Vokey 56 SM9 vs SM7

tannahillnick · July 25

Just to start I have played a Vokey 56 with 10° of bounce since I was about 13 - I am now 32. I am a scratch handicap golfer. I played at a high level in college and since kids - I just can’t play much other than league night. I recently upgraded my SM7 wedge to an SM9. Again, I found the 56 with 10° of bounce - however Titleist, in my opinion, has messed up the 56 / 10. There is only one grind with 10° of bounce, and it is geared toward the high handicapper. It is impossible to be versatile around the green with.

Trying to open up, this wedge is almost impossible. It is very tough to play from tight lies unlike the SM7. Does anyone else have this thought process?

I was thinking about possibly grinding down the toe end of my SM9 but just wanted to see if any other higher level players have ran across this issue - and how would I go about that? I understand General grinding but I guess for my specific issue I don’t know where to grind.

I’ve never used a 60 degree - this club does it all for me around the greens. So when I try to open this and can’t do what I want it is very frustrating that the club can’t do what I need.

Can I salvage my new wedge? It’s really only usable with a square face!

Hawkeye77 · July 25

1 hour ago, tannahillnick said:

Just to start I have played a Vokey 56 with 10° of bounce since I was about 13 - I am now 32. I am a scratch handicap golfer. I played at a high level in college and since kids - I just can’t play much other than league night. I recently upgraded my SM7 wedge to an SM9. Again, I found the 56 with 10° of bounce - however Titleist, in my opinion, has messed up the 56 / 10. There is only one grind with 10° of bounce, and it is geared toward the high handicapper. It is impossible to be versatile around the green with.

Trying to open up, this wedge is almost impossible. It is very tough to play from tight lies unlike the SM7. Does anyone else have this thought process?

I was thinking about possibly grinding down the toe end of my SM9 but just wanted to see if any other higher level players have ran across this issue - and how would I go about that? I understand General grinding but I guess for my specific issue I don’t know where to grind.

I’ve never used a 60 degree - this club does it all for me around the greens. So when I try to open this and can’t do what I want it is very frustrating that the club can’t do what I need.

Can I salvage my new wedge? It’s really only usable with a square face!

The S grind isn't geared towards high handicappers, and is plenty versatile for many with good short games and technique, lol, but if it doesn't suit you or the conditions you play in, find a wedge that does. If you don't know how to grind a wedge, it would be silly to wing it.

Bye · July 25

I don’t think the S grind changed that much between SM7 and 9. From memory I think it’s when they started playing with the CG though.

I am playing the SM10 which I think is an improvement on the more recent generations.

All of the marketing says it for players that like to keep the face square and change the loft by moving the handle backwards or forwards. But in reality you can open the face, however it will increase the amount of effective bounce.

It might be worth trying an M grind to see how you get on, otherwise you might want to look to add a 60 L or T grind for those types of shots where you want to manipulate the face.

alexc93 · July 25

Like the above suggested an L or a T grind might be more what you’re looking for. The S grind is more suited to keeping the face square. That or you could explore a 58 D grind, bent to 56, which would bring that to 10 degrees of bounce. However, that will add some offset but could work for what you’re trying to achieve without having to grind the toe or heel yourself.

storm3 · July 26

2 hours ago, alexc93 said:

Like the above suggested an L or a T grind might be more what you’re looking for. The S grind is more suited to keeping the face square. That or you could explore a 58 D grind, bent to 56, which would bring that to 10 degrees of bounce. However, that will add some offset but could work for what you’re trying to achieve without having to grind the toe or heel yourself.

or bend a 54.08 M 2 degrees weak

storm3 · July 26

5 hours ago, tannahillnick said:

There is only one grind with 10° of bounce, and it is geared toward the high handicapper. It is impossible to be versatile around the green with.

You do realize that the S grind was developed for Steve Stricker, right?

Also, the S grind has been the only grind option at 56/10 since the SM6 so this should not be a surprise.

As others have mentioned, one of the dual sole grinds would be a better fit if face manipulation is important. The 54/08M bent 2 degrees weak or 58/12D bent 2 degrees strong would probably be what you are looking for, but I’d also give the stock 56/08M a try to see if that meets your needs.

alexc93 · July 26

16 minutes ago, storm3 said:

or bend a 54.08 M 2 degrees weak

+1 there’s a few options to get the grind you’re looking for in a 56 @OP

StoutKing · July 26

5 hours ago, tannahillnick said:

Just to start I have played a Vokey 56 with 10° of bounce since I was about 13 - I am now 32. I am a scratch handicap golfer. I played at a high level in college and since kids - I just can’t play much other than league night. I recently upgraded my SM7 wedge to an SM9. Again, I found the 56 with 10° of bounce - however Titleist, in my opinion, has messed up the 56 / 10. There is only one grind with 10° of bounce, and it is geared toward the high handicapper. It is impossible to be versatile around the green with.

Trying to open up, this wedge is almost impossible. It is very tough to play from tight lies unlike the SM7. Does anyone else have this thought process?

I was thinking about possibly grinding down the toe end of my SM9 but just wanted to see if any other higher level players have ran across this issue - and how would I go about that? I understand General grinding but I guess for my specific issue I don’t know where to grind.

I’ve never used a 60 degree - this club does it all for me around the greens. So when I try to open this and can’t do what I want it is very frustrating that the club can’t do what I need.

Can I salvage my new wedge? It’s really only usable with a square face!

I don't think you're crazy. Had a slate blue SM7 56s that was better than any SM9 56s. Maybe it was just mental.

Brady_Dow · July 30

The S Grind is meant to be played more square. This does not mean it's for high handicaps haha. If you want to manipulate the face around the greens more just get an M grind with 8 degrees of bounce. I almost guarantee that it has plenty of bounce to keep it from digging. Or just get a Wedgeworks V Grind. I believe that has 10* of bounce and lets you open the face up a bit more