In 2024, we’ve seen the release of the new SM10 Vokey wedges, the 10th iteration of the series. This ultra-premium range looks to retain its spot in the wedge hall of fame, but are there really such huge benefits to having the SM10s in the bag?
Who Are They Aimed At?
Vokey wedges are seen as the top wedge brand out there in the game of golf. Although these may be the aspirational club for many to have in the bag, they’re more suited to the better player as they offer out relatively little forgiveness. If you’re looking for the latest, most premium fitted wedge option, the new SM10s should certainly be on your radar.
The Tech
Although we don’t see huge amounts of new technology in the SM10 wedges, Vokey has included some updates to try and fine tune these wedges in the 10th-iteration compared to the previous SM9 model.
With the new wedges for 2024, we see different CG positions compared to previous models. For example, the higher lofted wedges feature a CG position higher up the club and closer to the face, which looks to promote a slightly lower ball flight with some extra control.
A more visible change to the technology this year are the additional micro grooves between the usual face grooves, looking to optimize spin specifically for shorter pitch shots with these clubs.
The pattern of grooves depends on the loft of the wedge you’re looking at, with higher lofted wedges featuring wider but shallower grooves, and lower lofted being narrower and deeper. These varying designs are all set to give you the best amounts of spin and control throughout each possible wedge.
We’ve also got six different grinds in the SM10s, including a new T-grind which has already been very popular on tour with the likes of Spieth and Justin Thomas, to name a couple.
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Titleist Vokey SM10 Wedge Review
Looks
The SM10 wedges don’t steer too far from what we’ve seen in previous models. The classic ‘BV’ logo sits in the middle, with the SM10 on the back of the wedge towards the toe.
Slightly different to the SM9s, we’ve got a bit more detailing going on, with a bold border around the SM10 and ‘Vokey Design’, which is new for 2024. This black outlining makes the wedges look a little sharper than previous models in my opinion and matches nicely with the rest of the overall design.
As always, the Vokeys are very clean and professionally finished, as we’d expect from a brand looking to retain its spot at the top in the hall of fame.
A nice touch available with the SM10s is the ability to customize the finish depending on your colour preference. The options are Tour Chrome, Nickel, Jet Black or the Raw finish which would rust up over time.
Feel
My fitting for these wedges was indoor from a mat, at the world famous Auchterlonies Golf Shop in St Andrews, which I’m sure a few people will question the accuracy of.
However, Titleist are rolling out a new fitting process for the Vokey wedges, whereby you can get fitted indoors, with a regional partner using a combination of the results from a questionnaire about your game and the expertise of your fitter.
Initially, the results came back fitting me into an S-grind, however my fitter suggested I try out an M-grind with slightly lower bounce to suit my swing more. Going back and forth between different grinds allowed us to find the correct wedge that just slid under the ball perfectly with my swing, to give me that clean, smooth feeling you expect from such a high-end wedge.
Performance
The M-grind of these wedges is designed to help players manipulate the face for various shot types, which has been great so far out on the links.
Although typically you’d expect to see links players opting for higher amounts of bounce, the type of shots I like to play didn’t suit this and so I ended up with 8-degrees of bounce across the board. For me, this meant I had more flexibility and workability out on the course, as well as added confidence knowing these wedges are specific to my swing and shot types.
As always with new wedges, you notice the difference in spin straight away. There’s varying advice out there as to how often you should update your wedges, however I’d assume most of us keep them in the bag longer than we should, constantly wearing away at the grooves.
Because of this, there was visibly a lot of spin and control with these wedges, which is likely also due to those added micro grooves and varying patterns across the set. Out on links greens it can be difficult to really control the ball, but the SM10 wedges certainly helped with the amount of spin they were allowing me to generate.
Titleist Vokey SM10 Wedge Verdict
The Vokey wedges of course feel incredible at impact and perform great out on the course. Being custom fitted for these wedges added an extra layer of performance, ensuring the grind and bounce was just right to complement my game and swing path. We will always expect great things from Vokey wedges, as we know they’ve taken the top spot in the wedge game for a very long time now.
A lot of golfers will aspire to have these in the bag, but I will say the one thing I can fault them on is they’re simply not the most forgiving option out there. Designed for better players, there’s a lot of feedback on mis-struck shots, but little help from the clubs when these occur.
If you’re confident in your short game and looking for wedges to elevate this, you should certainly be looking into the SM10 range. However, if you feel you’re not the sharpest around the greens then you shouldn’t be looking to these wedges thinking they’re going to help build your performance for you.
Coming in at an RRP of £169 per club, they’re of course on that upper end of what we’d be looking to pay for a wedge. With being such a premium piece of equipment, there must unfortunately be that premium price tag too.
That said, Vokey is very clear that the updates from the previous models are only very small, looking to fine tune details to optimise these clubs as far as possible.
For this reason, if you’re looking to add the SM wedges to the bag, you may well see similar results from the SM9s at a lower price tag, but struggle to get that all important custom fitted element.
Would I Use Them?
The combination of the quality of these wedges, combined with the custom fitting process means I’d have full confidence putting them in the bag in terms of my gapping, control around the greens and confidence in how they’re suited to my own game. If you’ve got confidence in your short game and the money to invest in the SM10 wedges, I’d certainly encourage you to give them a go.
Titleist Vokey SM10 Wedge Pros and Cons.
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