Vokey SM2 - still better than SM6/7s?!

[Curls]

Howdy folks,

So apparently the grooves used in the Spin Milled 2 Vokeys were so awesome (USA) they banned them being used again. Bob and the boys have been designing new and inventing ways of creating more spin with different techniques ever since. So the question is.

Do the newer models spin as much as the older ones - and crucially - does that spin persist? I read somewhere that a seasons play reduces the spin by 10%. I don't know how much that affects the "average" golfer, but I'm concerned that it is either marketing guff (I hope) or, more disconcertingly, that Bob and the boys are now designing inbuilt obsolescence (i.e. the same tactic used by mobile phone companies to make your perfectly good 2 year old phone unworkable). If that's the case why buy newer wedges that are going to wear out faster, the trade off in spin is negligible.

Side note. I can generate decent backspin on a good day with my SM2s. I picked up a Ping Gorge at one point and never got the same action, always release. So I do think there's a demonstrable difference between wedges even at my level.

A thinly veiled query to prevent me from spending money on new shineys while looking out at the snow, rocking manically, wondering if I could practice my sand game in it.

 

[Deleted member 15717]

The allowed grooves in wedges were changed a few years back...I can’t remember the exact details, but if you google it you’ll find it.

I never played golf with the old grooves, but from what I hear, the newer ones do not generate as much spin as the old ones...but fresh grooves should beat 8/10 year old worn grooves in wedges.

As with most things though....it boils down to strike!

 

[Tommo21]

Yip, still use old 200 series Vokey wedges and IMO they are better that any. Getting increasingly difficult to get good ones on e bay. SM2 are very good and I think Vokey wedges are not as good in recent years

However, I'm trying callaway mac daddy wedges at the moment and they are very good. Classic shape, great feel and spin is consistent.

 

[chrisd]

I had a SM7 fitting and the fitter said that it's reckoned that you should only keep your wedges every 75 rounds. I said that as I only hit the same spot on the face about twice in 75 rounds would it apply to me?

Padraig Harrington said on one of the Sky masterclasses I watched the other day that he changes his wedges every 3 weeks, but did concede that he doesn't have to pay for them. 😀

 

[Imurg]

You're ok to use them until at least 2024 and probably beyond.
If they work and you like 'em, use 'em....

 

[Fish]

Interesting comments.

I've heard & read many things about the lifetime of wedges, and if 75+ rounds is the baseline figure, then that's a season/year for many, would you really look to change your wedges annually?

I bought my Mizuno S5 Blue's when they were launched in 2015 and as someone has stated above, I've now noticed unlike when I first bought them that I now have to play more for a release than any amount of check or spin.

My 60*/05 has had the least use and its very noticeable when not only looking at the grooves, but it now gets me out of bunkers better than my traditional 56*/12 used to.

My 56 gets substantial use around the greens and bunkers, so I think the wear & tear on the grooves must have a significant impact eventually, but due to the use of any particular lofted wedge in your bag, it has to be factored by the amount of rounds and not a time factor which could lead to having different brand or aged wedges as some wedges get far more use than others, but would that be advisable?

Mine are 2.5 years old now, or 250 rounds so I'm in the market for new wedges, but I haven't got a clue what I'm going to start looking at?

 

[need_my_wedge]

When I had my wedge fitting with Iain Clarke (ICY Golf), he said that forged wedges needing refacing every 3 months. Due to the distance between us, it was a once or twice a year visit. Every time he did them, they were like new and spun the ball like a spinning top. I have to confess that the journey up to Leicester was getting longer and longer, and to the point where it just became too inconvenient. Consequently, I switched to Mack Daddy wedges last year (sorry Iain). They are not the forged ones but also pretty damn good in the spin department. I tried the MD's vs the Vokey's vs TM vs the ICY Golf in an hour long pitching session. The ICY wedges still held their own, if Iain was on my doorstep, I'd have stuck with them, but I was quite taken with the MD's, so went went with a 52 and 58.

 

[Curls]

Great info thanks all, I'm not changing a thing in my bag this year but have now got a reason to make an exception in the case of the wedges should the opportunity arise.

Cheers, Curls