What makes Vokeys so popular

[FairwaysToHeaven]

I've read plenty of reviews of all the different wedges out there, and get good reviews from whomever plays that brand. Mizuno, Cleveland, Titleist, TM, etc, all get great reviews, but when you look at the distribution of what a lot people are playing, Titleist is dominating the market.

 

What exactly sets these apart from others. What is it that those that use Titleist Vokeys do you like about the club compared to competition. Feel, Workability, Grind, Sole, name brand, etc.

 

Just curious as SM4 and upcoming SM5 seem to always be in high demand, and wondering what sets this club apart from the others.

[dagoose383]

For a lot of people and overall popularity I think the tour representation has a lot to do with it. That coupled with the wide variety of grinds/lofts available makes them able to reach a wide range of golfers.

Me personally, I prefer Titleist equipment so I kind of stuck with that when looking at wedges. They perform how I need them to, when I need them to so there really is no other reason to shop around.

[ThunderBuzzworth]

I am wondering the same thing lately but it has a lot to do with options available im sure.. the feel of them is not the best i can tell you that much

[bph7]

Nothing sets them apart. They are high quality cast wedges with lots of loft/finish/grind options from a very well respected company. Nothing about their performance sets them apart in particular though. I feel like them and Cleveland dominated the wedge market for a while years back, then when Cleveland as a company faded a bit, Vokeys just became the "standard" option for those looking for "real" wedges.

[VinceFurnier]

Millions of $$$ in marketing is effective. I'm not knocking Titleist, but they simply spend more money promoting Vokey than most companies do to promote their wedge lines. They also do a great job of getting them in stores. There are some great wedges out there that nobody ever sees. The Wilson FG wedges come to mind.

"We begin by coveting what we see every day." - Hannibal Lecter

[Jeckert07]

I think you guys hit the nail on the head, reputation for being quality wedges, tour representation and performance. I've played Vokeys for awhile and just stick with what I know. Not that there aren't other wedges out there that perform as well, I just trust my Vokeys...if it ain't broke don't fix it!

[boxerjoe2011]

They are a basic shape and Titleist gets a lot of tour players to use them. That's about it. They are good wedges, but so are everything else.

[tommy89]

Every time i pick up a Vokey i wonder why people play them. They look horrible at address and are covered in tacky BV stampings. Same as Scotty's imo. People are sheep and are scared to think for themselves!

[Bad9]

They are a very serviceable wedge that has had the sh9t marketed out of it for 20+ years.

[cardoustie]

Here are my reasons in no specific order:

- Vokey is a Canadian
- [size=4]The feel of the wedges are unique and it is hard to move to other wedges once you get used to that[/size]
[size=4]- I love the M grind & TVD[/size]
[size=4]- I love the fact that I can completely customize my wedges with stamping, paintfill, swingweight, shaft, length etc[/size]

[size=4]I've done many Wrx wedges thru Ping and the performance is not quite as good in the S and L wedges.[/size]

There is the tour cache which influences others no doubt

[Waterboy]

I got into using them in high school. That was about about 14 or 15 years ago. The pro at the course we played at was on Titleist staff and it was the only wedge he had in the shop. I went with it. I've dabbled in other wedges since but for some reason I always end up back at a Vokey. Not sure why.

Comfort?

[tocino]

My first titlest club was a spin milled 56* vokey after gaming a 56* dunlop from big 5. To be honest, I haven't really given any other manufacturer a chance BUT i like what I get with vokey's... so I have no reason to change.

[fr0sty]

Vokeys are fine, so are all the other wedges. Most would be hard pressed to discern any performance differences between wedges from all the major brands.

Edit: Grinds being equal of course.

[Ruleschamp]

A good product (but not really any better than lots of other options), tour popularity & a massive advertising budget.

[GHIN n Juice]

I see two answers:

Average golfer: Tour presence

WRXer: Wide variety of grinds, finishes, lofts and bounce combinations

[CallawayKid86]

They are a very well known wedge, not to mention the number of variations that shops carry with different loft-bounce combos. To me, they are no better than a number of other brands I have played. Callaway could do very well with better marketing and bounce options for their MD2 wedges.

[PirateJim]

[quote name='MizyPure' timestamp='1391797178' post='8617219']
I see two answers:
Average golfer: Tour presence
WRXer: Wide variety of grinds, finishes, lofts and bounce combinations
[/quote]

That's pretty much it. Vokeys are good wedges... very good wedges. For most golfers from very serious to beginner, there are wedges in the Vokey line that will get the job done for them. It doesn't hurt that they carry the Titleist brand either, but I'm sort of a fan of the company, though I don't use Vokeys. There are a whole lot of other wedges out there, but a lot of them are sort of "me too" Vokey/Cleveland style wedges. There are, however, some other serious options for people that feel the need to shop around a bit more.

[DT15]

I would say their popularity are due to the reasons in this order (my personal opinion):

1) Name Recognition - I have guys who walk up to me when we get paired and say "Oh, you play Vokeys, you must be good" My brother in law who is a 40 plays Vokeys....
2) Quality - Have you ever heard a bad thing about a Vokey quality wise...? I know they are cast and some really love the forged feel, but they last a long time as well.
3) Options Available - Finishes, loft, grinds, customization, etc.
4) Comfort - I played Vokeys for the past 5 years, this year I went shopping for different wedges, ended back at Vokey. You play something for long enough, it just feels right.

[HiSpeed48]

Two things that I think make Vokeys special:
1. Lofts, grinds, finishes. You can build a complete set from 46-64 and get almost any grind you need. And you have at least 3 finish options.
2. Updates are mostly just cosmetic. If you get comfortable with the shape, feel and grind of your wedge then you don't have to worry about Vokey discontinuing it and then having to adapt to something else. I think this is the main reason why a lot of tour guys stick with Vokeys, because of prior proven performance.

Everything else is pretty much on par with any other quality wedge on the market.

[MadGolfer76]

I think Titleist did well to corner the market on customers who didn't want to buy dumb-looking gear. Not the biggest reason at play here, but I feel it is not insignificant either.

[Jack Pearsall]

lots of guys use them because the pros often do. It is an easy choice, and they are good cast wedges.
Jack Pearsall finds the Titleist wedges to be effeminate looking and while that itself is not a discouragement for most, JP likes a wedge that says "He is a man with a man's wedge."

Talking wedges rawk, btw...

[questfor80sf]

[quote name='bph7' timestamp='1391794643' post='8616943']
Nothing sets them apart. They are high quality cast wedges with lots of loft/finish/grind options from a very well respected company. Nothing about their performance sets them apart in particular though. I feel like them and Cleveland dominated the wedge market for a while years back, then when Cleveland as a company faded a bit, Vokeys just became the "standard" option for those looking for "real" wedges.
[/quote]

So nothing sets them apart beside being a high quality product with a ton of great product choices that their competitors don't offer...? I never even know how to respond to arguments like this...

[Lord Helmet]

Im in the minority - maybe all alone, but I dont care for them at all. The feel to me is horrible. Harsh. And I didnt see anything special on the spin side of things. I love to use spin around the green (the low checking shot is my fave to do). I use Cally X Forged and love them. So yes I get the forged v cast thing - but if I had to choose cast, Vokey would not even be on my radar.

[bph7]

[quote name='questfor80sf' timestamp='1391801543' post='8617803']
[quote name='bph7' timestamp='1391794643' post='8616943']
Nothing sets them apart. They are high quality cast wedges with lots of loft/finish/grind options from a very well respected company. Nothing about their performance sets them apart in particular though. I feel like them and Cleveland dominated the wedge market for a while years back, then when Cleveland as a company faded a bit, Vokeys just became the "standard" option for those looking for "real" wedges.
[/quote]

So nothing sets them apart beside being a high quality product with a ton of great product choices that their competitors don't offer...? I never even know how to respond to arguments like this...
[/quote]

If you don't know how to respond then please in the future don't bother. Maybe I should have been clearer, but I was mainly trying to say that in terms of playability and performance, nothing sets them apart from the top OEMs anymore. And that's true, everyone makes great stuff. When people are looking to buy wedges, the product choices/reputation is probably what leads a lot of people to Vokey. No doubt about it. But once you get to the course, nothing sets them apart in terms of actually helping you score.

Thanks for your constructive post tho.

[ljp3]

I used Vokeys for a long time because of the loft and bounce options, switched to Mizuno for feel and because I got a good deal.

[cgasucks]

I've been playing this game since 2000 and to this day I still don't know why Vokeys are so popular...most likely because of its tour validation..

[awil]

I would also contribute availability to the argument I play edel wedges and came from Nike don't like the look of vokey . They are everywhere to buy however , every pro shop has a vokey wedge even if as a club they only have 4 clubs for sale 2 will be putters . Maybe a Cameron ping or odyssey the other a 10.5 d2 and a vokey wedge . Just saying

[StarFleetGolfer]

Because of all the options. If I want a Callaway I have one maybe two
Options in grinds. No thanks

[melrosegod]

We live in a consumer driven market, the cream usually rises to the top. I like to switch it up so I play scratch wedges right now. Have fun with the game!

[blazman11]

Vokey seems to have the most options for lefties. I'd like to play some other wedges but have a hard time finding what I want.

Last year I wanted to try some different grinds so I hopped on 3 balls and have all sorts of different loft/bounce/grind combos to choose from with Vokey. Not so with other wedges. Sure I can order a new or custom one in other wedges but it would be much more cost prohibitive to try something you are not sure would like.