Vokey SM9 Wedges

What makes a golf club iconic? Is the number of major championships it has won? The number of tour players using them, even without contracts? Units sold? Probably a good combination of all the above. That is what the Vokey line of wedges have done over the years with Titleist. Go check out the website here to learn more about Mr. Bob Vokey and his story. It is a wonderful story that I am sure someone, someday can make a brilliant documentary on. What makes Vokey wedges special is everyone from Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas to your average golfer and even the Bogey Medic have Vokey wedges in the bag.

From the start the wedges look amazing. They have a very classic, simple design with a straight leading edge. Making them very easy and simple to line up. I really love that the wedges have different finishes on them. From a classic shinny brushed steel look, a raw option for those players who like the look and performance of rusty wedges. Then my personal favorite, the black gun metal style finish. I love the look of black golf clubs and these are right up there with my all time favorite. Yes, I am aware that black finishes will fade more over time and be more prone to blemishes but I do not care. I think the more matte finish rather than a glossy look is such a major improvement. I just wish the black shaft option was in stock when I got these. My make up is a 52 12F, 56 14F, and 60 10S. All are 2 degrees flat as well. Now if you want to go down a crazy rabbit hole into the world of grinds and bounce combinations be my guest. Vokey offer 23 different combinations one can choose from. I choose my set make up due to 1) That was what was in stock with the black finish. 2) I previously played all my wedges at 10 degrees of bounce and wanted to give different bounces a try. Check out the link here to see all the different combinations and styles the SM9 has to offer and learn more about the different grinds.

Right away something I noticed with these wedges is they do not fly as high in the air as other wedges, and they do spin a bit more. Now from doing some research that was exactly what Vokey was trying to do when making these wedges, bring down the launch and increase spin. I do have to say I enjoy seeing my ball launch into space with a wedge, then come down and stick into the green like a lawn dart. So, the first few times I saw how low these wedges were coming out I was worried it was my swing was getting out of touch, but realized soon that it was the wedges doing their job. I noticed about 2 degrees lower launch, 12 feet lower peak height, but and spin increased about 450 rpms with the 52 degree wedge. Another point to make is the feel, these wedges do not feel soft. I think they are the firmest wedge I have tried. If you want a soft feeling wedge, these are not it. I do think the firmness of these wedges do help with the feedback. If I make contact off the toe, heel, high on the face or low, I know right away. Another point to highlight is the texture of the grooves, just from rubbing my fingers across I can feel they are a bit rougher than others. Which can explain why I am getting more spin.

Out on the course the most common theme I found was solid. The feel, the performance, the sound, the ball flight, the looks, no other word came to mind. The divots and turf interaction were very crisp and consistent. The firm feeling I found inside was the same out on the course, I do think though the indoor mats may have made them feel firmer than what I felt on the course. However, they were still very firm wedges. I did feel these wedges had some forgiveness, but only when I had vertical misses on the club face. Toe and heel misses did not feel good and were definitely punished. Thankfully I did not have many of those though. The lower peak hight and launch was noticed on the course, but only because I was really looking at it. I think that if I did not test these wedges out prior indoors I would have had a much harder time noticing those differences. I was getting really good stopping power into the greens on my wedge shots, even had a few spin back below the divot. Something that I found was the 70% wedge shots that I like to hit were much more controlled than the full ones. For example, at 100 yards I can make a 70% swing with a 52, or a 100% 56 degree. I found the 70% 52 degree shots were much more consistent, and surprisingly easier to hit. I normally have trouble with those feeler wedge shots and would rather have a full shot, but for some reason I was pitching almost right at 97, 98 yards and stopping quick with the 52. The 56 degree was also so much fun to hit out of the bunkers. I believe that is because of the high bounce, 14, that the wedge features. Green side bunkers were a bit tricky, because I prefer to hit bunker shots with a square face and not an open one. So the first few maybe went a bit too far but the contact was pure. Also chipping with the 56 on tight lies felt like butter. I was able to pick the ball very easy and even get some good check. The 60 is my go to around-the-green club and it did just fine. I did not get as much roll out as previous wedges, so I was able to be a little more aggressive with those shots and found it did lead to. better chip shots. After the round I did notice some blemishes on the face and even the back of the club in the black finish, but I am use to it and wasn't upset about seeing that. But, if you want your clubs to keep looking brand new after multiple round I would not choose the black finish.

I know earlier I mentioned the feel, but I do think it is important that I let it be known that I wish the feel of these wedges were improved to be softer. Now I understand that while the preformance awesome, if they were designed to be a softer wedge would that negatively impact the performance? I do trust the engineers at Titleist and believe that they put performance first, but I must get that off my chest.

This review will hopefully come out at a perfect time for those wanting to try the SM9 wedges. That is because the SM10’s will be coming out soon and lower the price of these wedges. 2nd Swing always have a great selection of used Vokey wedges to try. Check out the link here to find your next set of Vokey SM9 wedges.