While the big focus of Open Championship week is almost always the myriad of utility irons that go in the bag, many pros are also making adjustments to their lob wedges for the firm links turf.
With a mix of grasses predominantly made up of fescue, Royal Portrush’s firm turf offers a bit of a unique challenge this week and most of the pros are looking for ways to catch their wedge shots cleanly to get as much spin as possible on the rock-hard greens.
Titleist’s Aaron Dill, the lead Tour rep for Vokey wedges, said the most common wedge grinds he was seeing this week were the K, K*, T and L grinds, four of the lower bounce options in the company’s matrix.
But there were also plenty of custom grinds out there, and Johnny Wunder explained on this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped that there was a common request from a lot of players.
The 5 most interesting gear trends and switches at the Open Championship
By:
Jack Hirsh
“There were some changes to some wedges and you’re going to see a lot of players buffing out the ribbons on a lot of the wedges,” Wunder said.
The ribbon is the name of the angle that is formed in a wedge grind where the bounce changes on the sole. Vokey already has two of these grinds with the ribbon removed in their matrix, with the A, which is an L grind with the ribbon removed, and the A+, which is the wider M grind with no ribbon.
“If you look at an A+ grind, it has all that stuff carved out,” Wunder continued. “But in this case, you’re going to see a lot of guys smoothing some of the edges and all that does is just gets it through the ground faster. You can really hit some nippers that way. But those ribbons do have, those angles do have value when you get on softer conditions.”
Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks SM10 A+ Grind Custom Wedge
The A+ Grind is a brand new addition to the Vokey WedgeWorks lineup.
The A+ Grind comes from similar origins as the A Grind. Both are similar in the fact that they both came from smoothing out the grind lines on some classic Vokey grinds.
The name A+ comes from the idea that it is a similar grind to the A Grind but has more width and more bounce than the A grind. Hence the plus. The A+ will still have a smooth, fast feel through the turf but will suit players who need the club to dig less than an A Grind.
The A+ Grind is played by tour players worldwide as well as recent tour winner Davis Riley.
The WedgeWorks A+ Grind features a mid-bounce sole and is available in 58° and 60° lofts in Right Hand with a Raw finish.
View Product
While there are few A and A+ grinds in play, there are also modified versions of Vokey’s other grinds. Xander Schauffele is one such player using a modified K* grind this week with the ribbon removed. Patrick Reed is playing a modified T grind with the ribbon removed to help the club move through the turf quicker.
Jack Hirsh
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.
