One thing curious has been taking place in golf gear over the previous decade. What as soon as was a pitching wedge has quietly reworked into one thing else completely—one thing stronger, longer and more and more disconnected from the remainder of your wedge setup.
When you weren’t trying, the standard 48-degree pitching wedge of yesteryear (or maybe yore) morphed right into a muscular 44-, 43- and, in some circumstances, 42-degree membership that behaves extra like a 9-iron with an id disaster.
And that’s created an issue that wedge makers have failed to deal with till now.
Let me let you know a narrative
As a lot as I’ll defend well-engineered strong-lofted irons till my demise, I’ve skilled among the complications they will trigger.
Not lengthy after I wrote this piece evaluating set wedges to specialty wedges, I swapped out my set-matched pitching wedge for a 46-degree Vokey SM9. Not solely did I choose the look of the Vokey at handle however it additionally gave me a flatter and spin-ier trajectory than I used to be getting from my set wedge.
I used to be completely satisfied (till I modified irons).
My new irons have been a bit stronger and the hole between my 9-iron and PW was unmanageable.
When Titleist fitted me into the T350, we (the fitter and I) made the painful (extra like painfully apparent) determination to swap my Vokey for the set-matched PW.
That fastened one downside and created one other. The hole between my 9-iron and PW was good however the hole between my PW and GW was pushing 20 yards.
Lengthy story brief: we fastened one downside, created one other and within the course of took a membership I actually favored out of the bag.
This isn’t what successful seems like.
When SM10 launched, I swapped my 50-degree for a 48 and whereas that made for completely satisfied little gaps, I used to be nonetheless down a Vokey.
With the announcement of the Vokey WedgeWorks 44F, I’ve acquired choices once more and so do you.
WedgeWorks 44F – A brand new place to begin
For years, Vokey’s wedge lineup began at 46 levels with the F Grind, a wonderfully wise entry level should you’re taking part in Titleist’s T100 irons or most anything throughout the participant’s iron class. The transition from irons to wedges is seamless, the gapping immaculate.
However what should you’re swinging T150s with their 44-degree pitching wedge? Or T200 or (like me) T350 irons with 43-degree PWs? That first step into Vokey territory turns into an enormous leap—and never the Neil Armstrong sort.
And so, for the sake of all mankind, with the WedgeWorks 44F, Vokey has lastly addressed the issue.
“The Vokey 46 has been such a valuable club for so many, Tour players and amateurs alike,” stated Vokey Tour Consultant Aaron Dill. “With the lofts getting stronger in iron sets, we needed a lower-lofted head to avoid the sacrifices that came from strengthening a 46.”
These sacrifices? Extra important than you may suppose.
Why “just bend it” isn’t the reply
Why not simply bend a 46? (you may ask)?
While you bend a wedge robust, you’re not simply altering loft—you’re essentially altering the membership’s DNA. The offset will increase whereas the bounce decreases.
Most of us aren’t more likely to discover a one-degree change however any greater than that and also you’re beginning to mess with the playability of the design.
So, as fashionable golfers with jacked irons, what are we to do?
That’s the place the Vokey WedgeWorks 44F enters the dialog and for these of us preferring specialty wedges to their set-matched counterparts, it doubtlessly modifications all the pieces about the way you transition from irons to wedges.
Not only for common golfers
Lest you suppose that is only a downside for common hackers like me, I ought to level out that even Wyndham Clark struggled with this actual downside.
Clark wanted wedges that might carry out constantly in delicate, grainy situations.
“When a player doesn’t have enough bounce, often the vertical impact location can be higher up on the face,” defined Dill. “Wyndham was originally in 46.10F bent strong, which decreased bounce. In softer conditions, his strike would tend to be higher on the face than optimal.”
Clark tried the brand new 44F, albeit with a twist. He bent it (effectively, somebody bent it for him) barely weak to 45 levels. This counterintuitive transfer elevated bounce and decreased offset, delivering precisely what he wanted.
“It gave him more bounce and helped keep his flight down, and we stayed in a profile that fit his eye,” stated Dill. “It added confidence, as he knew he could aggressively strike the turf and trust that he would get the result he was looking for.”
Clark instantly put it in play on the Sentry to start his 2025 season.
Bridging the hole
With 10 levels of bounce (equivalent to the SM10’s 46.10F and 48.10F fashions), the WedgeWorks 44F maintains correct turf interplay whereas filling the hole in your set that these of us with stronger-lofted irons battle with.
Certain, you may stick along with your set-matched pitching wedge however these of us preferring the specialty wedge method lastly have a viable possibility to switch our jacked pitching wedges.
End Choices, Availability, Pricing
The WedgeWorks 44F is offered now in Tour Chrome or Uncooked end for each right- and left-handed golfers. As with all WedgeWorks choices, you will have intensive customization choices together with distinctive toe engravings and customized stamping.
The inventory shaft is a True Mood Dynamic Gold S200. The inventory grip is a Titleist Common 360. Quite a few various shafts and grips can be found by way of customized.
At $225, it prices a bit greater than a mean wedge however I suppose that’s the price of fixing an issue (and changing a cumbersome set wedge).
The Vokey WedgeWorks 44F is offered by way of golf outlets and Vokey.com.
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