Vokey SM10 wedges – GolfWRX launch report

Jan, 2024

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.

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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