MIGregB

Well... I think that reading through all of the previous comments answers the basic question I have of this thread's participants, but I'll ask anyway. With the obvious and vast improvements in graphite shafts over the years, to the point where they provide lower torque and greater accuracy than that of steel, does graphite still provide significant reduction in hand and joint stress? I'm not talking about the shaft performance; that part has been and continues to be a matter of record. I'm talking about its benefit for hand & joint trauma. I'm not far away from looking into new 6 thru W irons and I have enough joint problems that I'll spend the extra money if they can prolong my playing days. It's just that, in my addled mind, if graphite is more accurate than steel, that means graphite is more ridged than steel??? So does graphite still significantly reduce vibration transmitted to the hands??? This being a MGS forum thread (you know, being datacratic and all), does anyone know of a test demonstrating vibration reduction in modern graphite vs. steel? I wouldn't know where to start otherwise I give it a try.

I was tempted! I think if I hadn't seen my fitter's entire bag in ALL black including the shafts and grips, I would have. But the shaft color alone is $35 each. FWIW, my fitter says that he has experience with the black finish and it holds up very well. Let us know what you see.

I got my fitting in last Tuesday! Here is my experience. Fitting Experience dated 5/23/2024

@GolfSpy_APH Good feature article this evening! I hope Bridgestone has gained some valuable data for their golf ball program going forward.

Thanks for that! I should have been wary of the ball selector. There's no question that the left-dash isn't the ball any ball fitting tool selects for me. But after playing around both on the course and a simulator, I get my longest drives, with both mid-iron and approach shots being similar (certainly within my swing repeatability), between MaxFli Tour, Tour X, ProV1 and ProV1X. I should have just selected the Bridgestone Tour BX since, as you say, best matches the left-dash.

Thanks for your great fitting recap!! It makes me even more excited for mine coming up this Tuesday. I'm very curious what both the Fitter & software sees to make their suggestions, especially in gapping. The 6-degree spread in your recommendations, in particular, surprises me. In my admittedly limited knowledge of the fitting process, it seems like you must be good at varying your shot to effectively cover that spread. I have 4 wedges in that span and it often doesn't seem like enough. Can't wait to read about your experience.

Nickel is the finish I'm leaning toward! But I'll get to see AND hit them all at my fitting so maybe another will better suit my eye??

I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, my play is on the other side of the question. It would be grossly unfair to blame the Bridgestone ball, or Mindset in particular, for my current crappy, inconsistent play. That's probably a major reason why the OP wanted 10+ rounds of Shot Scope data for the test. But after my round yesterday, my opinion hasn't changed. And, in fact, it has solidified a bit. The Mindset process is important and something every golfer should incorporate. But the mechanism they use, their logo, is take-it-or-leave-it. It's fine for me on tee shots, but I've come to dislike it when putting. Maybe it's because I've used a line/model name for so long that the much larger logo is distracting. But at this point in my test, I'm not a fan. From a ball performance standpoint, the RXS just does not perform off the driver for me like my gamers, but it works just fine on approach shots into the green. And I feel that I know this because after a frustrating front 9 yesterday with the Bridgestones, I switched to the -ProV1 X and gained a good 10+ yards on my good tee shots (my playing partners noticed, too!). That barely helped my score, though, with continued inconsistent play. And that leads me to believe that I'm the much bigger factor here, not Mindset. It's entirely possible that another Bridgestone Tour model would work better for me off the tee, but the RXS is the model their ball fitting tool recommended so that's the one I'm using.

Bump for 5/15/2024 update https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/63748-bridgestone-mindset-golf-ball-testing-sampling-and-shot-scope-ops/?do=findComment&comment=1064569

You're correct that the circles & arrow can only be utilized on the tee and for putting. Hopefully we can ingrain the Identify, Visualize, Focus mantra enough so it's used on every shot. But I agree, it works best for those who don't already have a pre-shot routine.

There's a lot to it! Check out videos on Vokey's website. You'll find lots of info about grinds, bounce, shafts, the SM10 improvements, and more. I'm really curious to see what the fitter recommends and how it fits my game. https://www.vokey.com/nav/sm10.aspx

Bump for my test plan!

