1. Before working on wedges, did you work on any other clubs?
2. Did you look up to anyone in the golf industry? If yes, who and why.
3. What's your favorite Major and why?

Out of everything you have learned over the years, what would be the one thing you think would be most important for the average golfer to know or understand better about wedges and/or club fitting?

Hi Christopher,

My first project at Titleist was assisting the team with the 975D driver. For years, I worked on drivers, dating back to persimmon woods. But I always had an interest in wedges. It was really a hobby of mine until we decided to start developing a more complete line of wedges in the late 90’s. Then I was able to turn my passion into my work.

Thanks!

- Bob Vokey

VOKE,

Thanks for taking the time to do this! I really respect and appreciate your impact on wedges. As a die hard wedge enthusiast, I have to ask why do you not make the raw finish available for all your exclusives?  I get not stocking shelves with them because the general golfing public may not get it. Thanks for doing the SM5 in raw, along with the Links K. I'm loving the links k for the firm conditions this summer in northern ca. Much respect to you! Stephen

What are the benefits and advantages of a preworn leading edge?

Bob,

With a four wedge set up, what would be your wedge choices for playing in Arizona?  Thanks so much and congrats and continued great success!  @VernU_TT  #TeamTitleist #1wedgesingolf

How do you match up swing characteristics with wedge configuration to make sure you have a proper fitting?

As a 5 handicap, I'm looking to close the gaps in my wedge game for better scoring. 

My stock Titleist AP2 pitching wedge is 47 degrees, and I'm trying to determine the rest of my set.

Would you recommend a 52, 56, and 60 degree set, or more of a 54 and 60 degree set for all shots, and why?

Thanks for your help!  -Scott

Hi Scott,

This is all about your wedge play strengths and weaknesses. Both set ups get you close to 4°-6° of loft between your wedges. When players ask this during a fitting, I always like to evaluate their comfort level hitting the in between feel shots. Softening their swing slightly to take 6 yards off of a shot can be challenging, particularly on the back-9 Sunday afternoon of a big event.

Adding an extra wedge with the 52, 56, 60 setup gives you a full swing more often.

Thanks,

Bob Vokey

Hello Mr. Vokey!

I have a quick question about fitting for wedges. I am getting new wedges this winter and I do not know how to tell if I'm a "Digger" or have a shallow swing plane and I don't know what type of conditions i play in. (I live in Colorado)

Thank you very much!

Davis

I play Vokey wedges and appreciate the quality of your work.  I recently had my club fitter grind my SM4 56.11 to a 56.08 and put it in play (my primary sand wedge is a SM5 56.10 S grind).  The course I play has very shallow hard sand because they did not add any new sand this year and using a wedge with a lot of bounce produced negative shots.  Based on your experience do you think I made the right choice for these type conditions.  Thank you and please keep up you excellent work.  

The best way to evaluate if you are a digger or slider is to look at your divot. Is it long and deep? Or is there hardly any divot at all? Long, deep divots are the sign of a digger, while very little divot is an indication of a sweeping technique. If your divots are somewhere in the middle, then you are more neutral. The best method for evaluating the right wedge is to hit each grind side by side. Start with a 56° wedge, and hit the M, S, & F grinds. You will notice a difference in feel, ball flight, and divot.

As for course conditions, this is also challenging. For firm, think about a typical Open Championship in Scotland. When the fairways are rolling fast. Those are firm conditions. It’s important to remember, your swing travels with you from course to course. Fit your wedges for swing first.

Good luck and thanks!

- Bob Vokey

Are you willing to give us any hints as to what to expect for the next SM model of wedges? Forged? Raw finish? Return of Oil Can?

Hi Bob,

As a fellow Canadian, I was wondering how often you come home to visit or holiday?  Also, when you do retire (all good careers must come to an end) what do you plan to do?

Thanks,

Ryan

Mr. Vokey,

I am confused as to which sole grinds on wedges are best for different conditions. Will you please explain how to have the right combination of wedges in my bag to cover most conditions? I live in a region of the country that has a red clay soil that can be either hard or soft depending on the weather. Wet sand has always given me a problem as well.

Thanks you for your advise.

Jim R.

High Point, NC

Hi Jim,

The best way to choose your grind is to hit each side by side. This will show you ball flight and allow you to feel the turf interaction. You have identified an important point, course conditions can change on your home course, as well as when you travel to different regions.

This is why it is best to fit for your swing type. Your swing travels with you from course to course. If you play in both hard and soft conditions based on the weather, I’d recommend a bit more bounce. I like to say ‘Bounce is your friend.’

A lot of tour players are playing mid to high bounce wedges all over the world with incredible success.

Thanks for the question!

- Bob Vokey

Hi David,

Great question. Instead of thinking about the bounce, think about the leading edge and trailing edge. The leading edge is the edge of the club that you see below the first groove when you address the golf ball. The trailing edge is the bottom most part of the sole. If you focus on engaging the trailing edge, and impacting the turf with the trailing edge and not the leading edge, you will engage the bounce and use the wedge as the design intended.

A lot of this depends on the type of shot you are trying to hit and the technique you are trying to use.

Hope this helps!

- Bob Vokey

Hello Mr. Vokey  I was wondering if you plan on doing a custom grinds on any of the wedges you design in maybe a limited format? Say a Jordan Speith addition or something like that.  Thanks again Titleist!                                                          

Would you say having the right bounce or grind is more important?  For example I am a digger but I live in Las Vegas and when I read descriptions on the different grinds there doesn't seem to be an optimal one for a digger with firm turf conditions.

Bob, Are the wedges the tour players use thicker at the top as compared  to your retail line. Thanks, Mark

Why do I tend to hit most wedge shots on the toe of the club??

Hi, thanks for taking my question.  How do you suggest setting up your wedge gaps?  Do you find the wedge you normally fly 100 yards and then work up and down in 10 yard increments?  One last quick question....How do you know when it is time to replace a wedge?

Thank you. Jerry

Hi Jerry,

When it comes to replacing your wedges, a good rule of thumb is to replace your wedges every 60-70 rounds of golf. If you practice more often, particularly from a bunker, you may want to replace your sand and lob wedge even more often.

Here are a few tell tale signs that you need to consider replacing your wedge:

• First, if your full shots are starting to slide up the face and the launch angle is much higher than you are used to seeing, the grooves may not be grabbing the ball the way they should.

• Second, if your half shots that used to one-hop & stop are rolling out, it is time to evaluate some new wedges.

- Bob Vokey

Any chance that you will bring back the TVD-M grind? Love these wedges and it's time to replace mine.

Hi Mike,

thanks for opening up some questions for Mr. Vokey.

I currently play a 60 M grind, a 56 M grind and a have a 50 

I think I'm "gapped" correctly but would like to know what The Voke would do

The 50 is targeted for 112-119

The 56 is targeted for 92 - 112

The 60 is 90ish yard shots

These are based on a plain, dry day w little wind effecting flight

thank you for the opportunity

Brian

What was the most amazing AHA! moment when starting with Titleist back in 1996?