Vokey WedgeWorks K* Grind Wedge Offers Forgiveness and Versatility

By my count, the K* Grind marks the fifth Vokey WedgeWorks release of 2024. If you haven’t been keeping up, what the hell is wrong with you?

For the record, here’s what you’ve missed:

• Low Bounce K Grind
• L Grind
• A+ Grind
• V Grind

For context, in most years past, Vokey has released just two or three offerings through WedgeWorks. If nothing else, the uptick in launches suggests a greater effort to make more of what’s available to Tour players available to regular guys like us.

(If only more Tour guys understood that Slate Blue is the best finish … but I digress.)

Not for nothing, while the previous four WedgeWorks releases are listed as “limited-edition” on the WedgeWorks website, you can still order all of the above. Again, the idea is to make more cool stuff available to golfers who want it (unless what you want are Slate Blue wedges).

Anyway …

How many lob wedge grinds?

To be sure, five WedgeWorks exclusive grinds does not a full wedge lineup make (especially when they’re all lob wedges) but we’re talking about five discrete grind options on top of the five lob wedge grinds already available in the stock Vokey SM10 lineup.

Said another way, the addition of the K* brings the number of available Vokey WedgeWork Lob Wedge grinds to 10 and every last one is available in both 58 and 60 degrees. For whatever it’s worth, the M Grind is also available as an even higher-lofted (62-degree) option.

My back of the napkin math says that’s 21 different Vokey options for lob wedges alone.

Making sense of Vokey WedgeWorks K*

It’s not lost on me that with quantity comes complexity so I’ll do what I can to simplify where the K* fits and help you sort out whether it might be right for you.

First, with four degrees of measured bounce, the K* sits alongside the T, L and stock Low Bounce K as low-bounce options within the Vokey lineup.

That suggests a wedge that’s best suited for medium to firm course conditions and golfers with shallower attack angles.

Where we start to find separation in the grinds is with the sole width.

The T and L are both narrow-sole wedges. The T has aggressive heel, toe and trailing-edge relief. If you’re just learning about wedge grind, what that means is that material has been removed to reshape the sole for a specific purpose.  

In the case of the Vokey SM10 T Grind, that sole relief allows the T to sit tight to the ground regardless of whether you set up square or wide open for a flop shot from a tight lie.

The L Grind has some sole relief but it’s not nearly as aggressive. Ultimately, that means it’s less versatile but also a bit more forgiving in that it will be less prone to digging.

As sole width increases so does resistance to digging.

The stock Low Bounce K offers a wide, flat sole. That makes for the most forgiving wedge in the Vokey lineup but it doesn’t give you much in the way of greenside versatility.

That’s where K* comes in.

The K* origin story

The K* dates back to 2015. Webb Simpson experimented with a K Grind. He liked the forgiveness but wanted something a bit more versatile so Vokey Tour rep Aaron Dill took the grinding wheel to it. After adding some relief and trying different bounce angles, they settled on what I suppose you could call the original K* prototype.

Over time, more Tour players tested the K*. Their feedback brought iteration and ultimately the K* Grind being launched today.

Today, you’ll find the Vokey K* in the bags of Cam Young, Ludvig Åberg and Rory McIlroy. Justin Thomas travels with both a T grind and K* and will swap between the two depending on conditions.

Conceptually, you can think of the K* as with a pre-worn leading edge and the heel, toe and trailing-edge relief of the T Grind.

It’s not exactly a Low Bounce K with a T Grind but there are definitely heavy T influences in the grind.

From a playability standpoint, what K* gives you is most of the forgiveness of the stock low-bounce K (and its utility out of bunkers) with a bit of the versatility of the T Grind.

Anecdotally, with the pre-worn leading edge, the K* sits as tight to the ground as T and L do in the square position. With the wider sole, it’s not nearly as tight to the ground in the open position but that’s the trade-off for enhanced forgiveness. I suspect most will also find the K* easier to play from bunkers.

Everything has its place

As Vokey continues to expand its WedgeWorks offerings, we’ll likely continue to see more offerings that qualify as grinds between grinds or modifications of existing offerings. As noted, that can cause a bit of complexity but once you understand the purpose of the grind and the conditions, shots and swing types it’s best suited for, it should become easier to understand if it’s right for you.

In the case of the K*, it’s relatively simple. If you’re looking for a reasonably forgiving low-bounce lob wedge option that offers moderate versatility (about as much as you can ask for in a wide-sole wedge), then the K* is certainly worth a look

Wedge Works K* Grind options and pricing

The Vokey WedgeWorks K* Grind is available in 58 and 60 degrees in a Raw finish only for right-handed golfers only.

You can customize your Vokey K* Grind wedge with:

• Eight unique toe engravings
• Stamping options | 10-character Straight/Freestyle stamping; 15 characters around the toe; and two lines of 10 characters each
• Custom paint-filled | Loft and Grind markings and BV Wings logo

The stock shaft is a True Temper Dynamic Gold S200. The stock grip is a Titleist Universal 360. Like other SM10 wedges, the WedgeWorks K* Grind can be ordered with any shaft, grip, shaft band or ferrule in the Titleist/Vokey catalog.

Available now through golf shops worldwide.

Retail price is $225.

For more information, visit Vokey.com.