Bump for my Intro.

Shouldn't they already they already have your grind on them???? (Sorry, the only thing worse than bad dad jokes, are bad dad golf jokes.)

Maybe check out the FAQs for becoming a tester that the Forum leaders have put together. It might be helpful. https://forum.mygolfspy.com/faq/testing/

Oh! I meant to talk about that. Actually very well. There was more than one occasion that could have resulted in damage, but there was nothing I could see. Definitely no scrapes and only smudges that wiped off with a wet towel. Thanks for reminding me!

Thank you for the link! BTW, Flightscope has the Mevo priced at $349, down $150, and they give an additional 5% for registering on their site. Might be time!!!

I hope to! I just picked up a Mevo as an early birthday present for myself. It's the less expensive model, but it has all the stuff I personally want for practice and comparisons. Things like carry distance, spin, height, and more.

Update bump for @Michael.Sandoval33 and those interested.

Seriously, I couldn't agree more. MGS has been my go-to source for all things golf related for years.

I want to thank My Golf Spy and Titleist for this tremendous testing opportunity! I can’t tell you how excited and nervous I am to bring you an informative test that you find valuable and maybe even entertaining. Me, my wife, my oldest son & his family Both sons, middle & right, & a friend at 2022 WM Open A bit about myself. I’m retired from the IT/Engineering consulting industry where I spent the last 30 years of my working life. I’m married to my wife of 53+ years, with two sons and three grandchildren. My wife and I live in SE Michigan, with a summer home on a small lake in mid-Michigan, but our kids live in Phoenix and Long Beach. You’d think with those warm weather connections that I’d get to play a lot of winter golf. But the reality is that we only spend about 4 or 5 weeks a year out west during the colder months, and we spend most of that time with the kids/grandkids since we don’t get to see them often enough. That means that I only get 2 or 3 rounds in while out there. 2022 WM Open, that's Hideki in the background! But for my 70th birthday, my youngest son treated me to a week-long pass to the 2022 WM Open in Phoenix. It is quite a spectacle!! Full disclosure: This is a general pic! I've misplaced the one with me, but I'll find it! One very memorable round out west, though, was at Torrey Pines. I admit that I didn’t expect to have a great round my first time out, I just hoped to not have a bad round. Unfortunately, it was closer to a terrible round. But it is a beautiful course! I’m in my early-70s now and have been playing golf for more than 45 years. I wish I had taken lessons early and often, but it took the advent of media golf content and easy access to instruction to get me curious and ambitious enough to improve. I currently play to a 10.5 hdcp, however I feel that’s overly generous. I’m not trying to be modest; my regular play is in a senior’s league where the mostly 70+ crowd plays from pretty short tees. About a third of the usual suspects at the Tuesday league. I’m fortunate to still be reasonably flexible and decently long (for my age) that results in short approach shots into par 4’s & 5’s, so I have a little better hdcp than it should be. And while I believe that I am still waaaay too mediocre for the amount of time I put in playing and practicing, I can honestly say that I’m a much better golfer today than I ever was – considerably shorter, but technically better. I usually get to play 36 holes per week. I’m most comfortable driving the ball although both my overall & performance averages dropped in 2023 more than getting another year older justified, IMHO. So I did a lot of work over the winter on sequencing and a bit on speed, and I also picked up a new driver. Together, at least in range sessions and the few rounds so far this year, it looks like I’ve gotten back the lost distance and perhaps even added a few yards. I bought my 1st set of clubs with a big $110 windfall from my one and only craps table adventure at a Bachelor’s Party back in the late 1970’s (a lot of sudden cash for a young family man just starting out!!). I used the money to buy a used set of custom-built Wilson Julius Boros model forged blades. Wilson Julius Boros 6 iron Being custom-built meant they were “special” clubs to my knuckle-headed self. And they were… to the original owner! Other than being nearly 2" too short and, of course, serious blades, they were terrific. Looking at the JB 6i next to my current JPX919 6i, I can’t imagine why they failed me so spectacularly! It took several years of struggle to realize they were