The Titleist Vokey SM11: Refining an Icon That Was Already Winning

There is a particular kind of engineering challenge that doesn't get enough credit — the challenge of improving something that is already, by almost every measure, perfect. When your product accounts for more than half of all gap, sand, and lob wedges played on the PGA Tour, when players gaming at least one of your wedges won 26 Tour events in a single season, the question isn't whether to change. The question is how, why, and where.

That was the task facing Master Craftsman Bob Vokey and the Titleist R&D team when they set about creating the SM11. Unveiled in January 2026 and available in stores from February 20, the eleventh generation of the "Spin Milled" family doesn't reinvent the wedge. It distils it.

Contact, Flight, Spin: The Philosophy Behind the Club

Every generation of Vokey wedges has been built around three core principles — contact, flight, and spin — and the SM11 is no different. What changes is the depth of the engineering behind each one.

Bob Vokey has always maintained that great wedge play begins with contact: the ball striking the face between grooves two and five. Achieve that, and everything else follows. The SM11 is designed to make that contact more achievable for more players across more conditions. "The right bounce and grind help you find a clean strike between grooves two and five," said Corey Gerrard, Director of Marketing for Vokey Wedges. "Nail that, and the flight and spin follow — lower, more controlled trajectories with the stopping power great wedge players depend on."

This philosophy is what drives the SM11's industry-leading lineup: 27 unique configurations spanning six tour-proven grinds — F, S, M, D, K, and T — giving every player, regardless of swing type, attack angle, or playing conditions, a path to cleaner, more consistent wedge play.

The CG Breakthrough: One Number That Changes Everything

Perhaps the most significant engineering advancement in the SM11 is one the average golfer might never think to ask about: the precise, identical placement of the centre of gravity (CG) within each loft group, regardless of grind.

In previous Vokey generations, CG positions varied slightly across different grinds within the same loft. It was a minor variable, but at the highest levels of the game, minor variables matter enormously. "With SM11, all the CGs within a loft are now at the same exact point," said Kevin Tassistro, Titleist R&D's Director of Wedge Development. "So when golfers get fit into the right grind — whichever grind that is — and they're finding grooves two through five with their strike, the ball will meet the CG in the correct spot."

The practical effect is significant. For a given loft, SM11 features the same CG location in all grinds, resulting in a controlled, consistent launch angle. No matter which sole design fits a player's swing or course conditions, the launch window is locked in — leaving players free to choose the lofts and grinds that work for them, without worrying about unintended flight variations.

For lower-lofted wedges (44–52 degrees), CG is positioned lower and closer to face centre for a smooth transition from a player's iron set and to eliminate excessive draw movement. As loft increases toward the lob wedge range, CG progresses accordingly — each position dialled in to support the specific flight characteristics those shots demand.

The Vokey Spin System: Three Technologies, One Goal

Spin has always been a defining characteristic of Vokey wedges, but the SM11 introduces what Titleist calls the Vokey Spin System — a network of three interlocking technologies designed to generate the right amount of spin from any lie.

To maximise spin performance, SM11 offers three shot-specific groove shapes, 5% larger groove volume, and a new directional face texture, designed together to increase stopping power. These aren't three independent upgrades applied separately — they are tuned together, specific to each wedge in the lineup.

The face texture has been described as "razor-like": a new surface that increases friction and prolongs ball contact to deliver more reliable spin control on greenside shots. This is particularly valuable from the rough, where interference between ball and face is hardest to control.

The groove shapes themselves are differentiated by loft. Lob wedges have wider and shallower grooves to better redistribute grass, moisture, and debris for increased spin, whereas gap wedges feature deeper and narrower grooves for better full-swing impact. Sand wedges occupy a middle-ground design, offering versatile performance between the two.

Underpinning all of this is the heat treatment process applied to the grooves themselves. Heat-treated grooves double durability without sacrificing feel — addressing one of the most consistent complaints from serious golfers: that their wedge grooves wear down before the rest of the club even shows its age.

Six Grinds, Every Situation

One of the defining characteristics of the Vokey line has always been grind diversity, and the SM11 doubles down on that commitment. "Wedges need to be versatile, and every player is different," Bob Vokey said. "It's never one size fits all for wedges. That's why we have many grind options. There is a wedge for every player."

