How to find the right Vokey SM11 wedge for you (with handy tips!)

Vokey officially launched its new SM11 wedges last month, and PGA Tour adoption happened almost immediately. Why? That answer is simple.

SM11 was engineered with a brand new CG story. The T Grind seemed to be a widespread favorite among players on the PGA Tour, specifically due to the flight it produced. But the T Grind wasn’t necessarily the best sole shape for every player. This meant PGA Tour reps needed to custom grind wedges, or create special offerings, to give players that nice low T-Grind flight with the sole shape that actually fit their game. That leads us to the SM11. 

The entire SM11 family was matched to that SM10 T Grind CG location. Across the same loft every grind has a precise CG location that’s identical to each other. It does change progressively, however, as you change loft with a lower CG in the pitching and gap wedge lofts and a higher CG in the sand and lob wedge lofts. This helps to encourage an easier to launch full swing option in the longer, lower-lofted clubs and more control and a lower flight in the shorter, higher-lofted offerings.

So with all the CG locations now precisely matched, the only question you need to answer is what grind works best for your game. The first step? Click here and do some research on the new lineup and who the different grinds are designed for. Vokey does an amazing job explaining their lineup, and you’ll likely learn something new as well. Once you feel confident and armed with some knowledge, head to your local PGA Tour Superstore and start investigating.

When testing wedges, it’s important to play around with different grinds. (I suggest hitting about a 50-yard pitch shot, or something similar. You’ll notice quickly the ones that just straight up do not work for your delivery.) The key here is to work on eliminating the ones that aren’t working. What you’re looking for is the ability to hit the wedge consistently with a new sound and feel off the face. Impact between grooves 2 and 5 is really the sweet spot we are after. At this point, pick the three that felt the best to you, and continue to the next test. 

After you’ve picked your three favorites, now it’s time to start hitting different types of shots. The most important thing a good lob wedge can do for you is unlock creativity around the greens. That level of creativity though is set by the player. Some are going to have different types of shots in their arsenal and it’s important you try whatever you have locked and loaded. For example, an important shot for me is about a 45-degree open face that I sort of chop down on. That adds a lot of effective bounce to the wedge and can be a hard shot to match up to the right grind. It’s one of the reasons I got put into an M Grind when I got fit for SM11. Take the three options you selected and hit lots of shots. Go back and forth between the different options and hit the same shots. Hit a couple in a row with one and then switch to another, then go one for one. You’ll quickly realize that one of these three is no longer as good for you as the other two. With the final two selected, we can finish the fight for the bag. 

With the last two in your selection process you need to make sure that you can hit the 75-80% swings you’ll use on the course. For me, with a lob wedge, that’s about a 90-yard shot. Depending on what options you’ve picked for yourself at this point you may notice that there is a significant difference in impact on these more full shots. As you translate that to playing on course, we’re talking about the differences in clean contact and heavy or thin contact due to different sole designs. A steeper player may get more comfortable in a higher bounce offering with a little bit more leading edge relief, something like the 14º K grind from Vokey. Shallow players, or players who have really good control of their low point, may find themselves working better into something like the 6º T grind. 

Some golfers will complain about doing this step off mats, but take it as a blessing in disguise. The mat is consistent. It’s giving you the same lie on every swing. When testing these last two options against each other, you’ll be able to feel the contact difference between them on these fuller shots. It may also be the time to ask an employee to borrow some impact tape and see exactly where you’re hitting each club. If you’re noticing the contact ride up the face a bit, you may be in a grind that’s too sharp, or doesn’t allow you to get smoothly through impact. Remember, we want that contact point between grooves 2-5.

This process should take no more than about 50 swings from start to finish. My best advice is to be harsh with your feedback. All you’re doing here is picking the right option for YOU. There’s so many options available from Vokey now that spending some time in a PGA Tour Superstore bay and grinding to figure out the right one for you is not only worth the time for the purchase, but it can be really fun. Bring a buddy with you and decide together, or take the chance to bring your bag and get some practice in as well.

To learn more about the Vokey SM11 and to pre-order, click here.

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