Kirkland to Vokey - What grinds/bounce?

Streetscape · March 18

After playing with the Kirkland wedge set for the past ~4 years, I am looking to upgrade my wedges. Wondering if anyone can help recommend a setup. I have done the Vokey selector tool, and have played around with some answer changes, but am not 100% sure on which to choose. It recommended 10S or 12D for SW, and 08M or 12D for LW. I am currently playing with the set 50º (718 AP2), but am also looking to get a specialty wedge as for some reason I have a mental block playing partial shots with the set wedge. Just unsure about what bounce to get.

- I am sitting at a 21 HCP (trending downward), but feel that my wedge game is by far my biggest strength. Besides having probably more than 250 rounds on my Kirklands, they have been great other than some cons I have started to notice.

- While I can pull it off, I am not a huge fan of how the wedges sit when I open them up. I feel like the more I open the face, the more upright I need to set the shaft. If I don't, I usually notice the heel interacting with the ground first. For square faced shots, I have no complaints, but feel it's difficult to get more creative with some shots.

- I play in SoCal, so conditions can be soft or firm depending on course/season. Bunkers are also hit or miss. Of the two courses I play the most, one course has very soft and fluffy bunkers with tons of sand, and the other is the exact opposite. I have very high confidence out of the bunkers, and usually get out onto the green with no issues, but I feel like looking at a different grind/bounce option would help tighten some things up. I have never had any short game lessons, so a lot of my wedge play is feel.

Any recommendations/advice would be much appreciated!

TLDR; Kirklands feel great for normal shots, not so much for creative ones. Want to upgrade to Vokeys, trying to be budget conscious, so a fitting is not currently in the cards. Will be buying NOS SM8 or 9.

AC168 · March 18

I don’t know how the Kirklands play but S and M are usually a good combo based on what u posted.

Jeff58 · March 18

I’d agree with the Vokey selection software, oddly enough LOL.

50/08f

56/10 S if your sand swing is on the shallow side

or

56/12D if you’re steeper. The D is a bit more forgiving of vertical impact location.

60/08 M while there are arguments for the very low bounce options, for the bogey-ish player, these are not normally the wedges you’re looking for.

Streetscape · March 18

28 minutes ago, Jeff58 said:

I’d agree with the Vokey selection software, oddly enough LOL.

50/08f

56/10 S if your sand swing is on the shallow side

or

56/12D if you’re steeper. The D is a bit more forgiving of vertical impact location.

60/08 M while there are arguments for the very low bounce options, for the bogey-ish player, these are not normally the wedges you’re looking for.

I have seen that the accuracy of the selector tool is actually really good. The difficult part is choosing wedges that work in multiple environments. The Kirkland 56 and 60 are 10 and 8 degrees of bounce respectively. I don't necessarily feel like the bounce on them has helped me or hurt me, that is usually on my swing for the day. I am more looking for having better options when it comes to creative/touchy shots. The soles of the Kirklands feel a little too wide sometimes. And the leading edge looks incredibly rounded.

Jeff58 · March 19

1 hour ago, Streetscape said:

The soles of the Kirklands feel a little too wide sometimes. And the leading edge looks incredibly rounded.

I absolutely agree, the Vokey selector tool is so good that you need a serious personal fitting to do better, and serious wedge fitting is a hard thing to find.

The sole width is buying you floatation. It helps you produce a specific contact signature at the expense of variability of conditions and face angle.

Having a rounded leading edge buys you some degree of vertical impact flexibility, and is most associated with Cleveland wedges. Some people prefer them, others not as much. Generally, a combination of rounded leading edge (like Cleveland) and heal/toe relief (like Vokey D/M) would compromise stability to an unnecessary degree, and you don’t see that much.

Tyler724 · March 19

I’m going to agree with these guys. If you aren’t doing a fitting I would go with results from the selector tool and see how it goes. I tried the tool just now out of curiosity and got the exact setup I play and have had the best luck with.

I think if you are going with a 56 and 60, I would do an S grind 56 which is better for square shots and somewhat neutral for all conditions and then either M or D for the 60 (probably M unless you are playing alot of soft conditions)