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Vokey SM10 wedges – GolfWRX launch report

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What you need to know: It’s hard to believe this is already the 10th iteration of Vokey’s Spin Milled wedges, which, in 2007, succeeded its 300 and 400 Series wedges. For 2024 and the new SM10 line, Bob Vokey and company made design tweaks targeting lower ball flight, enhanced feel, and greater spin, while, of course, seeking not to compromise the legacy DNA of the most-played wedge in professional golf for the past 20 years.

Vokey SM10 wedges: What’s new, key technology

Progressive center of gravity: Center of gravity is strategically placed for each wedge loft to deliver a lower ball flight and more trajectory control. Titleist says this produces a more solid feel and tighter shot dispersion. CG is lower in 46- 52-degree wedges and closer to the face. Vokey testing with tour pros showed this eliminated “excessive draw movement” and enhanced feel. For 54- 62-degree wedges, CG is higher and more forward in the face to produce a more piercing ball flight and aid golfers in squaring up the face.

Refined Spin Milling: Vokey engineers have given attention to every groove on the face, cutting each based on loft and finish. The company’s TX9 grooves on the stronger-lofted wedges are narrower and deeper, and wider and shallower on the higher-lofted wedges. Additionally, a parallel micro-texture between grooves aids spin on off-center shots. Completing the process, Vokey adds a high-frequency heat treatment to the impact area for greater groove edge durability. The company touts higher, more consistent spin across the lineup.

Shaping, profile adjustments: Tailored for a different look in lower versus higher-lofted wedges based on player feedback. 46- 52-degree wedges have smaller profiles and straighter leading edges. 56- 62-degree wedges have larger profiles and more rounded leading wedges to increase the clubs’ versatility.

Grinds aplenty: The SM10 lineup features six grinds: F, S, M, K, T, and D, which contribute to a total of 25 unique loft, bounce, and grind configurations to dial in the optimal wedge setup for every player. Given the abundance of options available, the company is keen to emphasize the importance of proper wedge fitting.

What Titleist says

“I always tell players that the most important club in the bag is confidence,” Master Craftsman Bob Vokey said. “Getting fit for each of your wedges, and learning how to use them in different situations, is one of the fastest ways to gain confidence around the green.”

“Player feedback drives our development process,” said Corey Gerrard, Director of Marketing, Vokey Wedges. “Whether we’re talking with tour professionals or dedicated amateurs, every bit of player insight matters. All the advances we made to SM10, from looks and feel to grind options and desired flight windows, reflect that player input.”

“The best players in the world know exactly what they want from their wedges. The smallest details matter to them and they are very specific when it comes to describing the improvements they want to see,” said Aaron Dill, Director of Vokey Player Relations. “Their feedback is invaluable. We are constantly learning from them and it’s that constant collaboration which allows us to get even better with each new generation.”

Club Junkie’s take

On Tour with Andrew Tursky

Titleist’s “Tour Validation” process for its new SM10 wedges officially began at The 2024 Sentry in Hawai’i to start the year, and a number of top players upgraded in the first week, including Jordan Spieth (who’s especially particular about his wedges), Ludvig Aberg, Cam Young, J.T. Poston and Tom Kim, to name a few.

Now that more and more players have had the opportunity to see and test the new SM10 wedges at the Sony Open and the American Express, it’s clear that the new models are the clear choice for most Titleist staffers. It’d be more difficult to find players who haven’t switched into them, than to find those who have.

Notably, Justin Thomas was quick to upgrade at the 2024 American Express for his 2024 PGA Tour debut, and his set of SM10 wedges are decked out with new red “Radar” club stampings. As a reminder, “Radar” is one of Thomas’ nicknames, which he earned by being deadly accurate with his wedges.

For most PGA Tour players that GolfWRX.com has spoken to about the wedges, the switch into SM10 has been seamless. The bounce options, head profiles, finishes, and overall feel of the heads hasn’t changed much from the SM9 line, according to the players, but the lower-lofted wedges have shown improvement in forgiveness, and fly straighter on full shots. The change in the weight placement throughout the SM10 wedge lineup has much to do with the performance improvement, but it doesn’t negatively impact short game shots on the higher-lofted wedges.

