Why is the Vokey F grind "the most played sand wedge on tour"?

[A-A-RonCCC]

I wouldn't call the 56 f-grind versatile but it has become my go-to club for every straight forward shot inside of 90 yards.  The 60* D grind is the versatility shot club in my bag for the shots where the f-grind is lacking versatility.

Edited September 27, 2021 by A-A-RonCCC

[SwingMan]

On 2/21/2021 at 9:09 PM, cw1209 said:

Couldn't help but notice a Vokey F grind sand wedge (56.14F) won today. Nice win for Max Homa. Every other grind seems to add more versatility compared to the "simple" F grind. Some will be tempted to say "bounce is your friend" and the Vokey F grind sand wedge (54* or 56*) has the most bounce at 14*. Maybe it is that simple. At the same time, if you pick up a D (12*) or S (10*) grind and set them on the ground to compare it to a F grind, the leading edge of the F grind sits as close (or closer) to the ground than D or S. I get that not having any trailing edge relief adds to total effective bounce. My understanding is that trailing edge relief 1) helps keep the leading edge close to the ground when opening the face and 2) provides less resistance through the ground. Is there a situation where trailing edge relief is counter productive? I have played the M,S, and D grind for my sand wedge, but never F. Didn't seem to provide any advantage over the other grinds?

 

Are you steep or come in shallow. Players who take a divot may want more bounce to escape the bunker. I come in shallow/neutral and play the shaft a little behind the club head and let the club head pass the hands on bunker shots to use the bounce. Why? Because on a SW and LW, I want it to sit close to the ground on most shots and set up fairly neutral with higher lofted wedges - my hands are even with the club head. I play the ball in the middle or forward. I don't want that full sole in 50-60. When I see a pro not be too creative, I wonder if they are using that full sole and playing it safe.

 

But aggressive pros want that bounce - it won't stick in the sand. But in today's bunkers, those which are not kept well with Covid, lesser bounce because lesser sand does well with less bounce. And since you're not in bunkers that frequently (my guess), get the bounce/grind that fits your swing and allows you to use your creativity outside of them.

Edited September 27, 2021 by SwingMan

[HugoBear]

I go F in the 50.

56 bent to 55 in the M.

D grind in the 60.

This combo works great for me.

[Primo1868]

On 2/22/2021 at 6:30 AM, North Butte said:

I think the Vokey tour van guys can start from an F-grind and then customize it just about any way the player wants. So it's possible that many of the F-grind sand wedges on tour start out "Full" but then have a specific type of trailing edge, heel or toe grind treatment that the player prefers over the grinds that make us the S or M or D. 

 

Alternatively, even though I'm as far from a Tour player as you'll ever see I find that F-grind wedges are just about the best wedges around for full-swing approach shots and they also work better for me out the sand than any other Vokey grind I've tried (including the K). So maybe a lot of Tour players place a large priority on full-swing performance in their SW. I'm just speculating, of course.

 

The downside of an F-grind out of heavy or wet sand or out of very thick rough is you need a LOT of strength and clubhead speed to really zip the club under ball with the face opened up and that heavy trailing-edge engaged. I struggle with that a lot but I doubt it matters much to most tour players who are really strong with more than ample clubhead speed.

Thanks for this. Very interesting! 

[Yieeman]

Not sure if this applies to most of the pros today, but at least for me (39 year old) the F and S grinds work the best for me. And I think the reason why is that I learned to play with Cleveland 588s and pretty much all of those were an F style grind. I hit (well, attempt) a lot of different shot around the green and have always done so with pretty minimal grind work done to the soles. Just a hypothesis as to why there are so many F grinds on tour. 

[dlygrisse]

Lots of good points here. 
 

the main reason is many pros use the Vokey 46 or 48 as their PW, then They have a F grind gap wedge.  So two of the wedges are F by default. The only question is if the SW is F, or S like Spieth uses.  Then the L wedge is whatever works for their swing. 

Edited September 28, 2021 by dlygrisse

[DShark1]

On 9/26/2021 at 9:41 PM, Judge Smails said:

Reviving this from the depths as someone who just snagged a tour issue 56 F.  