completely inappropriate for me. My first “new” set of clubs were off-the-rack Tommy Armor 845’s. They really were nice clubs and have since become the hand-me-down set for family members getting their feet wet into golf. Over the years I also played Hogan Medallions (fitted, but not well), Hogan Apex Plus+ (beautiful perimeter weighted forging), Mizuno JPX825 (fitted), and my current Mizuno JPX919 HM with off-the-rack Vokey SM9 54.12D & 58.08M wedges. I don’t think my next iron set will be much of a “set”. The top end of the bag has become hybrid irons and higher lofted fairway woods, and I just started researching to add a non-set wedge & gap wedge when this tremendous Vokey opportunity came up. Perfect timing!! 5/12/2024 Update: Test Plan So, why is this test perfect timing? Boy… where do I start. My current JPX919HM 45 deg PW and 50 deg GW, SM9 54 S & 58 L wedges. I currently game an off-the-shelf SM9 54.12D & 58.08M, both with stock wedge shafts selected as much by what was available as what was right for me, and a JPX919 50 deg set gap wedge. I really like how the Vokey’s perform when I manage to hit them well. But I too often hit fat or dig in too much on fairway and shots around the green at the softer courses I play in Michigan. Is some of that due to bad bounce/grind selections? The online Titleist Wedge Selector says that I have the correct 54 deg wedge which leads me to believe that I need to work harder on technique. But I’m anxious to see what the Titleist Premier Fitter says. Other than for very short-sided bunker shots, I always use this wedge out of the sand and I’m reasonably successful at it. I can’t say that I leave myself a lot of close sand-save opportunities, but it’s rare that I don’t escape. I do see a variety of roll-outs, though, with which I’m hoping the new SM10 features (CG and groove improvements) will address. The selector tool recommends a very different version for the lob wedge, a 58.14K. The K grind has their highest bounce with a wide sole and enhanced camber which they say is “for players requiring forgiveness in a wide full sole”. Oh-oh, sounds a lot like training wheels! But I’ll take all the help I can get. Again, what will the Premier Fitter say? The gap wedge is where I’m the most curious. I’ve never been happy with any set gap wedge so I don’t know why it’s taken me all these years to pull the trigger on one. I literally just took delivery on an SM9 50.08F when I got word of my selection for this test - who knew!!! Again, I had to settle for what was available which is different from the Selector tool recommendation, a 50.12F. Fortunately, I was able to return the SM9. Here’s the link to a really good Titleist video explaining the SM10 CG and groove improvements. They’re substantial! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8GeFjp4-rs OK…so… how I do I test all of this without it turning into a totally subjective mess? I’m open to suggestions, but the MGS core belief of being “Datacratic” keeps smacking me in the head. I don’t feel my current Shot Scope data can really help since I use the wedges on such a wide variety of distances and conditions. So I decided to buy (or is ‘rationalized’ the right word???) a Mevo launch monitor that should help me with launch and spin comparisons. Mevo session out of the sand. I experimented with what turned out to be a tricky measurement, shots out of the sand. I had to add the reflective dot to the ball, set up the Mevo for short wedge play, and find a reasonably flat space in the sand between the ball and the device. But I eventually got consistent spin results with shots that seemed to be similar. I could never achieve consistent numbers with anything else, though (carry, height, launch). But I think I now have a way to somewhat objectively compare IRL spin from sand. I can also use the Mevo to compare fairway shot vertical launch, apex height, and spin between the Premier Fitter’s recommendations and my gamers. Pretty cool! I will still end up making a bunch of subjective comments, but I’ll try to keep those to a minimum. I think if I see improved spin from the bunkers, better turf action on partial shots, and greater consistency on gap wedge shots, I will have some gently used SM9s to put up for sale! Again, any suggestions or simply things you’d like to see are very welcome! 