A Small gripe with Vokey...

[MrHack]

I know they are considered the best wedges and so on and I've played them for years. But the other day, I removed the oil can finish off my wedges to clean them up and do a custom paint job and noticed good sized pits or air bubbles on them. I know they are casted but I have read/heard about how great the casting process was but after seeing this, I can't say that for sure now. Has anyone else seen this before on theirs? Just curious because I don't want to be dilusional about the whole thing.

[6thFairway]

Really how much does it matter? The wedges are hit with a more indirect blow than irons due to loft anyway. I really doubt anyone can tell the difference between forged and cast in a wedge other than some figment of their imagination. (I know some people with magic touch are going to reply that they could tell while blindfolded... I don't believe you.)

[J13]

[quote name='MrHack' timestamp='1343140467' post='5341430']
I know they are considered the best wedges and so on and I've played them for years. But the other day, I removed the oil can finish off my wedges to clean them up and do a custom paint job and noticed good sized pits or air bubbles on them. I know they are casted but I have read/heard about how great the casting process was but after seeing this, I can't say that for sure now. Has anyone else seen this before on theirs? Just curious because I don't want to be dilusional about the whole thing.
[/quote]

I have Vokeys but I don't consider them the "best" wedges. There are certainly better wedges I just don't want to pay more money for them. As for pits and bubbles I've never noticed that in any wedges from Titleist. Maybe just a bad batch.

[giogolf]

How old are the wedges? If you removed rust as well as the finish that could be why you see the voids. The rust causes pitting, if this is not the case, I dont know.

[marcv68]

[quote name='gioGolf' timestamp='1343142443' post='5341756']
How old are the wedges? If you removed rust as well as the finish that could be why you see the voids. The rust causes pitting, if this is not the case, I dont know.
[/quote]

I hafta agree wiyh Gio, rust might have pitted them. I dont think the performance is affected i,m pretty sure you didn,t notice it bfore.

[MrHack]

Maybe 3 months old. I know that they shouldn't affect playability but that's this old cast vs forged debate. As far as rust, I keep my sticks very clean. It wasn't until I removed the finish that u noticed them. Again, not really a big deal but just wanted some feed back from my friends at WRX!!!

[phillypete]

if there were imperfections from the casting process you would have seen them through the oil can finish.

btw I prefer cast wedges because they hold their grooves and sole better than forged wedges.

[MileHighClub]

Been using Vokeys for quite a few years and get new ones every year. I have not seen this on mine.

[dirthead]

From the Vokey website:


[b] What is the thinking or engineering reason for cast wedges?[/b]


Titleist Vokey Design wedges are cast from mild carbon steel which is heat treated to match the softness of the material we use in our family of forged irons. This means the feel and sound of Vokey wedges are very similar to forged irons. Over one hundred Vokey Design wedges are played each week at a typical PGA Tour event so the feel and performance are well-accepted by the best players in the world. We choose to cast Vokey wedges because of the large number of models we develop for both the worldwide professional tours and the marketplace. Cast tooling is a more efficient and accurate way to faithfully reproduce the special grinds Bob creates for the Tour. We are also able to more rapidly develop and test prototype sole grinds and to finalize the slight tweaks needed to create the best performing wedge products.

[NevinW]

I have 5 Vokey's in my garage and a close inspection did not reveal any bubbles or pits on mine.

[harold baines]

[quote name='dirthead' timestamp='1343150265' post='5342814']
From the Vokey website:


[b] What is the thinking or engineering reason for cast wedges?[/b]


Titleist Vokey Design wedges are cast from mild carbon steel which is heat treated to match the softness of the material we use in our family of forged irons. This means the feel and sound of Vokey wedges are very similar to forged irons. Over one hundred Vokey Design wedges are played each week at a typical PGA Tour event so the feel and performance are well-accepted by the best players in the world. We choose to cast Vokey wedges because of the large number of models we develop for both the worldwide professional tours and the marketplace. Cast tooling is a more efficient and accurate way to faithfully reproduce the special grinds Bob creates for the Tour. We are also able to more rapidly develop and test prototype sole grinds and to finalize the slight tweaks needed to create the best performing wedge products.
[/quote]

that's weird, I would have expected them to say that they went with casting because it's cheaper than forging and it allows for higher profit margins

[mdb0103]

[quote name='J13' timestamp='1343140809' post='5341506']
[quote name='MrHack' timestamp='1343140467' post='5341430']
I know they are considered the best wedges and so on and I've played them for years. But the other day, I removed the oil can finish off my wedges to clean them up and do a custom paint job and noticed good sized pits or air bubbles on them. I know they are casted but I have read/heard about how great the casting process was but after seeing this, I can't say that for sure now. Has anyone else seen this before on theirs? Just curious because I don't want to be dilusional about the whole thing.
[/quote]

I have Vokeys but I don't consider them the "best" wedges. [b]There are certainly better wedges I just don't want to pay more money for them.[/b] As for pits and bubbles I've never noticed that in any wedges from Titleist. Maybe just a bad batch.
[/quote]


I don't think there are too many wedges out there more expensive than Vokeys.

