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Bob Vokey hand ground 50 “Vokey Signature” 56-degree wedges

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Before the existence of 60-degree lob wedges, which are now commonplace in the bags of amateurs and professionals alike, golfers relied on 56-degree sand wedges to hit all of the necessary shots around the green. While those days are mostly in the past, Titleist says there are still golfers who prefer to use a single wedge for all shots; bump-and-runs, low spinners, flop shots, bunker shots, and any other shot you may face.

Ahead of the Open Championship, Bob Vokey personally hand ground 50 wedges — they measure 56 degrees in loft and have 12 degrees of bounce — that have heel, toe and leading-edge relief to maximize versatility. That means the soles are designed to work in a variety of setup positions, including square, open or toe down, according to Titleist. There’s also a “pre-worn leading edge” for cleaner turf interaction.

BobVokeySignatureWedge

“It’s the ultimate 56 degree [wedge],” Bob Vokey says. “When I was learning about wedges from some of the best short-game players, they could manipulate the face to execute all the shots they needed. This wedge was inspired by those players, with a sole shape to enable a variety of shots.”

The philosophy of playing a variety of short-game shots with the same club will be especially prevalent this week at The Open Championship. Whereas many American courses lend themselves to high-trajectory shots around the green, Open-style courses often require more lower-trajectory shots that can mitigate the effects of the wind.

The Vokey Signature wedges have a “Diamond LC” finish, and they will sell for $400 each. Custom shafts, grips, ferrules and shaftbands are offered. There are only 50 wedges available in total, and this a U.S.-only release.

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16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. Donald Trump

    Jul 19, 2017 at 9:56 pm

    I’m waiting for PXG to come out with a $3,000 wedge made of the finest materials……..

  2. Lloyd

    Jul 19, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    Why would anybody pay Titleist $400 for a wedge with Vokey’s name engraved on it. For that price they should engrave my name on the wedge.

  3. Bryan

    Jul 19, 2017 at 3:38 pm

    Honestly, $400 for a 1/50 hand ground wedge by Vokey himself seems like a pretty good deal. OTR already retails for $150

  4. JD

    Jul 19, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    That’s why whenever I buy a new wedge, I drag them on the asphalt on my walk to the car. Gotta pre-wear that leading edge.

  5. Roger in NZ

    Jul 19, 2017 at 2:10 pm

    The comments on only One Wedge for all money shots is realistic.
    If your Titleist 681 set had a 50 degree PW then the next club was
    the Sand Wedge, likely a 56 that you loved…and likely a 588 Tour Action with a Worn Edge !!!

  6. Ben Jones

    Jul 19, 2017 at 12:51 pm

    I have two Cleveland wedges with leading edges that are really “pre-worn” and look great, so are they worth $400 a piece?

  7. Tom54

    Jul 19, 2017 at 12:21 pm

    I can see several hundred dollars for a putter cause with proper care it’ll last forever but spending that kind of money for a limited edition wedge that will wear out quickly makes not much sense

  8. PXG PRO

    Jul 19, 2017 at 11:27 am

    What a cheap, pedestrian item at $400! Only real pros play PXG! GO PXG GO!

  9. Joe

    Jul 19, 2017 at 11:06 am

    the same ole same ole…. people complaining about pricing. Can’t afford it? That’s ok, really. I would say if you really wanted it you could get another job to pay for it… but that would probably be narrow-minded of me…. kind of like complaining about expensive clubs

    • LD

      Jul 19, 2017 at 12:15 pm

      I would say it is narrow-minded stating that everyone complaining about price is unable to afford it.

    • Matt

      Jul 19, 2017 at 1:45 pm

      You really expect to put out a $400 wedge and not get comments on the price. Come on dude. Obviously those of us who realize how short a wedges life span is aren’t going to pay that. There’s a reason they only made 50, they know the pool of buyers for it is infinitesimally small.

    • RG

      Jul 19, 2017 at 11:34 pm

      I know what you mean! These jokers on here just dont get i

      • RG

        Jul 19, 2017 at 11:38 pm

        it! Oh and by the way I have a brand new limited edition jar of dirt for sale for $200. I know what youre thinking, but this is special limited edition dirt! Oh, to expensive? Well go get asecond job you bum!

  10. MikeyB

    Jul 19, 2017 at 10:48 am

    Gee, ONLY $400 a wedge? Pffft. Obviously meant for the lunch pail hauling, beer swilling Muni course hacker. The guy who would have to hide clubs from his wife, and try to convince her she made a mistake balancing the bank account this month.
    Talk to me when you buy Honma ‘Five Star’ clubs that cost $5,400….EACH. Yes a full set of 14 clubs cost $76,000 dollars three years ago!
    Varying degrees of cost can be found on mostly Japanese hand made products such as Miura which fall into the same $300/400/500 a club range. PXG, and now creeping up in price Callaway Epic Pro at $250 a club.
    Just another boutique club for nothing more than the $ the nameplate generates.

  11. ComeyforPresident

    Jul 19, 2017 at 8:11 am

    Someone should buy all 50 and then sell them for 1000 bucks each.

    • Teaj

      Jul 19, 2017 at 9:49 am

      That could work given that it is a US only product you could sell them in different countries. Now if I only had $20,000 laying around.

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

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As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/28/24): L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick putter with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft.

From the seller: (@hibcam): “L.A.B. GOLF Mezz.1 Max Broomstick- LA Golf Paige Spiranac Shaft- 44″/79.5. Brand new, never used brown leather cover. The head was professionally anodized from Orange to Blue (Orange looked bad with the Pink shaft so I had it changed). Only a few rounds on this combo. Please see last pic- slight ding on back corner. 8.5-10 condition. THE SHAFT COST $475/ THE PUTTER $625. $799 shipped in the US. ONLY $699 SHIPPED.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Equipment

Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.

We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!

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