Vokey SM10 Wedge Review - PGAPappas and Carl’s Golfland Winner Guest Review

Every single time I visit Bloomfield Hills, MI. I have the most absolutely perfect time.  I have family here.  I usually play The South Course at Oakland Hills CC (the first host of the Play With Pete Invitational by the way).  And by the time I'm getting ready to return home I'm already looking forward to coming back.

One of my last visits to Bloomfield Hills however my time here became even more fun.  I was covering the U.S. Junior Am for the week and stopped in Carl's Golfland for the first time as it was just up the road from OHCC.  And WOW I did not know what I was missing.

Carl's Golfland has an absolutely INSANE selection of of clubs, apparel, and gear.  Their sale sections alone are larger than some other golf retail stores main new equipment areas.

They have a Virtual Golf and Trackman Range (the first location in North America to have this).  And meeting the Carl's team was pure joy.  Absolutely great people.

Of course you can shop Carl's Golfland online.  But I'm telling you it's 100-percent worth your time to make a road trip to the actual store. I was having such a good time here I was conflicted about staying or returning to OHCC to continue covering the U.S. Junior Am.

And speaking of the U.S. Junior Am that was the motivation for this giveaway and ultimately this review you're about to read.  I noticed a lot of the players competing had Vokeys in their bags so I teamed up with Carl's to give away a new Vokey SM10 wedge (any loft, finish, LH or RH, whatever the winner wanted).

And this SM10 review from Kyle (@Just_Peebs on X/Twitter) is a deep dive down the rabbit hole.  Kyle is a self-professed golf sicko and you won't have any doubt about it by the time you're done reading his incredibly thorough review.

So without further ado in his own words here's what Kyle thinks of the new Vokey SM10 wedge.  And not to take away Kyle's thunder or anything, but it sounds like the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

I want to thank Pete and the companies he partners with for all his amazing giveaways. Special thanks to Carl’s Golfland for the Vokey SM10 wedge! It truly is an amazing experience to win these contests and have a chance to play tour quality equipment. Pete is one of the best reviewers out there and I have valued his opinions on the products he tests.

I am a certified golf sicko; I read all the reviews of new products and go down the YouTube rabbit hole to consume as much information on tech and performance as I can. When the SM10 product line dropped I was intrigued that they were reshaping the wedges and moving the center of gravity to produce optimal ball flight with each loft.

Until about 4 years ago I was gaming a complete set of Cleveland CG-12 DSG RTG+ wedges. These were the best-performing wedges I had ever used, and I had a tough time finding something I liked to look at and outperformed them. The unique sole design the DSG offered was the best of both worlds for a sweeper like me. The leading edge and sole are narrow but with a high bounce to get in and out of the turf and the trailing edge has a low bounce and a lot of relief that lets you open up the face and execute a ton of different shots from all lies.

At the beginning of the 2020 season, I started replacing my Cleveland wedges as the performance was starting to dip with the age of the clubs. 

To this point I had never really tried any Vokey wedges, my dad used Cleveland, and I would get his old clubs and then I started buying Cleveland myself. I purchased a Jet-Black Vokey SM8 60° M grind with 8° of bounce and a Ben Hogan Equalizer Black 50° wedge that has a “V-style” sole. 

Both wedges have performed great, and the Vokey has been the best lob wedge I have ever used. But I still could not find a sand wedge that I liked. I turned to eBay and started buying all the Cleveland DSG RTG+ wedges I could find that still had a good life left on them. At this point, I still have two mint heads and three lightly used heads.

In the picture above the Cleveland is on the left and you can see the difference between the sole widths.

When I was notified that I won a new Vokey SM10 wedge it was the perfect opportunity to replace my Cleveland sand wedge. I used the wedge selector tool on Titleist’s website, and I went with the 54° S grind with 10° of bounce as it suggested, in a raw finish. I prefer the nonglare aspect of black and raw wedges.

