How to find the Vokey SM11 wedge that’s right for you (with useful tips!)

Vokey officially launched its new SM11 wedge last month, and it was quickly adopted by the PGA Tour. why? The answer is simple.

SM11 was designed with a completely new CG story. The T-grind seems to be widely used by PGA Tour players, especially because of its good flight. However, the T-grind wasn’t necessarily the best sole shape for every player. This meant that PGA Tour personnel had to custom grind wedges or create special products to give players a great low-T grind flight with a sole shape that actually fit the game. That brings us to SM11.

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The entire SM11 family now matches the position of the SM10 T Grind CG. With the same loft, the exact center of gravity location of all grinds will be the same as each other. However, changing the loft changes gradually, with pitching wedge and gap wedge lofts lowering the center of gravity, and sand wedge and lob wedge lofts raising the center of gravity. This makes it easier to launch full swings with longer, lower lofted clubs, and provides better control and lower flight with shorter, higher lofted clubs.

Now that all the CG positions are exactly matched, the only question that needs to be answered is which grind is best for the game. First step? Click here to find out more about our new lineup and who our different grinds are designed for. Vokey does a great job of explaining their lineup, and you’ll probably learn something new too. Once you feel confident and have some knowledge, head to your local PGA Tour Superstore and start doing your research.

Titleist Vokey SM11 Tour Chrome Wedge

Titleist Vokey Design’s new SM11 wedges feature a new precise center of gravity location across each grind in the loft, meaning every wedge performs the same on the same strike.

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$199.99 from PGA Tour Superstore

When testing wedges, it’s important to try different grinds. (I recommend hitting pitch shots of about 50 yards, or something similar. You’ll quickly notice that straight shots don’t work for your delivery.) The key here is to work on eliminating shots that don’t work. What you’re looking for is the ability to consistently hit wedges with a new sound and feel from the face. The impact between grooves 2 and 5 is the sweet spot we’re really looking for. At this point, select the three that you feel are the best and move on to the next test.

Once you’ve selected your three favorites, it’s time to choose something else. kinds of shots. The most important thing a good lob wedge will do for you is unleash your creativity around the greens. However, that level of creativity is set by the player. Some people have different types of shots in their arsenal. It’s important to try out whatever you have locked and loaded. For example, the shots that are important to me are the ones where the face is open 45 degrees and you cut it off. This adds a lot of effective bounce to the wedge and can make for difficult shots when matched with the right grind. It’s one of the reasons it was put into the M grind when it was adapted to the SM11. Choose your three options and take as many shots as you like. Go back and forth between different options to hit the same shot. Hit one two in a row, then switch to another and do one at a time. You’ll quickly realize that one of these three isn’t as good for you as the other two. Once the final two are selected, the battle for the bag can end.

The last two in the selection process should be to ensure that you can hit 75-80% of the swings you will use on the course. For me, with a lob wedge, that’s about a 90 yard shot. Depending on the options you select for yourself at this point, you may notice a big difference in how these fuller shots are affected. Translating this to playing on the course, we are talking about the difference between clean contact and heavy or thin contact due to differences in sole design. Steep players may be more comfortable with a high-repulsion product with a little more leading edge relief, like Vokey’s 14°K Grind. Shallow players, or those with very good control of the low point, may be able to successfully tackle something like a 6° T grind.

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Some golfers complain about doing this step from the mat, but take it as a blessing in disguise. Matt is consistent. Achieve the same lie with every swing. As you test these last two options against each other, you’ll be able to feel the difference in contact between them on more full shots. It might also be time to ask an employee to lend you some impact tape so you can see exactly where each club is hitting. If you notice contact riding up on the face, the grind may be too sharp or it may not go through impact smoothly. Remember that there must be a contact between grooves 2-5.

This process requires approximately 50 or more swings from start to finish. My best advice is to be tough on feedback. All you do here is choose the option that is right for you. With so many options available from Vokey today, taking the time to find the one that’s right for you at the PGA Tour Superstore is not only worth your time, but it’s also a lot of fun. You can also bring a friend and decide together, or bring a bag and practice.

Click here for more information and to pre-order Vokey SM11.

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