[TheDailyDuffer]

[quote name='mdb0103' timestamp='1343159849' post='5344016']
[quote name='J13' timestamp='1343140809' post='5341506']
[quote name='MrHack' timestamp='1343140467' post='5341430']
I know they are considered the best wedges and so on and I've played them for years. But the other day, I removed the oil can finish off my wedges to clean them up and do a custom paint job and noticed good sized pits or air bubbles on them. I know they are casted but I have read/heard about how great the casting process was but after seeing this, I can't say that for sure now. Has anyone else seen this before on theirs? Just curious because I don't want to be dilusional about the whole thing.
[/quote]

I have Vokeys but I don't consider them the "best" wedges. [b]There are certainly better wedges I just don't want to pay more money for them.[/b] As for pits and bubbles I've never noticed that in any wedges from Titleist. Maybe just a bad batch.
[/quote]


I don't think there are too many wedges out there more expensive than Vokeys.
[/quote]






Royal Collection, Miura, Scratch, Hakusa, Fourteen, Scratch, James Patrick Wedges, Yonex, Zodia, Scor, and the new 588s just to name a few

[Gcg]

I've never seen this on any of my Vokeys. If you're concerned, I'd give Titleist a call and ask them the same question.

[gboldman23]

Can you post any pictures?
I've removed the oil can finish from Vokeys before and noticed the raw look was somewhat 'uneven' with imperfections after they were stripped. I attributed this to not taking all the finish off rather than pitting.

[mdb0103]

[quote name='Bottlenosedolphin' timestamp='1343160900' post='5344194']





Royal Collection, Miura, Scratch, Hakusa, Fourteen, Scratch, James Patrick Wedges, Yonex, Zodia, Scor, and the new 588s just to name a few
[/quote]

Ok, I guess you have a point there. I was more referring to off the rack stuff. Aside from the 588's, none of what you listed can be bought off the rack anywhere near me.

[TomWishon]

[quote name='MrHack' timestamp='1343140467' post='5341430']
I know they are considered the best wedges and so on and I've played them for years. But the other day, I removed the oil can finish off my wedges to clean them up and do a custom paint job and noticed good sized pits or air bubbles on them. I know they are casted but I have read/heard about how great the casting process was but after seeing this, I can't say that for sure now. Has anyone else seen this before on theirs? Just curious because I don't want to be dilusional about the whole thing.
[/quote]

Having been in clubhead design since 1986 and having been through more investment casting factories than I sometimes care to think about, I can assure you that every company can experience what you saw, and in no way does it mean all their clubheads are poorly made.

From my experience in design and production, the absolute best/lowest reject rate that can be expected in the production of an inv cast stainless iron head or wedge head is in the area of 2.5 to 3%. No factory can cast every head so it comes out free of porosity, pin holes, surface scaling and whatever else can go wrong. We're talking about pouring stainless steel at 3,000* F into ceramic shells which can still have oxygen and other gas or tiny pollutants inside.

Some of the heads with pin holes are repaired by spot welding. Others cannot be repaired if the pin hole is too close to a scoreline or an artwork element on the head and have to be thrown away. In addition, certain surface finish treatments that involve chemicals and electrically charging the head can also slightly affect the integrity of the surface of the cast steel to expose a small defect not previously seen.

Bottom line - it happens to every company and unless you see it repeatedly on a company's clubheads, it is nothing more than an isolated incident. A mistake by a worker who just missed seeing it when working on the post cast grinding and polishing operations. Remember, in most cases we're talking about people who are paid $300/month who do the same operation all day long, all month long, all year long.

TOM

[Breaker999]

[quote name='gioGolf' timestamp='1343142443' post='5341756']
How old are the wedges? If you removed rust as well as the finish that could be why you see the voids. The rust causes pitting, if this is not the case, I dont know.
[/quote]

+1. I removed the oil can finish from my Spin Milled Vokey. I did not see any pits or air bubbles.
Pits are from the rust. I don't let my carbon putters rust to prevent pitting (even though I like the looks of a rusty club).

[sneff]

[quote name='Breaker999' timestamp='1343237115' post='5351538']
[quote name='gioGolf' timestamp='1343142443' post='5341756']
How old are the wedges? If you removed rust as well as the finish that could be why you see the voids. The rust causes pitting, if this is not the case, I dont know.
[/quote]

+1. I removed the oil can finish from my Spin Milled Vokey. I did not see any pits or air bubbles.
Pits are from the rust. I don't let my carbon putters rust to prevent pitting (even though I like the looks of a rusty club).
[/quote]

How do you remove the finish???

[Hoselrocket08]

[quote name='sneff' timestamp='1343249653' post='5352970']
[quote name='Breaker999' timestamp='1343237115' post='5351538']
[quote name='gioGolf' timestamp='1343142443' post='5341756']
How old are the wedges? If you removed rust as well as the finish that could be why you see the voids. The rust causes pitting, if this is not the case, I dont know.
[/quote]

+1. I removed the oil can finish from my Spin Milled Vokey. I did not see any pits or air bubbles.
Pits are from the rust. I don't let my carbon putters rust to prevent pitting (even though I like the looks of a rusty club).
[/quote]

How do you remove the finish???
[/quote]

Do a search for "remove oil can finish" but in a nutshell soak the wedges in coca cola, bar keeps friend, clr, etc.


I'd also like to see pics of the pitting or bubbles.

[lukesmurf59]

All I would like to say is if anything is considered to be anything (the best in this case) by the majority of people, the majority of who are misinformed, uninformed or plain ignorant, they are generally not what that conventional wisdom holds them to be.

[puttingmatt]

I guess I have never really thought about how my
Vokeys look, I am just delighted how they perform !!!
For my money, these work better for me !!