As someone who does not take much of a divot I have gravitated to low-bounce wedges and “V-style” sole wedges so the S grind was a departure from what I would normally choose but I wanted to trust the process. Bunker play is one of the worst parts of my game and I figured the wider sole and a little more bounce would help. The wedge came with the Dynamic Gold S200 shaft, which to be fair is a good shaft, but I have gone lighter with the weight of my irons in recent years and have also switched to the Dynamic Gold 115 wedge shaft.

I did go out and practice and play one round with the S200 shaft and it performed great, but I could feel the added weight. Since I do all my club work, and I was going to put a new BB&F Co. ferrule on anyway I got a DG 115 wedge shaft and replaced the stock shaft and ferrule.

After putting in the new shaft it was instantly a more familiar feel and a better weight transition from my 105-gram gap wedge. I am very particular about the shape I want to see looking down at a wedge. Typically, I prefer a straighter leading edge and a sleeker design. Setting the SM10 down was everything I look for in a wedge that inspires confidence.

The first full swing I took with the wedge was my third shot on a par 5 with the pin about 100 yards away. I was impressed by how well the club got in and out of the turf and the ball flight was in a perfect mid-flight window. The shot ended up being 93 yards total with the ball bouncing maybe a foot forward. Here’s a picture of the shot.

This is the overall theme with the SM10, consistent distance control and spin. I have been extremely impressed with the performance on full shots. The ball flight is the same each time, it comes out like a laser directly at your target. I use anything from an 8-iron to a lob wedge for little pitches and chips, so I wanted to try a variety of shots around the green with the SM10. 

On pitches from around 40-50 yards out the SM10 is money. I have complete confidence in picking it off the turf and having it take one hop and stop on a dime. This picture below was about a 45/50 yard pitch over a bunker with the pin about 25 ft from the lip of the bunker.

It is not a one-trick pony though, as I have been able to play it off my back foot and have it roll out 20-30ft. The bunkers where I live are wildly inconsistent, some have ample sand and others are like hitting off concrete. I have only hit a handful of shots out of the sand, but the wider sole allows for a better explosion shot than my previous gamer and gives me more room for error. 

It is a small sample size, but I am currently hitting 86% of greens in regulation with the SM10 compared to 70% with the Cleveland wedge. My chips and pitches are also 3ft closer on average with the SM10, again smaller sample size. Even with the smaller data set it's clear the SM10 has a more consistent spin resulting in more predictable shots that end up closer to the hole. This picture below was from 90 yards out, the third shot into a par 5 with a creek guarding the front of the green.

I think it is important to get the right grind and the wedge selector tool on Titleist’s website does a good job of recommending lofts and grinds. I play on two local courses that get completely baked out in the summertime and I received the wedge in August in the Midwest, so it was right when courses were getting the most play and maybe not as much maintenance.

The only criticism I have on the S grind is that it is not the best when opening the face on tight lies on hard pan surfaces compared to my Cleveland wedge. I knew that going into deciding on that grind, but I think it does a better job in other areas, so it makes up for it. I will likely go back to my Cleveland wedge for the late summer rounds on the courses I play that get burned out. I treat all my clubs as a squad, they get subbed in and out depending on the course and conditions.

After gaming it for a few months, it is starting to patina nicely. I am glad I went with the raw finish instead of the jet black to match my other wedges. I like the black look but that finish ultimately wears off eventually.

Raw wedges almost get better with age, the rust helps hide nicks and scratches and does not show wear as fast. Plus, once it reaches a certain point, I can sand it down, blow torch it, dip it in oil to create a new look! The Vokey SM10 can do it all and should be on everyone's list of wedges to try. Here’s one final example of the exceptional spin and distance control.

Kyle on behalf of golf sickos everywhere, thank you for this phenomenal review dissecting the Vokey SM10.  Never change! 

As always anytime any of you win something from me and want to write a review just let me know and we'll post it here.  And cheers to better golf and having more fun for us all this year!