As Bob Vokey says, the Titliest Vokey Spin Milled 4 wedge is 'Bob's Greatest Hits'. When the groove rules changed in 2010, Titleist spent most of the year getting new wedges out to their tour staff before focussing on creating their all new wedge with the new grooves.
The Vokey SM4 now has 17 grooves, up from 14 and takes the best bits of the SM1, SM2 and the 200 series to create what Titleist say is their best wedge ever.
The key to the SM4 is the spin milled grooves which are as aggressive as the '2-circle' rule allows and each one is individually checked to ensure that it is legal before it leaves the factory. When the rules changed wedges lost around 30% of the spin capability from the rough, but the new design claws back about 10% of this as well as being more durable over the longer term.
The heads are a little larger than the SM2 and this is a good thing. However the real difference is in the various sole grinds that determine the bounce options on the SM4. Bob Vokey has taken the most requested grinds from the Tour and interspersed these throughout the range to give one of the most comprehensive wedge ranges that we have seen.
The options take a while to get your head around so we would recommend going to a Titleist fitting centre or professional as selecting the right loft and bounce will depend on your stroke and the type of courses you play most. However this will be time well spent as the performance of the correct wedge is noticeable over the wrong one.
The Vokey SM4 wedge is a delight to play with and the soft steel face is lovely to look at in whichever finish you choose. A great flexible range of quality wedges and one we would recommend trying.
Overall Rating - 5 stars: