By Scott Kramer
The apron of a golf green can at times feel like molasses to many golfers. Golf balls find their way in, but somehow are stubborn to come out. You can try taking half-stroke chips, full-swing flops, or something in-between. But if the turf conditions are wet, long or full of bare dirt spots, odds are good that the results will be bad. Even the best players sometimes have trouble negotiating delicate, short-range shots that need to get airborne quickly before stopping on a dime by the hole.
That’s perhaps why new wedges can help. The latest models offer a variety of head shapes, sole grinds, finishes and groove patterns that aim to help you get the ball onto the green from close in with a bit more consistency. Three fresh models look promising at helping out.
Titleist Vokey Design SM7 ($149)
These just came to market two weeks ago. Designed by Master Craftsman Bob Vokey and his team, they include a progressive center of gravity (CG), Spin Milled grooves, and six tour-proven sole grinds. The progressive CG locations are tuned to align the CG with the impact position of each individual loft, to produce exact distance and trajectory control with solid feel. The CG is higher on the high lofts to keep ball flight in more control, and lower on the low lofts to ensure more trajectory. The grooves are cut at tighter tolerances than ever, to generate more ball spin. To boot, a proprietary heat treatment is applied to all SM7 wedges so that they’ll maintain spin longer throughout the life of the club. The wedges are available in bright Tour Chrome, rich Brushed Steel and sleek Jet Black finishes — the latter with all-black paint fill in the logos and graphics. And of course you can personalize any with a custom shaft, grip, shaft band, ferrule, stamping and paint fill via the company website. Tour pros using the SM7 include Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker, Bill Haas, Webb Simpson, Brian Harman and Russell Henley.
New 56- and 60-degree loft offerings just came out this week, for this popular line — nice additions to the existing 58- and 64-degree models. Renowned golf instructor Hank Haney collaborated with Callaway to create these wedges for players looking to improve around the green. They’re designed to be very easy to play on greenside shots, especially on bunker shots and out of the rough, with an enhanced camber and high bounce. Ideally, they glide smoothly through sand and thick grass without you having to open the clubface. They’re offered in your choice of a KBS steel or UST graphite shaft.
Named after one of Ben Hogan’s favorite pitching wedge, this brand-new model comes in gap, sand and lob models. Forged from a soft 1025 carbon steel, it feels pure at impact. A progressive center of mass is higher and around the clubhead perimeter in lower lofts to generate flatter, penetrating shots that skip onto the green before stopping quickly; and iower in the higher lofts to produce high-flying shots that land softly on the green and stop. Aggressive, milled U-shaped grooves help maximize backspin and stopping power. The face is also 100-percent CNC-milled to be perfectly flat but with a textured surface. The sole geometry is versatile from heavy rough, hard fairways and sand — preventing digging into the ground.
Scott Kramer is veteran, Southern California-based writer primarily versed in golf and personal technology. Studying Computer Sciences in college, and then working as a programmer/software engineer for about a decade, triggered my passion for today’s high-end, high-tech gadgets. I can’t help myself whenever I see any kind of cool new personal technology. I feel compelled to further check it out and see what it’s all about. And even if I have no use for it personally, I’m always thinking who it might best suit. There are exciting new innovations emerging daily that are shaping the future and simplifying life. And I hope to be your eyes to that world, through the words of this column.