Vokey SM5 BROWNING? Only been 2 months...

So I purchased a Vokey SM5 with the understanding that they have a great reputation as one of the most durable and best playing wedges on the market. However, it has only been 2 months of weekend golfing, and my 60* SM5 has already begun to brown. I understand how it is completely natural for a golf club to brown over time, but it has only been 2 months, which is raising my concerns.

Has this happened to anyone else? Maybe a defective product? Should I contact Titleist?

Pictures are enclosed. They were taken just after my round today, after a thorough cleaning.

If anyone could shed some light on my questions, it would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

Gocanucksfan123

You have found perfection. We are glad that you are a good ball striker . IMO let it rust. I love keeping my wedges outside during this time of year!

Thanks for the feedback Am I seeing rust or browning? (Or is it the same thing?) Sorry for the beginner questions guys haha

I have 2 wedges, been using them since June three rounds/week. No signs of wear on mine!?

I think I would take it back. After 2 months of weekend golf, and the frequency of use of a 60° wedge...there's no way it should wear like that.

Yeah, I would run that one by Titleist. 2 months on a non-raw wedge shouldnt look like that.

it looks like ware from sandy conditions to me but i always use raw rusty wedges to cut the glare. To me the groves look fine and that it all i would be worried about.

Wedges take a serious pounding. Its probably the most used club in people's bag. You practice with it on sandy ranges and then it gets beat to death on course as well. With that said if you are only playing on the weekends without lots of weekday practice then your wedge seems to be wearing prematurely. If you practice some on sandy ranges though, the sand on the range balls and club face will wear out a wedge pretty quickly.

i doubt they will do anything about it. I bought a macdaddy 2 wedge at the beginning of summer and by mid july approximately 2 months of playing it looked like it was 2 years old. If you use your wedge a lot and hit it consistently its going to show.

Looks like normal wear to me, esp if you hit on sandy ranges and/or dont wipe the blade clean after every shot. Any bunker practice with it?

I don't think it's uncommon wear for balls hit in sandy conditions. This is a Cally Forged Copper with about 2 months of playing. I think this is raw under so it started rusting. The satin finish shouldn't rust on your vokey.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm thankful to all of you.

The wedge is only ever used around the greens, from 100yds and in, and I rarely take it out for bunker shots. Also, the only time I use it at the range (not really that sandy) is for about 5 minutes as I practice 50yd shots as part of my warm up.

Over the course of my round, I'd say that I pull out my 60 every 3 holes or so for a shot from 50 yards and in.


I guess I should probably reach out to titleist and see what they have to say? Any idea if they'll do anything about it?

Thanks again for the replies

Make sure you clean it between shots, especially if hitting numerous balls on range. Thats what wears it out.

Will do. Thanks for the input

Looks like normal wear to me. Even if you get Titleist to replace it, the new one will look the same after two more months.

I have 2 SM5 wedges and played 80+ rounds over this summer and they look practically brand new.

Sand and rocks on the range are the biggest culprit where I play.

I hit a limited number of balls on the range because it absolutely destroys any clubface.

Looks like natural wear to me. wedges get destroyed quickly.

Ok, thanks guys. I'm hoping this is just the normal wear and tear and not a defective product at all.

Defective plating of any kind would be peeling, not the wear you are seeing. 2 months is not a long time though for a golf club. Do you practice a lot on a driving range with sandy soil? Do you brush off the sand/dirt after each shot?

I'm with the normal wear guys.

I often see young Koreans hitting 20 to 50 balls with the wedge on just warm up alone, after which they use their other clubs for their practice sessions. I also see them cool down at the end of the session wih 20 to 50 balls. That much use will wear the plating inside of 2 months if done 3 times a week. Look carefully at your other clubs. There should also be some more subtle signs of wear on their faces.

Frankly, I like seeing a players wedge used as well as that one. It shows the player is out to learn his wedge as thoroughly as his putter and is more likely to know how to hit his landings in the short game.



Shambles

Maybe in some crazy scheme to make money Titleist decided to make the finish on their wedges less durable so the days of guys playing a 200 series vokey for 5 years and it still looking pure are long gone...

Fine and completely normal.

I use my lob wedge a fair bit throughout the season, both warmups and cooldowns at the range, and i have nothing close to that type of wear. I even play off some crappy range grass.

I use ping wedges, so maybe that's one of the reasons..

Thanks for all the responses! Im really feeling the love for helping others right now. The grass that I usually hit off of at the range is pretty good for the most part - not so much sand. My club does a good job with that. I also clean off the dirt on my club ever 2 or 3 shots, since I can't stand the sight of a dirty club at address.

I think I am just going to chalk it up to the normal wear and tear, and I guess it doesnt help that I take monstrous divots with the thing either