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  • 6 hours ago
Sam De'Ath gets fitted for the brand new Titleist Vokey SM11 wedges to see what the process is like, what specs he ended up with and if the SM11 represents a huge improvement over the excellent SM10.
Transcript
00:00We're here at the Titleist Performance Centre at Woburn where I'm going to be fitted into
00:04the Titleist Vokey SM11 wedges. We're going to go meet John in the fitting bay now and get started.
00:20Right, we're here with John. John? How you doing? Great to see you again. And you?
00:23Really exciting video because we are getting fitted into the Vokey SM11s. Correct, yeah.
00:29Talk us through the process. Well, normally, obviously, if you came up to TPC, we'd be
00:33doing predominantly a lot of this off of the turf. That's the whole reason we've got the facility.
00:38Utilise as much of the turf conditions as possible, but we kind of want to throw a little spin on
00:43that.
00:43One, the conditions at the minute this time of year are going to be really soft, so if we do
00:47it solely
00:48based off turf conditions, you're going to be in probably a different grind to what you would be
00:52when you're playing at your most frequent, so like in the summer months or in the better months. But
00:58also what we like want to show everybody is we've got an app that helps trade accounts, fitters,
01:05indoor environments where they're trying to fit people for wedges, simplify the process and go
01:10through the process in their environment using a tool that basically just goes off of your dynamic.
01:17So you would select what the goal for right hand, left hand,
01:21what their handicap would be, and then the typical conditions of their course. So this is valuable
01:27for me because when you're talking to players, they might say, you know, I'm a traveling golfer,
01:32so I play Lynx a lot. I also play Parkland. So you've got different scenarios and these can be tweaked.
01:37What's your level of confidence outside of getting out of a bunker? So to give you an idea,
01:41this is can't get out to tour player. Definitely not tour player. Definitely not can't get out.
01:49So I'd go more, I think. Yeah. Fairly confident out of a bunker.
01:52So we will gap that. And that's pretty, that's pretty normal to your site. Yeah, that's, that's
01:58bang on for me. Yep. So 50, 54, 60. And all the app's trying to do is it's recommended the
02:04lofts
02:04based on how we can get a 60 in your bag and what would be the most beneficial stretching. So
02:11like,
02:12ideally four degrees would be best, but that would leave you with 58. Yeah. So is when we get into
02:18the
02:18next bit and we start explaining what you use the wedges for, if you never hit full shots with the
02:2360, the stretch between 54 and 60 will be less of a thing than if someone says, oh no, I
02:29normally hit
02:30like full shots with my 60. And then you might want to potentially look at 54, 56, or maybe even
02:36bending
02:36them to be 55. We use TrackMan. So if you're using the TrackMan system, I've set up on course practice.
02:43And obviously we've got this view, which is great, but if you're indoors, you're not going to have that
02:48view. You're going to have that on a screen. So at least it gives the player a scenario that they're
02:53going to be hitting into a flag and a green, and that's the visual that they're seeing. And then
02:56we'll change the yardage as we change club. So three stock shots with what would be your 45.
03:03Yep. I've got your green there. I've got your pin pointed out at 136.
03:20So
03:30so
03:34so
03:36so
04:00This is where it's important that the person being fitted is as honest as
04:05possible. While I do play all year round for me it's more important that my wedges perform when I'm
04:12playing competitive golf which tends to be from April till September so the ground would be
04:18slightly firmer. Perfect and that's a great example as to look if you were saying like all year round
04:24and I go to places like Spain and the States where the grass is different this could potentially work
04:30a little bit better as a travel set because it will cover most conditions. Gotcha. But you see as soon
04:35as you go to like let's say you said you know what I don't do any of that I just
04:38play I want a set of
04:40wedges for when I'm playing in the middle of the high season. Yep. Elite level golf conditions are
04:46going to be tight and firm. You can see here everything changed. You've gone from 12 to 8. Yep.
04:53In the in the full sole you've gone to the S grind in your 54 instead of the D and
04:58you've gone to M grind
04:59in your 60. Gotcha. Which is probably not far off what you've got now. Yep. I would assume. Yep. So
05:05then you get
05:06percentages and percentage matches right and the reason you'll have percentage matches is because
05:12based on your dynamics there'll be a sway one way or the other you could use either. Yeah. Anything that's
05:19relatively close we'll take out there. So you see the tight pin on the right? This one? Well yeah.
05:25But you haven't got loads of room to land. Yep. I want you a hit to that. Okay.
05:48First one was true. Yep. Second one you heavily manipulated and ended up missing your target by
05:54quite a bit of distance. Yeah. Okay. Got two very different interactions there, didn't I? Correct.
05:58Yeah. So that'll give viewers at home an idea as to why that may have been based on the condition.
06:06That's a very good shot.
06:29We talk about the versatility and why it's good to have different grinds and different wedges because
06:33some people go, I love M grind, I'm just going to have it all the way through. If you just
06:37have that
06:38grind all the way through you can only hit certain shots. So if your ball ends up just in the
06:44rough
06:44and it's kind of, you know, sat up a little bit, if it's sat down you can get your 60
06:50in behind that
06:50no problem. But if it's all of a sudden like sitting a bit more perched that way, you put your
06:5560 behind and it's airborne. Yeah. And you've got an eight and you can't add more bounce. You can open
07:00it potentially, but you've got to be so much more aggressive with it. Yeah. You lose a bit of that
07:04control and that versatility and your shot shaping. Yeah. Whereas if you go to your 54, which is a 10s
07:11and open it a little, you give it a little bit more effective bounce and you know you can hit
07:15the same shot
07:16and use the wedge to get it to the destination you're looking for. Yeah. So you're not changing
07:23techniques drastically. You're seeing how the ball is lying and you're effectively picking the wedge.
07:28Using the tools to help you hit the shot, right? Makes sense. So the last thing I want you to
07:33do is
07:33I want you to hit a couple of like long chip shots here. Okay. With the, uh, with the 54.
07:59Very nice. You see that low ball flight grabs there and then you would get slow release. Yep. It's really,
08:06really good. That feels good.
08:14Awesome. Thanks, John. No worries. Appreciate that. So we ended up in 54S. 54S, 60M. 60M.
08:23And then you've got 50 and an F. Oh wait, F. Yep. And then your 46 will bend to 45
08:28because
08:29nothing keeps with what you've got. And obviously that comes in an F. Standard. Yeah. So like
08:34it's because it's, it's played more like a pitching wedge option. It'll stay as true to a pitching wedge
08:38sort of bounce profile, uh, sole design, all of that. Awesome. Okay. I am back here in the golf
08:45monthly performance lab. And I just really wanted to give you my overall thoughts on the tightest
08:50Vokey SM11 wedges. Having had these for personal use now for about a month or so, do they feel great?
08:56Absolutely. I think they've done a great job on these wedges, but equally the SM10s were brilliant
09:01as well as have the last kind of, I would say five Vokeys that I've owned. I've really,
09:07really enjoyed the performance. Do they spin anymore? Has, has the technology changes they've
09:12made such as the 5% larger kind of surface area with the grooves, uh, the new kind of friction
09:18between
09:18the grooves as well. And the, the direction that that runs, has that made a difference to my spin
09:23performance that I saw on the golf course? Not really. Not so much more than any other wedge
09:27that I've recently tested or the SM10s for that matter of fact, when I first put those to the test.
09:33Am I seeing the ball rip off the green? No. Am I seeing extra grab out the rough? Not really.
09:39I'm seeing it just as much as I would probably with any new wedge. I do think they look great,
09:44but equally the SM10 look great as well. I do like this new addition on the back here. It's a
09:48nice,
09:49nod to Wedgeworks. Um, and it, it just tidies up the look. I like that the SM11 has moved down
09:54here
09:55to the hosel. Let me know down below, are you going to go and get fitted for these?
09:59Do you like the look of them? And do you think these could make your bag for 2026?
10:04I'd love to hear your thoughts, but from me, that's all. We'll see you next time.
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