5/23/2024 Update: My Professional Fitting: Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts!!!! Here’s what the Vokey online Wedge Selector Tool recommended (completely based on my own evaluation) and what the Professional recommends. Hey! I got one bounce and one grind right! Who needs a professional!!?? Online Wedge Selector (top) & the Professional Fitter's recommendation (bottom) Deeper dive: It’s been more than 12 years since I’ve had an in-person club fitting, and that was in-doors on a simulator. This was my first outdoor fitting experience; it didn’t disappoint! I was contacted by Andrew Saupe, Titleist Fitting Specialist, where he slotted me ahead of an already packed fitting day at Apple Mountain Golf Club near Saginaw, MI. Andrew Saupe & his SureFit set-up One couldn’t ask for a more enthusiastic supporter of all things Titleist, and he really loves what he does. Andrew knew my fitting was for a MGS member’s test and he was ready to work his magic on me. We started off discussing my fitting goals and expectations. It surprised me when he said that he found many customers just wanted to maximize distance, even for wedges, and they didn’t even care about things like carry yards and spin control. I can’t imagine that being a common attitude among MGS devotees, but I guess it’s out there! We reviewed my Shot Scope data that I brought along, and the scoring clubs I’ve been using, a JPX919HM 45 deg wedge & 50 deg gap wedge, a SM9 54.12D and a SM9 58.08M. Next, we moved on to my general misses and issues, but reserved more of that discussion for the individual wedge I was hitting. I had already warmed up on another part of the range earlier, so he asked me to start off hitting a few with my 7 iron to get a sense of my normal pattern. Right away he noticed an issue I have; my divots are quite a bit deeper on the toe side than the heal. After a few shots, he handed me a T350 7 iron in a 1” longer shaft (that model mostly because I had asked him an earlier question about them). I still seemed to be more toe down, so he adjusted the lie up 2 deg. That worked perfectly! After more discussion about softer northern tier courses I normally play, the highest lofted wedge with which I’d be comfortable, and possible future iron purchases, he chose to have me start off with a 56 deg head with a 14 deg bounce in the F grind, which is the all-purpose grind for full shots. Also, he didn’t have all of the available shafts for the other wedges, so he wanted to validate the extra inch long shaft and 2 deg upright lie angle. They worked! I was getting a nice even divot and excellent 3-5 groove contact and excellent spin on a ¾ shot. The impressive practice facility at Apple Mountain even includes two large bunkers; one onto a green and one replicating a fairway bunker. Unfortunately, the entire area received a great deal of rain the night before and even though the sand was raked to near perfection, the sand was still so wet that getting meaningful data wasn’t in the cards. I did feel getting out with the proposed SM10 56.14F was a bit easier than my current SM9 54.12D, but no real data to back that up. 3/4 swing with the SM10.56.14F At this point I got some good news; Andrew’s appointment after me had to cancel. So he said that we could take all the time we wanted! Whoo-hoo, more play time!!! Next, we went to the wedge that I was most curious about, a 52 deg gap wedge. My stock GW complaint is again inconsistent contact. The longer shaft and upright lie angle will help that situation quite a bit, but he also went to a 12 deg bounce in the F grind. My gamer GW bounce is a mere 6 degrees. Again, nice numbers! 3/4 swing with SM10.52.12F Last, he had me try a 60 deg lob wedge. Again to help me with inconsistent contact, he went to a 12 deg bounce but this time in a D grind. Nice!! 3/4 swing with SM10.50.12D But I wasn’t done testing the LW yet. I short-side myself too often on a couple of holes where I regularly play that requires a reasonable flop shot. I’m no Phil Mickelson, but can I do a decent job of keeping it on the green, even when it runs away from me. I needed to see whether I could hit a flop shot with the higher bounce Andrew was proposing. Again, I was pleased! Even on the tight range grass, the 60 did a pretty decent job. One note on spin numbers; they were undoubtedly higher as the result of using range balls. There is such a thing as too much spin but Andrew wasn’t worried that mine would be excessive, even on full shots. Probably his tactful way of telling me that it wouldn’t happen with my club head speed. The last thing to do was decide on the finish. Andrew showed me his fabulous looking murdered out bag set-up, including the jet-black wedges with black shafts and grips that he ordered through WedgeWorks. Believe me, the pictures don’t do them justice, they’re gorgeous! I tried to convince him that the all-black color was essential to my improved wedge performance, but he wouldn’t bite. Oh, well. I actually had my heart set on the new Nickel finish anyway. The stock SM10 