Max Homa is one of a handful of pros who relies almost exclusively on Vokey‘s L Grind lob wedge, going all the way back to 2019 when he made the switch from a 60.08M to a 60.04L. Homa was going through contact issues and thought more bounce could shore up the inconsistency, but Vokey Tour rep Aaron Dill had other thoughts.
“He came to me, and he said, ‘Hey, I feel like my bottom’s a little off,'” Dill said. “And he was thinking, ‘I need to increase the bounce to find my strike, feel a little more comfort, get a little more forgiveness out of this club.’ Reality was he had to go the other direction. He needed to go with less bounce because his club path was [delivering the sole into the turf] too early. So we switched him from M to L, and that cleaned up the delivery and he got to the ball a little bit faster with less resistance. That brought the launch down, increased the spin.”
The switch just happened to coincide with Homa’s first win at the Wells Fargo Championship. He’s been Team L Grind ever since.
It’s important to start this writeup on Vokey’s new WedgeWorks L Grind lob wedge with a story about a pro as a reminder that the L isn’t for everyone. Designed with a paltry 4 degrees of bounce, the L is ideal for golfers with a shallow attack who want a low bounce option with relief in the heel, toe and trailing edge.
As you’d expect, removing material from all three areas allows the leading edge to sit close to the ground, making it an ideal offering for tight lies or firm conditions in both the square and open position.
However, even though it’s designed for golfers with elite hands, it has slightly more protection from excessive digging compared to the other low-bounce options in Vokey’s lineup.
“The L Grind is for the player looking for the versatility of a low bounce wedge,” said Dill. “It’s really the perfect balance of ‘I want versatility, but I also want a little forgiveness to go with it.’ The forward bounce on the L helps reduce dig, but players are still able to open it up and slide under the ball easily. It’s a great option for players looking for a little bit less bounce.”
On the Tour side, seven of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking currently play a Vokey Design lob wedge with 6 degrees of bounce or less for added versatility.
Vokey continues to put a high value on spin with individually cut TX9 grooves. The Spin Milled cutting process, introduced last year with SM9, tightens tolerances by using a cutter to create the entire scoreline instead of a partial scoreline. The cutter is now cutting the groove to the end of the parallel texture to give it an even more precise geometry from one groove to the next. Micro grooves individually cut in between each groove add bite on partial shots around the green.
