Equipment

Vokey opens its Tour Department to the public

Published

11 years ago

May 28, 2013

Call it WedgeWorks on steroids.

Titleist has announced that the custom wedge grinding services it offers to its tour players will be available to the public starting June 19.

Titleist calls the program “WedgeWorks Hand Ground,” and it will allow consumers to order 58- or 60-degree wedges in custom grinds that have previously only been available to tour players.

The wedges will retail for $350, and will be hand ground by the same master craftsman on the same grinding wheels as those made for Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Jason Dufner and many other PGA Tour winners.

Can’t get up and down? It might be s sole problem. Click here to read our about our visit to see Bob Vokey and his team.

The Hand Ground wedges will be available in the following tour-only grinds:

V Grind (left): Its crescent-shaped sole has plenty of bounce in the front to prevent digging. But it has a narrow sole and minimal camber that allows versatility around the greens. According to Vokey.com, the V Grind is great for players with steep angles of attack, or those who play in soft conditions.
E Grind (middle): Its medium-width sole has a straight relieved trailing edge. It also has a slight heel camber that allows it to be played in the opened position, and additional heel relief can be added by request. Its forgiving sole is great for medium-to-steep angles of attack, and is most effective in soft conditions.
T Grind (right): The T Grind was inspired by Champions Tour player Tom Pernice. Its crescent-shaped, thin flat sole has ample relief in the heel, toe and trailing edge sections. It also has a narrow forward bounce section and a medium amount of camber that plays well in tight, firm conditions, and is great for players with shallower angles of attack.

Vokey’s M Grind, which is available on Vokey retail models 54-11, 56-11, 58-12 and 60-10, is another option through the Hand Ground program. It’s one of Vokey’s most versatile soles, with a medium amount of camber and bounce and ample relief in the heel, toe and trailing edge areas.

More exclusives

Above: Hand Ground wedges being made for tour players in the Vokey Tour Department. Click here to see more photos from the Vokey Tour Department and WedgeWorks.

Each hand ground wedge will come in a tour-only raw finish, which allows wedges to be shaped in nearly any way. Golfers can choose to have their wedges made with a square toe, straighter leading edge, beveled top line, pre-worn leading edge, or a pro-groove — a subtle channel in the center of the sole that is used by Webb Simpson on his 58-degree Vokey TVD-M wedge.

According to Vokey, the pro-groove moves the contact point of the wedge slightly forward, which allows golfers to more easily use the bounce on short pitches to prevent digging.

Like Vokey’s WedgeWorks program, golfers can choose to have their wedges customized with different stampings — eight different letter/number combinations in “straight,” “freestyle,” “staircase” or “snow” — and 12 different paintfill colors. All the shafts, grips, ferrules, weight porting and shaft bands offered through Vokey’s WedgeWorks program will also be available.

Golfers will also have the choice of the following WedgeWorks Hand Ground exclusive stamps: “Prototype 2013,” “Hand Ground, “Special Grind” and “BVHG” (Bob Vokey Hand Ground). They can also choose “Spin Milled,” the name for the high-friction grooves that are milled into each Vokey wedge.

Wedges that are ordered through the Hand Ground program will have a hand-stamped hosel code, and the grinder’s initials will be stamped on the wedges as well. For example, wedges ground by Vokey Tour Rep Aaron Dill will be stamped “AD,” while wedges ground by Vokey himself will be stamped “BV.”

According to David Neville, Vokey marketing manager, the company will call every customer who makes an order through WedgeWorks Hand Ground to make sure they know exactly what wedge grinds they’ve ordered and confirm that it will work for them.

Titleist expects that turnaround time on orders to be between two and three weeks.

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Related Topics:Titleist wedges

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16 Comments

Dino

May 30, 2013 at 2:22 pm

They’ll just be grinding up tour reject heads…Titleist left out the most important factor. Quality of metal tour players get versus what these heads will be made of. I have a couple tour wedges that have amazing feel and the outside looks like everyday chrome…well the chrome flaked away and underneath is pure copper. Hmmm

Reply Report comment
- Ben
  
  May 31, 2013 at 11:15 am
  
  pics?
  
  Reply Report comment
jb

May 29, 2013 at 8:15 pm

Well what is so different about these wedges then the Scotty Camreon putters? Aren’t those the same people Titleist is targeting now? I think they’ll sell more than enough!

Reply Report comment
- Curt
  
  May 29, 2013 at 9:03 pm
  
  Putters can last a lifetime, wedges last one or two seasons depending on play, so not a good comparison.
  
  Reply Report comment
J

May 29, 2013 at 5:07 pm

JP Wedges cost that much and you definately get a unique wedge for that much

Reply Report comment
Todd

May 29, 2013 at 3:57 pm

The best part is that for $350 Vokey may or may not grind it himself. Hell, for this price you may as well just charge $800 for him to do it and $350 for the other guy nobody knows. Anyone crazy enough to pay $350 is willing to pay $800.

Reply Report comment
Ben

May 29, 2013 at 11:29 am

Miura Golf is holding on line 1…

Reply Report comment
Bob

May 29, 2013 at 11:26 am

I bought 3 Vokey’s custom 1 inch longer and 3 up. Swing weight as received, E-5. They would not adjust swing weight. I sent them to Hot Stix to be adjusted. For what these cost, custom work should be better, easier and less expensive.

Reply Report comment
- danny
  
  May 29, 2013 at 3:55 pm
  
  But Bob Vokey might walk by while your club is getting worked on here, that’s a great experience that your club will have for a lifetime. He might event touch it which will give you 3 extra hole outs over an off the rack Vokey.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Mick J
  
  May 29, 2013 at 4:36 pm
  
  You must be 8′ tall
  
  Reply Report comment
danny

May 29, 2013 at 10:54 am

For the record, I have 3 Vokey wedges in my bag, but I see no value in having to pay $350 for Bob Vokey (or maybe his dude) to possibly grind my wedge.

Reply Report comment
Mike D.

May 29, 2013 at 9:56 am

Or serving a niche market segment, who feel the $350 is justified….

Reply Report comment
- Kevin
  
  May 29, 2013 at 10:48 am
  
  Great move. There is definitely a market for this.
  
  Reply Report comment
Danny

May 29, 2013 at 12:14 am

Lol $350. They have to be joking or arrogant

Reply Report comment
- Curt
  
  May 29, 2013 at 9:15 am
  
  +1 – that is rediculous, unless they give an “up and down” guarantee along with it! Sorry, no need to overpay, just to over feed my ego!!
  
  Reply Report comment
- Dave
  
  May 29, 2013 at 1:40 pm
  
  Definitely just paying for the experience so you can say “these were hand ground”. I’m sure people will jump all over it though. I’d rather have them done at a custom shop though.
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

1 hour ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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