 

I've been having so much success with my 50 F on a variety of shots (and 60s lob) but just haven't dialed in the sand wedge slot.  I had borrowed a friends bag last year and it had a 58D in it. Used it all day with great success.  So, first I bought a 58D which has yet to arrive.  However, after realizing I am so solid with the 50 F and seeing the surprising number of players on tour who rock the F in 54 or 56 I couldn't resist an over-priced tour issue SM7 56F on the bay!  My mine driver in pulling the trigger is that I never ever ever open up the face on my 54-56 wedge.  I almost exclusively use it for pitches and chips in the 60-20 yard range. 

 

Will report back once I've put the wedge through the paces...

Well We’re waiting

[DShark1]

On 9/26/2021 at 9:41 PM, Judge Smails said:

Reviving this from the depths as someone who just snagged a tour issue 56 F.  

 

I've been having so much success with my 50 F on a variety of shots (and 60s lob) but just haven't dialed in the sand wedge slot.  I had borrowed a friends bag last year and it had a 58D in it. Used it all day with great success.  So, first I bought a 58D which has yet to arrive.  However, after realizing I am so solid with the 50 F and seeing the surprising number of players on tour who rock the F in 54 or 56 I couldn't resist an over-priced tour issue SM7 56F on the bay!  My mine driver in pulling the trigger is that I never ever ever open up the face on my 54-56 wedge.  I almost exclusively use it for pitches and chips in the 60-20 yard range. 

 

Will report back once I've put the wedge through the paces...

Well We’re waiting

[Judge Smails]

On 12/31/2021 at 6:43 AM, DShark1 said:

Well We’re waiting

 

Haha.

 

I went a little crazy at the end of the year and purchased F grinds in 54 and 56 and an S in 56.  I already had the 54 S.  The winner for me was the 56 S-grind.  I certainly haven't made a final decision but that's what was in the bag at the end of the year.  I found I don't swing as hard on the sand wedge shots, and clip them a bit more than I would with a pitching or gap wedge.  The S helps with that. 

 

The SM7 46F is still easily planted in "favorite club in the bag" territory.

[bulldurham]

Moved to new thread

Edited January 27, 2022 by bulldurham

[bulldurham]

Moved to new thread.

Edited January 27, 2022 by bulldurham

[Judge Smails]

On 9/26/2021 at 9:41 PM, Judge Smails said:

Reviving this from the depths as someone who just snagged a tour issue 56 F.  

 

I've been having so much success with my 50 F on a variety of shots (and 60s lob) but just haven't dialed in the sand wedge slot.  I had borrowed a friends bag last year and it had a 58D in it. Used it all day with great success.  So, first I bought a 58D which has yet to arrive.  However, after realizing I am so solid with the 50 F and seeing the surprising number of players on tour who rock the F in 54 or 56 I couldn't resist an over-priced tour issue SM7 56F on the bay!  My primary thought in pulling the trigger is that I never ever ever open up the face on my 54-56 wedge.  I almost exclusively use it for pitches and chips in the 60-20 yard range. 

 

Will report back once I've put the wedge through the paces...

 

Adding some comments to reflect on my experience with the 56F.

 

I have tried all kinds of combos this year.  My usual 50F, 54S and some kind of Lob Wedge (always changing). Then, I was full on that my new SM9 52.12 and a 58V grind was all I would ever need.  The problem with this combo was no high/low, just two high bounce wedges and nothing to "nip" the ball with.

 

I pulled some old favorite S grinds, a 56S (which might be my favorite of all time) and a 60S (which was wonderful for chipping, and the 56F (bought last year that has never even been played in a "real" round).  My first thought was how good the 56F was a on full shots and how the 56S was a very close second, but with some added versatility.  For the last few weeks the 56S won the battle and has been the star of my bag, but that was paired with a 58V which doesn't make a ton of sense.  Now, I've decided to give the tried and true 60S a run and pair it with the 56F for a true "high/low" set up.  I hope the shots off tight lies I've really dialed in with the 56S will be just as good with the 60S, and that I will also have the 56F for full shots and soft sand.  I usually use a 60 out of the bunker, which is a strength of my game, so we shall see how the 56F/60S combo treats me...

 

All this experience leads me to better understand why the pros play the F.  These guys are hitting full sand wedges all the time, and any touchy green side shots around the green are always with the 60. (Usually a T, and for me the S is basically a poor man's T.). There is no question that the F works better for a full swing.  No question.