There are numerous ways to fill out your golf bag from having three fairway woods to no fairway woods, to playing two drivers or no drivers, to playing two wedges or four wedges.
During the Fully Equipped team’s recent trip to Carlsbad, Wadeh Maroun, Kris McCormack and this writer each got a full bag fitting at the Titleist Performance Institute. Maroun, specifically came away with a surprising “Ahah” moment when it came to the bottom end of his bag, sparked by the addition of a Vokey SM10 46-degree pitching wedge.
“That’s something that [my fitter] Lucas and I were going through as well, because it means that from 130 yards in, I can use one club if I want to,” Maroun said on the latest edition of GOLF’s Fully Equipped podcast. “It’s such a utility club for me. If I want to knock it down, I can. If I want to use around the greens, I can. If I want to hit 100 yards, I can. If I want to hit 110, 90, 80, it’s wild.
“It’s kind of opened my eyes to some stuff in that regard, which is kind of cool.”
McCormack was a bit surprised at the result as, in his years as a fitter, he didn’t tend to recommend specialty pitching wedges for amateur players, even ones as skilled as a low-single-digit handicap like Maroun. He said it helps to take advantage of the same technology in the iron set with the pitching wedge to aid with gapping and consistency as it’s a full-swing club typically.
But everyone is different.
“For you, it kind of highlighted the scoring zone for you, gave you some versatility, gave you another option that you can use for a variety of different shots,” McCormack said. “So yeah, cool conclusion.”
But the interesting wrinkle Maroun revealed is that the new 46-degree wedge isn’t replacing the pitching wedge that is in his iron set. Maroun is putting in the slot that had been occupied by a 50-degree wedge. He’ll go set pitching wedge to the 46-degree then to a 54-degree sand wedge.
Titleist Vokey SM10 Jet Black Custom Wedge
For every shot, every lie, every course, there’s a grind fit for your swing. Finding the right grind to match your swing and playing conditions will give you the best turf interaction, contact and shot performance. Master Craftsman Bob Vokey has spent decades crafting, developing and improving his tour proven grinds to fit players of all levels.Anyone can manufacture a wedge, but it takes a master to turn a piece of high-performance technology into an instrument of creative control. Bob’s six tour-proven grinds are designed to offer maximum creativity, versatility and consistency, all meticulously developed through years of working with the best players in the world.
PROGRESSIVE CENTER OF GRAVITY
SM9 features a progressive center of gravity (CG) throughout the lofts, which optimizes ball flight, accuracy and forgiveness. Using tapered top lines and varied hosel lengths, the Vokey R&D team has raised the height of the CG in the higher lofts, which promotes a lower, more controlled flight.The CG is also forward of the face, resulting in increased MOI, exceptional feel and a club face that simply wants to square up at impact.
SPIN MILLED GROOVES
SM9’s patented Spin Milled grooves are meticulously engineered through a new cutting process to maximize spin and durability. The process starts by cutting the face perfectly flat with a high-speed saw. Then every groove is individually cut based on loft and finish; low lofts (46°-54°) are designed with narrower, deeper grooves, while higher lofts (56°-62°) have wider, shallower grooves.Micro-grooves are individually cut in between grooves, which maximize spin on partial shots. A proprietary heat treatment is applied to the impact area which doubles the durability of the groove without impacting feel, making it the most durable groove in golf. The process is only complete when every Vokey wedge is 100% inspected for utmost quality and performance.
“The 46-degree is going to act literally as it’s never going to be full swing,” Maroun said. “From 125, 130 in, it’s just, it’s pure feel, it’s pure knockdown, it’s all of the— everything you could want to do with that club. It’s a utility wedge, it’s wild.”
It may be unconventional, but it’s something Maroun is testing out to see how it goes, because with golf gear, there aren’t too many ideas not worth trying.
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.
