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Gear: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 wedges
Price: $199 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 steel shafts and Titleist Universal 360 grips.
Specs: Cast 8620 carbon steel with heat-treated impact area. Finishes: Tour Chrome, Jet Black, Nickel Chrome and RAW (custom only).
Available: Jan. 19 (pre-sale), Feb. 20 (in shops)
Who it’s for: Golfers who want more consistent contact, flight and spin from their wedges, with sole grind options to match their swing and turf conditions.
What you should know: The Titleist Vokey Design SM11 is designed to deliver more consistent flight and spin across all lofts, so golfers can choose a sole grind that fits their game without worrying about a change in performance.
The Deep Dive: There’s always been a tug-of-war in wedge design between what the best players in the world want and what recreational golfers need. The pros obsess over things turf interaction, sole grinds and tiny details that most club players would never notice, while recreational golfers just want a wedge that launches the same way every time and helps them generate more spin. With SM11, Bob Vokey and Titleist's engineers tried to accommodate both groups by focusing on the three foundations of wedge performance: contact, flight and spin.
One of the most intriguing upgrades in SM11 isn’t something you’ll spot when you look at the clubs. It’s the way Vokey repositioned the center of gravity (CG) so that every grind within a loft now launches more consistently.
For years, golfers might fall in love with how one wedge felt, only to find that another wedge with the same loft but a different sole grind might feel different and produce a different launch or trajectory. Now, whether you choose an F, S, M, D, K or T, the relationship between the CG location and the ideal impact area remains the same. That frees golfers to choose a grind based on how they deliver the club into the turf, not how the ball might fly.
Spin gets a boost, too. Vokey wedges now come with three groove profiles, with the pitching wedges and gap wedges getting narrower grooves that help them perform like an extension of a player’s irons. The lob wedges get the widest grooves to move water and debris off the face and enhance spin, while the sand wedges have grooves that are wider than the pitching and gap wedges but narrower than the lob wedges.
Because Titleist has become more proficient in manufacturing, all Vokey SM11 wedges feature grooves that are five percent deeper thanks to the brand's ability to make the grooves to a tighter tolerance and still stay within the USGA and R&A rules. And, since every groove in every wedge is inspected, golfers don’t need to worry about buying a wedge with illegal grooves.
To give players more spin on partial- and slower-swinging shots, Vokey added a new angled face texture that’s machined into the cast 8620 carbon steel between the main grooves. The idea is simple: keep the ball on the face a fraction longer on partial shots, allowing the grooves to do their job more effectively. When conditions aren’t ideal, like when the grass is damp or on a short-sided pitch, the strike should feel more predictable.
Added spin is great, but it won't mean much if you lose it after a dozen bunker sessions, so Vokey still uses cast 8620 carbon steel for SM11 because it allows for precise groove cutting and a high-frequency heat treatment in the impact area. That process doubles the hardness of the hitting zone, which extends from the leading edge halfway up the face. This extends groove sharpness without sacrificing feel. Plus, the Jet Black-finished wedges now get a fingerprint-resistant coating, a small but meaningful upgrade for golfers who don’t want their wedges to look smudged before they even reach the first tee.
Finally, like previous Vokey Design families, the SM11 comes in six sole grinds.
• F Grind – Now available in lofts from 44 to 56 degrees, the F grind is a straight-sole option best suited for full-swing shots. The 44 F Grind had been made available as a limited offering last year, but it is now a stock offering.
• S Grind – Available in lofts from 54 to 60 degrees, the S grind has a straight sole with some material removed in the heel area. It has trailing-edge relief and is best suited for golfers who play in firm conditions and prefer a square face at impact.
• M Grind – Available in lofts from 54 to 62 degrees, the M grind has material removed in both the heel and toe areas, making it an ideal choice for players who rotate the club open and closed through the swing and who tend to hit shallow, sweeping shots. The 54-degree M, which had previously been available as a limited-edition offering, is now a stock offering.
• D Grind – Available in lofts from 54 to 60 degrees, the D grind has heel, toe and trailing-edge relief. It has a thinner sole with high bounce, making it a good option for players who like to manipulate the club and open the face to hit a variety of shots in soft conditions.
• K Grind – Available in 58- and 60-degree versions, the K grind features the widest sole and significant camber, making it especially good in bunkers and thick rough. In SM11, it is now available with either 6 or 12 degrees of bounce.
• T Grind – Popular on the PGA Tour, this wedge will only be available in 58- and 60-degree versions and takes the place of the L grind. A low-bounce option, it is designed to provide versatility for skilled players in tight, firm conditions.
Wedge performance often comes down to contact, and the updated Vokey SM11 aims to make that more consistent for more golfers. Match the ideal grind with your swing and conditions, and the technology could help you unlock the short-game performance you’ve been looking for.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Vokey SM11 wedges deliver more consistent contact and spin
Continue reading...
Price: $199 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 steel shafts and Titleist Universal 360 grips.
Specs: Cast 8620 carbon steel with heat-treated impact area. Finishes: Tour Chrome, Jet Black, Nickel Chrome and RAW (custom only).
Available: Jan. 19 (pre-sale), Feb. 20 (in shops)
Who it’s for: Golfers who want more consistent contact, flight and spin from their wedges, with sole grind options to match their swing and turf conditions.
What you should know: The Titleist Vokey Design SM11 is designed to deliver more consistent flight and spin across all lofts, so golfers can choose a sole grind that fits their game without worrying about a change in performance.
The Deep Dive: There’s always been a tug-of-war in wedge design between what the best players in the world want and what recreational golfers need. The pros obsess over things turf interaction, sole grinds and tiny details that most club players would never notice, while recreational golfers just want a wedge that launches the same way every time and helps them generate more spin. With SM11, Bob Vokey and Titleist's engineers tried to accommodate both groups by focusing on the three foundations of wedge performance: contact, flight and spin.
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One of the most intriguing upgrades in SM11 isn’t something you’ll spot when you look at the clubs. It’s the way Vokey repositioned the center of gravity (CG) so that every grind within a loft now launches more consistently.
For years, golfers might fall in love with how one wedge felt, only to find that another wedge with the same loft but a different sole grind might feel different and produce a different launch or trajectory. Now, whether you choose an F, S, M, D, K or T, the relationship between the CG location and the ideal impact area remains the same. That frees golfers to choose a grind based on how they deliver the club into the turf, not how the ball might fly.
You must be registered for see images attach
Spin gets a boost, too. Vokey wedges now come with three groove profiles, with the pitching wedges and gap wedges getting narrower grooves that help them perform like an extension of a player’s irons. The lob wedges get the widest grooves to move water and debris off the face and enhance spin, while the sand wedges have grooves that are wider than the pitching and gap wedges but narrower than the lob wedges.
Because Titleist has become more proficient in manufacturing, all Vokey SM11 wedges feature grooves that are five percent deeper thanks to the brand's ability to make the grooves to a tighter tolerance and still stay within the USGA and R&A rules. And, since every groove in every wedge is inspected, golfers don’t need to worry about buying a wedge with illegal grooves.
You must be registered for see images attach
To give players more spin on partial- and slower-swinging shots, Vokey added a new angled face texture that’s machined into the cast 8620 carbon steel between the main grooves. The idea is simple: keep the ball on the face a fraction longer on partial shots, allowing the grooves to do their job more effectively. When conditions aren’t ideal, like when the grass is damp or on a short-sided pitch, the strike should feel more predictable.
Added spin is great, but it won't mean much if you lose it after a dozen bunker sessions, so Vokey still uses cast 8620 carbon steel for SM11 because it allows for precise groove cutting and a high-frequency heat treatment in the impact area. That process doubles the hardness of the hitting zone, which extends from the leading edge halfway up the face. This extends groove sharpness without sacrificing feel. Plus, the Jet Black-finished wedges now get a fingerprint-resistant coating, a small but meaningful upgrade for golfers who don’t want their wedges to look smudged before they even reach the first tee.
Finally, like previous Vokey Design families, the SM11 comes in six sole grinds.
You must be registered for see images attach
• F Grind – Now available in lofts from 44 to 56 degrees, the F grind is a straight-sole option best suited for full-swing shots. The 44 F Grind had been made available as a limited offering last year, but it is now a stock offering.
• S Grind – Available in lofts from 54 to 60 degrees, the S grind has a straight sole with some material removed in the heel area. It has trailing-edge relief and is best suited for golfers who play in firm conditions and prefer a square face at impact.
• M Grind – Available in lofts from 54 to 62 degrees, the M grind has material removed in both the heel and toe areas, making it an ideal choice for players who rotate the club open and closed through the swing and who tend to hit shallow, sweeping shots. The 54-degree M, which had previously been available as a limited-edition offering, is now a stock offering.
• D Grind – Available in lofts from 54 to 60 degrees, the D grind has heel, toe and trailing-edge relief. It has a thinner sole with high bounce, making it a good option for players who like to manipulate the club and open the face to hit a variety of shots in soft conditions.
• K Grind – Available in 58- and 60-degree versions, the K grind features the widest sole and significant camber, making it especially good in bunkers and thick rough. In SM11, it is now available with either 6 or 12 degrees of bounce.
• T Grind – Popular on the PGA Tour, this wedge will only be available in 58- and 60-degree versions and takes the place of the L grind. A low-bounce option, it is designed to provide versatility for skilled players in tight, firm conditions.
Wedge performance often comes down to contact, and the updated Vokey SM11 aims to make that more consistent for more golfers. Match the ideal grind with your swing and conditions, and the technology could help you unlock the short-game performance you’ve been looking for.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Vokey SM11 wedges deliver more consistent contact and spin
Continue reading...