Here was Spieth’s analysis of the SM10 wedges he switched into at The Sentry:

“I think the biggest difference is when you get to the gap wedge and pitching wedge on the full shots,” Spieth told GolfWRX.com. “I think the sweet spot’s been moved; it’s bigger and it’s moved a little to where any potential over-hook is almost eliminated, which is really nice. You can step up with a left pin and be pretty aggressive.

“Other than that, they look great. I’m pretty particular with my 60. It isn’t always an ‘SM,’ sometimes it’s a separate prototype version, but this time I’m right into the SM10. It looks really good to me. The biggest thing that [Vokey Tour rep Aaron Dill] told me was that as I start to hit those longer shots, they won’t produce the odd outliers that overturn to the left.”

Our biggest takeaway from the PGA Tour players is this: There’s essentially no reason NOT to switch into the SM10 wedges, since they provide all the benefits of SM9, such as looks, feel, spin and performance, except the SM10 wedges perform slightly better on full swing shots.

For most of the world’s best, it’s been a no-brainer to upgrade.

Check out all of the loft and bounce options from the Titleist truck at The American Express last week.

Pricing, specs, availability

Finishes: Tour Chrome, Jet Black, Nickel, Raw (custom only)
Loft, grind and bounce options: 46.10F, 48.10F, 50.08F, 50.12F, 52.08F, 52.12F, 54.08M, 54.10S, 54.12D, 54.14F, 56.08M, 56.10S, 56.12D, 54.14F, 58.04T, 58.08M, 58.10S, 58.12D, 58.14K, 60.04T, 60.08M, 60.10S, 60.12D, 60.14K, 62.08M

Stock shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S200
Stock grip: Titleist Universal 360 Grip
Price: $189
Pre-sale/at retail: 2/15, 2/8

Personalization, custom options:

  • Stamping options: 10-character straight/freestyle stamping; 15 characters around the toe; and two lines of 10 characters each
  • Custom paintfilled loft, bounce, grind markings, and BV Wings logo
  • Six unique toe engravings
  • HandGround options for grind personalization
  • Vokey WedgeWorks Flight Lines

More photos of Vokey SM10 wedges

46-10F

52-08F

54-08M

56-10S

56-12D

58-04T

60-04T

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GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Pingback: 2024 Vokey SM10 wedges: Club Junkie’s full fitting video – GolfWRX

  2. Paul Harrison

    Jan 23, 2024 at 2:36 am

    Edrick’s TM custom designed wedges are $199! Try that on for size!

  3. Will

    Jan 22, 2024 at 9:59 pm

    Clearly no one who has has the wedges want to tick off Titleist. I haven’t been able to find a single video comparing SM 10 to the SM 9. I wish when people got the new product they would compare them to the old product and see if there were any “real” differences. Also, another $10 price increase is nuts! I may just replace my worn SM 9s with new $150 SM 9s. $40 difference between the 2 – hard pass on SM 10!

  4. Kaven

    Jan 22, 2024 at 7:27 pm

    Do you know why they’re stop milled grind face ?

  5. Charles

    Jan 22, 2024 at 6:44 pm

    They look like Kirkland wedges

  6. ChazzyChazChaz

    Jan 22, 2024 at 4:10 pm

    Nothing has changed here….Progressive CG movement, grinds, shafts…..It’s all the same for the last several iterations, except for the price!!! Of course the Titleist players are going to move into this model immediately, there is zero risk and cost to them. I have no problem going for discounted SM9’s or even finding used, mint SM8’s or 7’s.

  7. Jake

    Jan 22, 2024 at 3:36 pm

    I’d love to see durability and cost addressed. It makes zero sense to forge clubs out of soft metals other than it encourages golfers to buy more when their precious clubs look terrible after a season

  8. dat

    Jan 22, 2024 at 1:16 pm

    that price is insane.

  9. DukeOfChinoHills

    Jan 22, 2024 at 12:49 pm

    $189 for a wedge is getting crazy.