finishes. All-in-all, I spent nearly 2 hours with Andrew and hit close to 200 balls. I was exhausted when returned home! For some reason, my wife wasn’t overly sympathetic. Unboxing and First Impressions: Sorry that I’m late getting to this phase. I left for my granddaughter’s softball tournament literally the day of their surprise arrival. Fortunately, my neighbor kept them safe until I returned; not without some threats of test driving them himself, though! My wedges came through the regular Vokey order/build system as opposed to via WedgeWorks, so they weren’t cradled in the custom super-soft laser-cut foam block like @Chubbs1991 wedges were . But the cardboard/bubble wrap packaging worked just fine. Everything arrived in perfect condition. There was only one small surprise when I opened the box. When my fitter input my specs into his system to provide me with a printout, the only mid-size MCC+4 grip color available at the time was blue; I wanted gray or black to go with the Nickle finish. Everyone thought it’d be easy to change the color when ordered, but somehow the blue was what came through. Not the end of the world. These are, like all of the previous Vokey models I’ve seem, beautiful! I really like the nickel finish and the slightly shinier badging on the back. Maybe it's because I’ve always thought Vokeys, and Titleist clubs in general, were made for professionals, but their look always appealed to me... and these don’t disappoint! To get a quick idea of their performance, I ran out to a local range to give them a test run. But I ended up disappointed for a couple of reasons. First, I was expecting to see huge benefits to the higher bounce and more forgiving grinds vs. my gamers. But the turf conditions could not have been more different from the fitting session if I planned it. The night before my fitting, it rained... a lot; so conditions were very soft. But the range yesterday was dried out and baren of much grass as they are going through some renovations. The SM10s did seem to be a bit easier to get through the turf, but I couldn’t get any real turf feedback (divot pattern) to verify. Also, the range balls they had weren’t really range balls. They were a hodge-podge of old range balls and VERY old and beat up real balls of various brands/models. I couldn’t come close to consistent spin numbers, with either my gamers or the SM10s. I have a dozen ProV1s onto which I've added the Mevo silver dot that I will use to gather some good comparison numbers. But the golf course range I’m using for that wants me there during specific times to avoid other range-rats and to reduce their liability in case I get beaned collecting my ProVs, so it’ll be a few days before I can run that test. But… I also had a bit of trouble with the feel of the SM10s. While they are 1” longer than my gamers, they just felt much heavier to me. My local club repair facility (in the Tawas, MI area where I summer) is in the process of moving locations and doesn’t have their equipment set up yet meaning that I couldn’t get the SM10s on a SW scale. So, this morning I used Dave Tutelman’s swing weight calculator to see if there’s a difference between my SM9s and the SM10s. There is… a lot! Trying to be as careful as I could, my SM9 58 is in the D5.5 range (darn close to their stated SW), but the SM10 60 is at E0!! The Vokey website says swing weight is D5. The SM10 weighs 499g while the SM9 weighs 483g, but most of that difference is in the midsized grip of the SM10 vs the standard grip of the SM9. That should make the SW lower, not higher. I'm going to contact my Titleist fitter to get his opinion and I'll report on what he says. Also, I may still be doing something wrong so I’m going to try to find a scale somewhere, but right now it seems that there is a huge difference in swing weight. Final Review: First Impressions (19 out of 20): I was out of town the day my Vokey’s arrived so a neighbor had to pick up the box for safe keeping until I returned a week later. That means that I didn’t get to experience the joy of anxiously waiting for the FedEx delivery to show up on my porch! But they arrived safe-and-sound in pretty common, but adequate packaging; bubble wrap around the plastic-wrapped heads and cardboard dividers holding them in place safely away from each other. I’m deducting one point, though, because Vokeys are more expensive than many other brands yet some of those less expensive brands have much more robust packaging further protecting their precious cargo in transit (such as foam head cradles, plastic sleeve along the shaft, plastic sleeve on the grip). More on first impressions below. Package as it arrived Aesthetics (10 out of 10): It seems odd