Titleist SM7 Tour Chrome

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By Bart van der Does

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  1. Bart van der Does

    Bart van der Does
    The Netherlands

    Hi TT members! Well the holidays are coming in and with my birthday coming up I tought let's spoil myself with the Titleist Vokey wedges.

    My new Titleist AP2 718 came in and the only thing in the bag what was missing was new wedges! So I'm happy to share on how I picked which wedge and why, also perhaps this guild be helpful or guide for new upcoming Vokey users.

    Starting off was to check my current set, I had AP 2 718 from 4-9 irons. So I needed at least a PW, SW & LW. So how do you fix those wedges?

    " No Tour Player would play off-the-rack irons. So should you?... GET GIT !! "

    Well simple, on the Titleist web page you could see the technical specs of the clubs. When checking I noticed my 9 iron was 42 degrees. So I needed at least a PW of 46 degrees.

    During my period on tour I learned from (Bob) Mr. Voke himself.. bounce is good.. BOUNCE IS YOUR FRIEND! I also see more and more players adding hudge bounce to their wedges. So that's what I did as well. Unfortunately there are not many test centers to try out vokey wedges. For me I chosen the Titleist Tour Truck on the PGA European Tour. (yes, lucky me I am a tour caddie and could try all the options there are out there).

    The choise on looks was simple, I had 3 options: Jet black , Brushed Steel & Tour Chrome Personally I would stick to the tour guys and chosen Tour Chrome simply because they look very nice. (also the Jet black and brused steel are getting very fast scratchy and bad looking)

    So now the type was settled now the lofts. This was simple. I took a peace of paper and I was writing down all of my carry numbers with each club. From driver to lob wedge. These important numbers are good reference for club fitting, so when standing on trackman I could try out full wedge shots, bunker shots and wedge shots. On tour we call this "GAPPING" so call the number (max. lenght) between irons and fit into the right wedges.

    I believe in the theory of Bob Vokey himself, there should be at least 4 degrees loft change as "gapping" for each wedge. In the back old days on tour for example Seve Ballesteros had 52, 56 & 60 degrees wedges. These days the 56 degrees becoming dinosaur style. Tour Players hit 1000 balls a day they can hit everything, avarage weekend golfers need wedges to help their short game to improve. Believe me when I say you can spin 54 (SW) even more then a 60 degrees.

    So for me I came down to: 46, 50, 54, 60 degrees. 46 as my PW, then I came on a number in between so I chosen a 50 degree for GW (go to shot), then 54 as SW and 60 as LW. Why 6 degrees gap between my SW & LW is because I don't like full open club faces. I like maybe a 1/4 turn open. So for high flop shots or deep greenside bunkers I use the 60.

    So now I selected the style of wedge, the degrees (thanks to the flight sim & gapping theory). Now I need the bounce.

    So Mr. Bob Vokey... tell me the secret again? Well Bounce is good, Bounce is your friend. I'm a really big digger on wedges so I chosen the maximum bounce there is. Also I play a lot on park / soft turn grounds. So I came with F grinds for my 46, 50 & 54. F has a wider sole on the club, great for long bunker shots or soft turfs (when you are a real digger). So F grind is more forgiven. Because of the bounce the ball is not going up but going further so I can attach the plan more. (drop, stop) And for the 60 degrees I chosen the NEW D grind.

    Here are my new wedges: 46.10F 50.12F 54.14F 60.12D

    Happy swings,

    Bart

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  2. Nice set up, Love my SM7's

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