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Whats in the Bag

Emiliano Grillo WITB 2024 (May)

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Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX

5-wood: Cobra LTDx Prototype (18.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX

Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5

Wedges: Callaway MD3 Milled (46-08S), Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S, 54-10S, 60-08T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Flatso 1.0

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Check out more in-hand photos of Emiliano Grillo’s clubs here.

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Product Reviews

UST Mamiya Dart V iron shaft review – Club Junkie Reviews

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Recently, graphite iron shafts have grown in popularity as technology has taken giant leaps forward. The old thoughts of graphite being too soft, too high launching, or too inconsistent have gone by the wayside. This new batch of graphite iron shafts has been played by all levels of golfers, from players who do need help with launch and spin to professionals who are looking for added control.

Today, we’re taking a look at one of these “new graphite iron shafts.” UST Mamiya Dart V irons shafts come out of the company’s TSPX Lab that creates the most cutting-edge designs and uses the latest materials.

Check out the full review on YouTube below or on any podcast platform.

UST Mamiya’s Dart V shafts are designed around Dual Action Recoil Technology that makes sure the entire shaft flexes consistently for much tighter shot dispersion. The Dart V shafts are offered in 90, 105, and 120-gram weight options to fit a wide range of golfers. UST Mamiya also has very tight tolerances and quality control to ensure that every shaft is the same in the set. Utilizing Torray M40X carbon fiber gives the engineers a material that is 30% better tensile strength and gives the shafts better feel with less harsh vibration.

I went with the Dart V 105 F4 (stiff) shafts as I have found more success with lighter shafts as I have gotten older. Building these shafts up with a set of Vega Mizar Tour heads was very easy and didn’t take a lot of tip weights. I think the 7-iron needed a small 2g tip weight and the rest were installed without any weight at my desired D1 swing weight at standard length with standard size grips.

Out on the course, the first thing I noticed was how tight the Dart V 105 feels. Every swing feels like the shaft is under complete control, no matter if you take a partial or went after it. Stout is a great term for the shafts as they definitely play true to flex, but they aren’t harsh feeling. While the Dart V plays stiff, it still does a good job of reducing vibration and keeping joints or injured body parts free from additional shock.

You can feel the shaft load during the transition to the downswing, but it has a stiffer feel of less flex than some other graphite shafts. Some players like this boardier feel and will get it with the Dart V. Feel at impact is similar to the loading where you are going to feel some kick at the bottom of the swing, but it won’t be as aggressive as other shafts. On center strikes the Dart V offers a very solid feel with great, soft feedback. When you mishit shots with these shafts you get immediate feedback with some additional vibration that feel players will really like. The mishits aren’t too harsh on the hands but still let the head give you the louder click that your ears will want.

Ball flight for me was lower than I expected with UST Mamiya listing the shaft as more mid-launch. I would consider my launch with the Dart V mid-low launch with a more penetrating flight. Better players will like the ability to flight shots, with any club, higher or lower in order to get the ball close to the hole. The penetrating flight helps in windy conditions as it offers a stable trajectory that doesn’t waver from your aiming point.

Shots that you mishit off the toe or heel go pretty straight and you don’t see big curvature that causes you to really miss the green. Most of those misses come off the face fairly straight and leave you with a fairly easy chip or pitch shot to the green. Distance control is consistent and repeatable as I found on the range that well-struck shots have a very tight carry distance window and I have yet to see some wildly long or short shots show up.

Overall, the UST Mamiya Dart V iron shafts are solid options for players who are very particular about performance. Like other shafts among the new breed of graphite iron shafts, the Dart V delivers the type of shots you need when you need them.

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/8/24): Scotty Cameron Art of Putting Laguna putter

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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 Scotty Cameron Art of Putting Laguna putter.

From the seller: (@kcsf): “Scotty Cameron Art of Putting Laguna. -I will regret this one selling for sure. It does have one small nick on the face near the toe as shown, otherwise in amazing new condition.  -BOS reconditioned and received last month. Oil can finish as done new by BOS when this putter was released many moons ago. -Head cover is authentic SC and shows age. Velcro is worthless of course, but does stay closed.  -Length is 34.25 inches, original shaft. -Grip is old and needs replacing. I can have my pro do it prior to shipping at an additional cost of the grip only. -$475.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Art of Putting Laguna putter

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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