Titleist releases Vokey Design WedgeWorks K* Grind wedge

This wedge’s wide sole makes it great in the sand, but it works great on other short game shots too.

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It has been a very busy year for Vokey Design, the wedge division of Titleist. Back in January, the brand released the SM10 wedge family, but throughout the year, WedgeWorks, the tour-inspired custom division of the Vokey brand has dropped several limited-edition offerings, including the L Grind, A+ Grind and V Grind. Now we can add the K* (pronounced K Star) Grind wedge to that list.

Available only as a 58- and 60-degree lob wedge with True Temper Dynamic Gold S200 shaft and Titleist Universal 360 grip, the K* Grind wedge was developed after tour players approached Aaron Dill, Vokey’s PGA Tour rep, and requested he modify the sole of a standard low-bounce K Grind wedge. Instead of keeping the wide sole smooth, they wanted extra pre-wear on the leading edge and more relief in heel, toe and trailing edge.

The result of Dill’s work and experimentation is a wedge that is ideal for players who like to hit shots with a shallow attack angle and sweep the ball off the turf from a square stance.

Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks K* wedge
The leading edge of the K* wedge stays low, but the sole’s width makes it perform well in greenside sand. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

However, because the K* Grind has extra material removed in the heel and toe areas, when golfers open the face, skilled players can still slide the leading edge under the ball because the leading edge stays down. At the same time, in bunkers, the overall sole width acts like effective bounce and makes the K* Grind an excellent choice from greenside sand.

With that level of versatility, it should come as no surprise Justin Thomas, Cameron Young, and Ludvig Aberg are among the players who frequently have a K* wedge in their bag.

The WedgeWorks K* wedge, which will cost $225 and come in a raw-steel finish that will rust over time and with exposure to air and moisture, is only available as a right-hand club.

Tiger Woods’ rusty wedges at the 2024 British Open are insane

Tiger arrived at Royal Troon’s Old Course with rusty TaylorMade wedges.

Tiger Woods has returned to Royal Troon for the first time in 20 years and is preparing to complete in this week’s British Open. Woods was injured in 2016 and missed that event, but finished T-9 back in 2004 when Todd Hamilton won at the seaside links.

On Monday, Tiger Woods’ wedges were so covered in rust that it appeared they might have been in his bag back in 2004, too.

While the standard TaylorMade MG4 wedges have a raw steel hitting area, most wedges that you see in pro shops are gleaming and spotless because all the steel has been covered by a chrome plating. Tiger, like many tour pros, opts to use wedges that are made completely with raw steel.

Woods, specifically, plays a TaylorMade MG4 Raw 56-degree sand wedge and and 60-degree lob wedge. Both clubs are fitted with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts and have Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord grips. The sand wedge has 12 degrees of bounce and the lob wedge has 11 degrees of bounce, and both are made using 8620 carbon steel.

After raw steel wedges are made, they are immediately wrapped in an airtight plastic coating that is removed before a player starts using them because with exposure to air and moisture, un-chromed steel starts to rust.

Tiger Woods wedges
Tiger Woods’s wedge was made on May 24 and has rusted into an antique-looking finish. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

While it’s unclear whether the wedges Tiger is using at Royal Troon are prototypes or not, marking on the hosel clearly show they were manufacturerd for him about within the last few months. Given the level of rust, if they were wrapped up and sealed, it wasn’t for very long because the salt air of Woods’s home state of Florida has done a number on them.

Why is Tiger using a rusty wedge and why do pros like raw steel wedges?

There are a few reasons why pros often request raw steel wedges instead of going with chrome wedges.

First, unlike chrome which shines brightly in the sun, even new raw steel wedges do not reflect light as harshly and reduce glare.

Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods Monday at the 2024 British Open. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Second, while rust will not massively increase the spin-generating power of a wedge, it has been shown to slightly improve performance in wet conditions by providing more surface roughness in the hitting area compared to chrome.

Finally, the biggest reason why pros often request raw steel wedges is if hand grinding or polishing are needed, raw steel hides the marks created by the grinding wheel. Over time, the sanded area will rust and look like the rest of the club, but if a chromed wedge is ground, the area that comes into contact with the wheel will rust while the chrome area will remain shiny, leaving a mark that most players don’t like.

Is this new for Tiger?

Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods’ lob wedge at the 2019 Northern Trust. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

This is not the first time that Tiger Woods has arrived at a tournament with rusty wedges. In 2019, Golfweek senior writer David Dusek photographed Tiger’s equipment at Liberty National Golf Club and captutred the images of Woods’s TaylorMade Milled Grind lob wedge in the photo above. The more Tiger uses the wedges, the more the light layer of rust could in the hitting area will wear away. Repeatedly cleaning the wedges and wiping them with a towel will also reduce the rust.

TaylorMade does sell MG4 Tiger Woods Grind wedges for $199.99 on its website.