Titleist Vokey SM9 Review

SM9 takes the idea SM8 introduced and pushes it as far as the shape allows. The centre of gravity moves further forward and higher again, which flattens the flight on full shots and, crucially, keeps spin from bleeding away as the ball climbs. On a monitor the numbers are unglamorous and decisive: a lower peak, a tighter carry window, and a landing angle that holds a firm green without the ball hanging in the air waiting for the wind to move it.

The grind range remains the reason tour bags are full of these. Six soles, twenty three combinations, and enough fitting data behind them that a good shop can match bounce to your turf and your hands rather than guessing. Feel through impact is the best in the category, a soft dense press rather than a click, and the feedback on a strike a groove low is immediate. It cost $179 a head. There are wedges that spin marginally more for a few rounds. Nothing matches this one for the whole season.