New Vokey WedgeWorks grinds expand SM11 lineup with more sole options to match swing type, turf conditions and short-game needs.
As golfers attain experience and concentrate on their short game, many have an epiphany and suddenly realize that it’s not the that helps them hit the perfect chip shots or pitch shot. It’s the sole, and how it interacts with the turf, that can make or break the outcome.
That’s why Titleist offers six different sole grinds in the SM11 lineup, but the company’s boutique wedge department, WedgeWorks, gives players access to sole grinds and configurations that ordinarily are reserved for PGA Tour stars like Ludvig Aberg, Cameron Young, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. Those players know that if you can match the sole of a wedge to how you deliver the club, the game around the greens starts to feel a whole lot easier.
Over the last few seasons, WedgeWorks has dropped several limited-edition offerings at different times during the years, but beginning March 27, Titleist is making all six new WedgeWorks lob wedge options—L, A, K*, A+, V and a 62M—available to the public for $229 each.
At first glance, these wedges look familiar, and that’s by design. They cast from 8620 carbon steel, like the SM11, and share the same core technology platform as the SM11 lineup, including refined center of gravity (CG) placement, progressive groove shaping, and a new directional face texture designed to enhance friction and spin consistency. The WedgeWorks wedges, however, come standard with a raw steel finish, so, unlike the standard SM11 wedges, they will rust over time and with exposure to moisture.
But the real story WedgeWorks clubs isn’t in the face or the finish. It’s in the sole.
SM11 already offers 27 different loft, bounce and sole grind combinations, but WedgeWorks goes further to offer Tour-inspired shapes that were not added into the stock offering lineup because they’re more specialized. In other words, this is where the nuances live.
Each of these wedges, which are all available with 58 or 60 degrees of loft except the 62M, is essentially a different answer to the same question: how does this wedge move through the ground for a specific type of player?
The L Grind is a narrow, low-bounce option with relief in the heel, toe and trailing edge. It’s designed for players who like to open the face and play shots off firm turf, but who still want a touch of forgiveness to keep the club from digging too aggressively.
The A Grind, born from a request for performance on firm Australian conditions, has a smoother, faster-moving sole that minimizes resistance through tight turf. It is built for players who want to slide the club under the ball cleanly when there isn’t much grass to work with.
The K* Grind takes one of the most popular bunker-friendly shapes, the K Grind, and refines it. It keeps the wide sole that helps in soft sand, but adds relief and a pre-worn leading edge to make it more versatile when the face is opened.
The A+ Grind sits somewhere in the middle. It has more bounce and width than the A, but still moves quickly through the turf. It’s a good fit for players who find the traditional M Grind a bit too bouncy and want something that sits lower to the ground.
The V Grind is built for steeper players. With more forward bounce and added relief, it’s designed to handle softer conditions and players who lean the shaft forward and take divots, helping prevent the club from digging too much.
And then there’s the 62-degree M Grind, which takes Bob Vokey’s favorite all-around sole (M standards for ‘Bob’s MOST favorite’) and adds more loft. It’s a shotmaker’s tool, giving players the ability to hit higher, softer shots when they need to stop the ball quickly.
There’s a reason these grinds exist outside the standard retail lineup. They’re not meant to be one-size-fits-all solutions. They’re tools.
What Titleist is doing with WedgeWorks wedges is giving golfers and fitters more ways to match the club to the motion. And while most recreational players won’t cycle through six different lob wedges the way tour players do over the course of a season, having access to these options means you’re more likely to find something that actually fits how you play.
Because at some point, it stops being about technique alone. Sometimes, it really is the sole.