isn’t quite the same. It was between these and the M3. I tried the M3 and found the offset(which I really don’t like a lot of) was just too little for me and had a hard time adjusting. Went with the M4 and haven’t looked back. Offset is a little more than the CF16 but my distances and accuracy is back.
Stoney
May 27, 2019 at 9:36 am ·Reply

I hope everyone that bought a set of these, or M1, M2 and M3 irons have now sent them back, as their wonderful face slots have produced a collapsed face.
I’ve seen so many of these iron sets come back to the store. We stopped selling the M line irons, and shipped the remaining sets out.
Complete garbage.
At least TM got the hint and removed the slots on the M5 and M6 itons.
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Mike
November 30, 2020 at 1:28 pm ·Reply

Hi Matt,
Would the wedges be considered cavity back? I was fitted for these irons and hit the 5-PW so much better than my previous set but the GW, SW, and LW are slower to come around. Would something like a Cleveland CBX be worth trying out? Thanks.
- Matt Saternus
  December 1, 2020 at 11:11 am ·Reply
  
  Mike,
  Yes, these are cavity back wedges. I think the Cleveland CBX wedges are great clubs, certainly worth a look.
  -Matt
  - Mike
    December 1, 2020 at 6:20 pm ·Reply
    
    Thanks Matt, I appreciate it.
matt milam
March 31, 2022 at 9:29 pm ·Reply

These are great irons I used to have a set and I sold them for a set of sub 70 irons the m4 iron are easily a club longer and they go higher.I have come full circle and just bought a brand new set of the m4 version 2 models you know they must be good clubs when they make a new version of them 3 years after the original.
Glen Gayheart
February 17, 2023 at 5:54 pm ·Reply

are the grooves V or U
- Matt Saternus
  February 18, 2023 at 6:46 am ·Reply
  
  Glen,
  Unfortunately I don’t have that information.
  Best,
  Matt
Richard Frederick
July 9, 2023 at 8:35 am ·Reply

I’m 64 bought the titleist AP2 about 7 years ago, when I was about a 8 handicap. I bought my son a set of taylormade M4 about 6 years ago when he was playing HS golf. I have lost some of my game and I think a switch of clubs would be good for both. Do you agree?
- Matt Saternus
  July 10, 2023 at 5:16 am ·Reply
  
  Richard,
  Yes, that seems like it could work.
  -Matt