Vokey SM11 Wedges

Vokey wedges have gotten yet another upgrade with the latest iteration from SM11. Through Tour validation and feedback, SM11 wedges are focused on controlled flight, cleaner contact and smarter spin.

With six different grind options and 27 different configurations, Vokey’s SM11 wedges have improved performance through some very specific adjustments from the past model.

“Everything starts with contact,” Corey Gerrard, Director of Marketing for Vokey Wedges, said. “The right bounce and grind help you find a clean strike between grooves two and five. Nail that, and the flight and spin follow – lower, more controlled trajectories with the stopping power great wedge players depend on. That’s built into every Vokey wedge.”

To help achieve the goals that Vokey engineers set out to accomplish, the first aspect that needed to be looked at was the center of gravity. Aaron Dill – Vokey’s Tour rep – had noticed that Tour players flocked to the T grind.

Dill and the Vokey staff figured out that the center of gravity in the T grind was a big part of it. In the past, different grinds had different center of gravity locations, so Vokey worked to create identical CG placements within a given loft.

“With SM11, all the CGs within a loft are now at the same exact point,” Kevin Tassitro, Titleist’s R&D’s Director of Wedge Development, said. “So, when golfers get fit into the right grind, whichever grind that is, and they’re finding grooves two through five (with their strike), the ball will meet the CG in the correct spot.”

The SM11 models will also feature progressive center of gravity positions throughout the set. The CG is positioned lower and closest to the face center for 44 to 52-degree wedges for a smooth transition from the iron set and help eliminate draw movement on full shots. The center of gravity is higher and more heel-ward in 58 to 60-degree wedges that helps with a lower flight, and the 54 to 56-degree wedges have a center of gravity in between the other two.

In addition to the progressive CG, the new SM11 wedges will also have three distinct groove shapes, which will vary based on loft. The 58 to 60-degree wedges have wider and more shallow grooves to help clear debris around the greens and on partial shots. The 44 to 52-degree wedges will have more narrow and deeper grooves for performance on full-swing shots and the 54 to 56-degree grooves will be in between the other two shapes.

In each loft, the grooves will have five-percent more volume, a tighter tolerance and are heat-treated to double the durability of the grooves to perform better for a longer period of time.

“The heat treatment is applied to the scorelines, right in the impact area,” Tassistro said. “We want to preserve those groove edges to the best of our ability so that SM11 players can prolong the life of their wedge and play their best golf for longer.”

The last aspect of the Vokey spin system to create smarter spin is a new angled face texture. The SM11 wedges have a razor-like surface that was designed to increase friction and keep the ball on the face longer. That will help create more reliable spin and rather than focusing on maximizing spin, Vokey has focused on optimizing spin in this latest iteration.

The SM11 wedges will come in four distinct finishes, as well, with Tour Chrome, a new Jet Black with finger print proof treatment, Nickel and Raw (custom only).

The latest version of the ever-popular Vokey wedges has brought an incredible upgrade to an already outstanding wedge.