Japan Titleist Vokey Cold Forged Wedges!

Titleist’s first forged wedge for the Japan market, 2012’s Vokey Forged was perhaps one of the best selling wedges here at TSG. Buoyed by Titleist and Vokey users and enthusiasts all around the world, they jumped at what was a great wedge and forged from S20C at Endo.

The new 2014 Vokey Cold Forged models have even more lofts and more grind options and are now cold forged. Bob Vokey again worked with Titleist Japan and the many Titleist Tour pros here to create a wedge that would provide performance up to their specs. This time Vokey chose a cold forging process to help increase consistency in manufacturing and reduce thermal contaction during the cooling process from traditional forging processes. This create more consistency across the wedge head resulting in more consistent feel and performance.

When the Vokey Cold Forged were announced, I figured they were no longer Endo and asked our Acushnet rep where these were made. He immediately said, its a secret but… they are made in Japan. Follow the Read More to get more photos and specs and info!

They sent me 6 wedges for testing and among the wedges were the 4 grinds that are featured on the new Vokey Cold Forged. The thing about thes 4 grinds is that they are not “optional” grinds in other words, customers cannot choose what grind is in which loft. The grind of each loft is predetermined by Titleist depending on the purpose of that wedge/loft.

Here are the available loft and bounces with grind designation:

46/08F 48/08F 50/08F 52/08F 54/10R 56/08K 56/10R 56/14F 58/04K 58/08R 58/12S 60/07R 60/10K 62/09R

For me here in Japan, the best grinds were the K and the R grind as conditions here are lush and soft when it comes to both the grass condition and bunkers. The right grind for each individual will depend on conditions and swing style.

There is a very good balance of low and high bounces and I took some photos of the grinds with explanations from Vokey.

Sole Width: Wide

Camber: Enhanced

Turf Conditions: Average to Soft

INSPIRATION
The TK Grind derives its name from Voke’s work with a US Open champion and former Titleist Brand Ambassador.

FEATURES
The TK features a wide sole with moderate camber.

BENEFIT
The width and camber of the TK sole grind enhance effective bounce of the wedge making it very easy to use out of bunkers.

SUITABLE FOR
The width and camber of the TK sole grind make it very effective for driver / diggers and for soft turf conditions. It is extremely forgiving out of the sand and high
rough.

Please note Japan’s K grind is a variation of the TK and very close.

Sole Width: Medium

Camber: Moderate

Turf Conditions: Average

INSPIRATION
The S grind was developed from Voke’s work with long-time Titleist Brand Ambassador Steve Stricker.

FEATURES
The S features a relieved trailing edge ribbon and heel sole grind.

BENEFIT
The S grind is very stable from full shots, but also allows you to hit a variety of shots around the green with an open face or a square face with the shaft leaning away from the target.

SUITABLE FOR
Due to its versatility, the S Grind is generally found on mid-bounce wedges. It is suitable to players with a neutral style and can be used in a variety of turf conditions.

Sole Width: Medium

Camber: Slightly Enhanced

Turf Conditions: Average

INSPIRATION
The Full Sole is inspired by the classic 200 Series sole design.

FEATURES
The Full Sole Wedge features a full sole with moderate camber and a small trailing edge ribbon

BENEFIT
The Full Sole makes for a very stable wedge. The stability of the full sole allows for consistent contact and turf interaction from full shots, along with a higher level of forgiveness than other grinds.

SUITABLE FOR
The Full Sole Wedge is suitable for a wide range of players and is best for full shots and square faced chips around the green.

Sole Width: Medium

Camber: Moderate

Turf Conditions: Average to Soft

INSPIRATION
The R grind was combined with the TVD series wedge to help with the unique playing conditions found in Japan.

FEATURES
The R Grind features a pre-relieved leading edge often found in combination with one of Voke’s other grinds.

BENEFIT
Relieving the leading edge of the wedge allows the club to travel through the turf or sand smoothly without digging or driving into the turf.

SUITABLE FOR
The relieved leading edge can be combined with a lower bounce wedge to reduce excessive digging. It has been used as a Tour Grind for links conditions as well as for thatchy turf.

Vokey’s forged or cast are very good wedges, even the cast wedges already feel pretty good. I have always found Vokey’s to be one of the most balanced wedges around. A wedges feel and spin is not only attributed to its materials and how sharp the grooves are. Though those two characteristic can certainly help BOTH feel and bounce. The design of a wedge, its shape, and grind dictate how the club interacts with the turf and ultimately how well an impact you make on the ball. The better your impact the better your feel AND spin.

As I had mentioned the previous Vokey Forged were big winners. They combined great design, grinds, material and a spin milled face for awesome performance and feel. While the shape of Vokeys are always very well praised, one knock on the previous Forged model was that it was perhaps a bit larger and chunkier than many might have liked.

While the new Cold Forged are by no means tiny, they have trimmed the size down and taken away a lot of the roundness… resulting in a much more tear drop like shape.

I spent a few weeks with the Cold Forged and I have to say I like them even better than the Vokey Forged. Fantastic feel, great spin and playability around the greens. They set up wonderfully and the grinds work for me. There is very little offset though it is progressive meaning offset shrinks as the lofts increase. Titleist Japan actually provides offset number in inches this time around which is quite rare.

The overall design of the Cold Forged is a winner and being forged and with multiple grinds makes it even better. I have no doubt the Cold Forged will again challenge for the best wedge of 2014. You can’t really complain about a forged Vokey that not only looks good, feels good, but also performs well in all types of conditions. I tried to think about how I could be more detailed with this review but there really is not much to say when I can sum it up with, looks good, sets up great, feels great, spins great, versatile.