A good wedge fitting starts with the misses
In a 22 October 2026 Titleist video produced with The Golfer’s Journal, writer and golfer Tom Coyne works with Titleist fitter Louis Belisle on his Vokey SM11 short-game setup. The useful lesson is not that everybody should buy a particular wedge. It is how to define a real performance gap and judge candidate clubs by their repeatability, including the shots that go wrong.
The distance gap: measure carry, not just loft
Coyne wanted to improve the gap between his pitching wedge and a 50-degree wedge. During his fitting, a 44-degree Vokey carried slightly farther than his previous pitching wedge while producing more spin and less rollout. Those are observations from his own fitting, not evidence that a 44-degree wedge will produce the same result for another golfer.
Static loft is only one factor in a shot. Dynamic loft, strike quality, delivery, ball and conditions also matter. If you are evaluating your wedge set, record carry distance separately from total distance after the ball lands. Two clubs with similar loft markings can still serve different purposes.
Three different terms: bounce, grind and lie angle
Bounce is a feature of the sole geometry that affects how the club interacts with turf or sand; it does not mean the ball's bounce after landing. A grind is the shaping or relief of the sole, which can affect how the leading edge sits as the face opens and how the club moves through different lies. Lie angle describes club geometry, not the lie of the ball on the course.
Belisle has Coyne test six grind options without relying on labels first. His attention goes to the less successful strikes: does the sole dig, is there an unwanted loss of spin, or must Coyne manipulate the club to recover? The 58-degree T Grind emerges as an option for the lower spinning shots and higher creative shots Coyne likes to play. A 54-degree 14F finds a separate role in controlled, lower shots from turf and bunker. The final specifications described also include a 44-degree wedge, 50-degree 12F and 54-degree 14F. Those choices belong to this golfer and his preferred shots.
An original 24-shot GOLFTWITT observation session
This is an editorial practice exercise, not a procedure that Titleist tested or an experimentally validated fitting protocol.
- Take three wedges you already own, ideally with different lofts. Choose an approved practice area near a green and one achievable target. There is no need to buy anything.
- Use two ball lies: short, level grass and light rough. From each lie, play four balls with each of the three wedges: 3 clubs × 2 lies × 4 balls = 24 shots.
- Note approximately where each ball lands, how far it rolls, where it finishes relative to the target, and whether contact was clean, heavy or thin. Record misses as carefully as the successful shots.
- Compare the pattern, not the single closest ball. Which wedge produces a more predictable spread, and which forces you to make compensations? Keep shot length and target as comparable as conditions allow.
Four swings per condition cannot establish which sole design is best. Repeat on another day if practical, and ask a qualified fitter about a persistent issue. Test bunker shots separately where permitted; bunker and tight-turf performance should not be inferred from light-rough results.
What the lesson does — and does not — show
Wedge selection can involve more than a neat numerical loft progression: carry gapping, spin, rollout, turf interaction and the severity of common misses all deserve attention. It does not follow that every player needs Coyne's 44/50/54/58-degree options. This is a brand-produced demonstration of one personalised fitting, not a controlled independent comparison proving superiority of any club.
Original source: Titleist / The Golfer’s Journal, 22 October 2026 — Which Vokey Grind Fits Tom Coyne’s Short Game?.