for me to think of myself as a Titleist fan-boy since the only Titleist equipment I’ve ever owned, beside golf balls, is other Vokey wedges. It’s because I always thought of Titleist gear as being designed for elite players such that I couldn’t play them effectively; obviously a poor assumption on my part. But that meant their gear just looked elite to me. All three gorgeous SM10s! My preference for the looks of the SM10 series, in my mind, goes well beyond simple fandom. It could be that I haven’t seen any other wedges with a nickel finish. But after owning 5 other brands and 2 other Vokey models, the SM10s in my mind, are the best-looking wedges out there! Here are 3 generations of Vokey wedges to show how they continue to improve on their good looks. Three generations of Vokey wedges One of the many changes made to the SM10 is to the club profile. Their goal was to make them look much more consistent with each other and blend in better with the T-series irons. I think they’ve accomplished that! It’s even difficult to tell one loft from another, especially by the top line! Top view of an SM10 52, SM10 56 & SM10 60 The Numbers (10 out of 10): I had one major goal in this test; to determine whether the professionally fitted, newly designed Vokey SM10 wedges would give me greater consistency. Spoiler alert, they have!!! To help determine whether the professionally fitted bounce/grind was improving shot numbers, though, I used my newly justified/rationalized Mevo purchase to compare my gamers to the new SM10s. I wasn’t expecting to see radically different spin numbers between them, though, as the groove cutting process Titleist uses on the SM10 was first introduced on my gamers, the SM9. It appears that the biggest difference with the SM10 grooves is a new heat-treating process that Vokey estimates with double the serviceable life of the wedge. Pretty cool! But I did have some surprises. Five shots out of the sand using the SM9 5412D Five shots out of the sand using the SM10 56.15F I set-up a testing station in an out-of-the-way fairway bunker practice area and hit 10 shots each with both my SM9 54.12D gamer SW and the SM10 56.15F SW using Pro V1 balls with a reflective dot. (Note: I don’t know why club speed didn’t register on most of the SM9 54 swings, and Mevo says that launch angle isn’t accurate on wedge shots so don’t read anything into that stat. Also, I neglected to choose the correct club in the Mevo app before recording the SM9 shots so I deleted the club reference in the pic above to avoid confusion.) Since I’m not Iron Byron, I chose the 5 shots that seemed the most similar to each other for the charts above. There were many fewer anomalous shots to delete with the SM10 56 so I have definitely benefited from the professional fitting, but I was initially confused by the lower spin numbers with it. After researching a bit, I think that it’s probably because the higher SM10 loft is increasing the spin loft, which in turn allows the ball to slide up the face with the sand thereby reducing spin. But the SM10 was still more consistent out of the sand. Five 3/4 shots using the SM9 54.12D Five 3/4 shots using the SM10 56.15F Sticking with the SM9 54 & SM10 56 wedges on ¾ shots using range balls, I’m seeing improved spin and lower height with the SM10, and fewer out-of-whack shots which means greater consistency. There was no sand with these shots so, I believe, the greater spin loft of the SM10 added spin vs. the SM9. Five 3/4 shots using the SM0 58.08M Five 3/4 shots using the SM10 60.12D When you compensate for the difference in average club speed, the height of the SM10 60 is improved (lower) than the SM9, but I couldn’t quite figure out its lower spin rate. But once I took out the one abnormally low spin shot, it brought the SM10 average spin up to 7,476 which is in line with what I expected. Again, it was still easier to get through the turf resulting in fewer poor shots. Five shots using the JPX919 50 deg GW Five shots using the SM10 52.12F The SM10 52 GW provides solid spin improvement while keeping the overall ball height down vs. my JPX919 HM 50 deg GW. Other than occasional chipping around the green, I typically use the LW for full shots so the much greater bounce and grind of the SM10 definitely builds confidence on the course. On-Course (20 out of 20): Having properly fitted wedges in my bag has been incredible! I said earlier that the single most important goal I had for this test was improved consistency, and that goal has definitely been achieved! 