The six standard grinds — F, S, M, D, K, and T — each serve a distinct purpose. The F Grind is the all-rounder, suited to players who attack the ball on a neutral angle of attack with standard turf conditions. The S Grind offers a full sole with slight heel relief for players who open the face frequently. The M Grind is the specialist's choice: crescent-shaped and low-bounce, designed for creative shot-making from tight lies. The D Grind pairs a wide sole with high bounce for players who dig through soft turf. The K Grind offers a full, rounded sole for the bunker and greenside specialists. The T Grind provides a narrow, low-bounce sole for those playing on firm conditions who need the leading edge to work cleanly.

The SM11 also arrives with notable additions at the loft extremes. New to the lineup is the 44.10F, ideal for golfers who prefer the performance and profile of a Vokey pitching wedge but require a stronger loft than 46 degrees to properly gap their set. At the other end, the .06K Grind — which was used to win the PGA Championship and The Open Championship in 2025 — is now included at launch in 58 and 60 degrees, providing an alternative low-bounce lob wedge option to the in-line T Grind.

Tour Validation: The Numbers Don't Lie

There is no more demanding test lab for equipment than the PGA Tour, and no better proof of a wedge's quality than what the best players in the world choose to put in their bags when their livelihood depends on it.

Titleist's wedges accounted for more than half of all the gap, sand, and lob wedges used on the PGA Tour in 2025, and have been the most popular on Tour every year since 2004. Players gaming at least one Vokey wedge won 26 PGA Tour events in 2025, including the PGA Championship and The Open Championship.

The SM11 was introduced to Tour players at The American Express in January 2026, with the .06K Grind already carrying a major pedigree. Scottie Scheffler, the world's number one player, famously relied on the 6-degree-bounce K Grind version in the SM10 to secure multiple major victories in 2025 — and that same specification has been carried forward and refined in the SM11.

WedgeWorks: For Those Who Want to Go Deeper

Beyond the standard lineup, Titleist's WedgeWorks programme brings six additional specialty grinds to the SM11 family: the L, A, K, A+, V*, and 62M. These are not mass-market options. They are specific solutions to environmental problems found on the PGA Tour, available to golfers who want to match their wedge to a very particular course condition or swing characteristic.

The L Grind features a narrow sole designed for players who want the leading edge sitting flush against a firm fairway, offering a touch more security than the T Grind by keeping CG low and bounce minimal to prevent the club from skipping into the back of the ball on tight lies. The A Grind, born from Geoff Ogilvy's need for a wedge that could handle the firm turf of the Australian Sandbelt, has been a Tour favourite for players with a shallow attack angle — Wyndham Clark used it to win the U.S. Open.

Finishes, Customisation, and Feel

The SM11 is available in three finishes: Tour Chrome, a new Jet Black, and Nickel. A raw finish is available through a custom order. Pricing is set at $199 per wedge, or $209 for the raw finish.

Customisation has also been elevated with the SM11. Options now include Flight Lines, character stamping, paintfill, and toe engravings. The Flight Lines feature, developed by Titleist ambassador Parker McLachlin, is designed to help players set up their clubface and shaft position for three different shot trajectories — a small detail that can make a meaningful difference for golfers still developing their short-game instincts.

The standard lie angle across all models sits at 64 degrees, with ladies' and junior lengths adjusted accordingly from standard specifications.

Who Is the SM11 For?

The honest answer is: almost everyone. That is not marketing language — it is the logical conclusion of a lineup that spans 27 configurations from 44 to 60 degrees across six grinds, with a fitting infrastructure designed to match each player to their ideal combination.

For the low-handicapper who lives on tight fairways and needs a lob wedge that can play from firm turf without skipping, the T or 06K Grind offers precision without excess bounce. For the mid-handicapper with a steeper swing playing parkland courses through winter, the F or M Grind provides versatility and forgiveness. For the bunker-challenged player who has always struggled to get enough sand underneath the ball, the high-bounce K Grind at 60 degrees may be the most transformative single club they ever put in the bag.

What the SM11 represents, above all else, is the compounding result of decades of feedback from the best players in the world, translated into hardware available to every golfer. The engineering is meticulous. The Tour validation is unmatched. And the philosophy — contact, flight, spin — is as simple and as demanding as golf itself.

Whether you are a scratch player fine-tuning a bag that's already close, or a 15-handicapper looking for a starting point with wedge fitting, the SM11 has been built with the conviction that there is, somewhere in its 27 configurations, a wedge for you.