Gear: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 T Grind wedges
Price: $179 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold S200 shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 White grips.
Specs: Cast stainless steel in tour chrome, brushed steel or jet black finishes. 58 and 60 degrees
Available: March 10
Who It’s For: Golfers who play in firm, hard conditions and need a low-bounce option around the greens.
The Skinny: With a narrow sole and low bounce, the SM9 T Grind can help skilled players get the leading edge under the ball on tight lies and play a wider variety of shortgame shots.
The Deep Dive: Playing the Old Course at St. Andrews last season during the 150th British Open, the eventual winner, Cameron Smith, carried a secret weapon for dealing with the ultra-firm ground. At Royal Melbourne in 2019, Jordan Spieth brought the same secret weapon and shared it with Justin Thomas, and now the two-time PGA Championship winner brings it to every event he plays.
The secret isn’t a secret at all. It’s a Vokey Design SM9 T Grind wedge, and until now the club has only been available to tour players and through custom order at Titleist’s WedgeWorks program. However, the T Grind is now being added as a seventh stock grind to the Vokey Design SM9 lineup.
The T Grind is unique because it has an extremely low bounce angle of just 4 degrees, a narrow crescent-shaped front section and a wider back flange. Compared to the other low-bounce option in the SM9 lineup, the L Grind, the T has a narrower forward sole and more aggressive heel, toe and trailing edge relief, which can make it easier to open the face and play a wider variety of shots and still get under the ball on tight lies.
For that reason, Smith, Spieth and Thomas have played it on links-style courses. Cameron Young and Will Zalatoris are among the pros who use an SM9 T Grind regularly.
The T grind is only available as a 58- or 60-degree lob wedge and comes in three finishes: tour chrome, brushed steel and jet black. A raw steel finish option is also available through custom only.