2024 Pre-Test 100-yard approach Numbers left, SM10 100-yard approach numbers right I used Shot Scope approach numbers up to 100-yard vs 125-yard because there were too many non-wedge clubs used at that distance pre-test, and I didn’t want to over exaggerate the SM10’s improvements. But I am definitely more consistent with the SM10s, to a point where my playing partners have even commented. You should also know that while the 33% short number could signify fat shots, and there have been a couple, it is mostly because all three new SM10s are 2 deg weaker than their counterparts and I’m still getting used to the difference. But I’ve completely eliminated thin/skulled shots that rocket over the green! The Good, the Bad, the in-between (18 out of 20): The Good: These are terrific looking wedges, especially in the Nickel finish, IMHO. The improved center of gravity that’s unique to each loft range, the success they’ve had in making them appear so consistent with each other and their T series brothers, the special face heat-treating to double their serviceable life, and having the opportunity to be professionally fitted by a Titleist trained and certified fitter, made the successful outcome of this test almost guaranteed. The Bad: The only bad I can point to, turned out quite good for me. That’s the fact that the swing weight for my 1” longer shafts was not adjusted for during build and came in 4 or 5 points higher than standard, something that both my fitter and another Titleist dealer said should not have happened. But it turned out to be good for me as it helped stabilize my swing, especially for partial shots. It could be important to someone being fit for longer shafts, though, so maybe this will be a reminder to talk about SW when ordering clubs allowing you and your fitter to decide what’s right for you. The In-between: Because the lofts on all three wedges are 2 degrees weaker than my gamers, I’m having to re-learn distances. As I’ve always had the same 50/54/58 degree wedge set-up in the past, the new distances are not coming easy for me. The biggest miss I currently have is being short so I obviously have some work to do. Play It or Trade It? (20 out of 20) Absolutely play it!!! I can’t be more pleased with how much more consistent my wedge play is becoming, and will only get better with time invested in these terrific wedges. I know that Vokeys are more expensive than many other brands, but if you are someone who values consistency and the ability to recover from any approach or green-side lie the golf-gods throw at you, you owe yourself the opportunity to at least test the SM10s. More often than not, I think you’ll love them! Conclusion: (TL;DR) This has been an incredible experience for me, one with several firsts. This was the first time I experienced an out-door fitting or a fitting with a major OEM trained and certified club fitter, Andrew Saupe. He, and the fitting itself, could not have been more enlightening and beneficial. He was accommodating, thorough, and bent over backwards to help me throughout the fitting process and preparing for this test. Even if you don’t buy Titleist clubs, you owe yourself this pro-level fitting experience at a high-level golf club for a mere $100. This is also the first time I ever had to truly measure and analyze test results of an equipment purchase, and then report/justify what I found. This alone has been extremely valuable and will benefit me with future equipment purchases even if I never have another MGS testing opportunity. But this test also resulted in me getting 3 fabulous looking and performing wedges! If you just look at the Mevo numbers above, it would be easy to conclude that there wasn’t a lot of improvement between my gamers and the SM10s. But you have to remember that I started off with some pretty darn-good wedges, the Vokey SM9s, which were already an improvement over my previous wedges. But in hindsight, the SM9s were ill fitted to me; and that was all on me! My consistency has gone through the roof which was exactly my goal for this test. I believe it’s a combination of a proper fitting resulting in the best bounce and grinds for me in the proper shaft length and lie angle, as well as the new SM10 progressive center-of-gravity design keeping my shots more consistent. I also love the visual improvements made to the SM10 line so they no longer look like completely different clubs at address. I hope this test, and my participation in it, proves valuable to forum readers. If anyone has questions about the new Vokeys or anything in my testing posts, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them. I want to thank My Golf Spy and, especially, @GolfSpy_APHfor this testing opportunity, as well as @GolfSpy_BEN, @Golfspy_CG2 and @GolfSpy_BNGfor their additional support during this test. Final Score: 97 out of 100

Happy to!!!

I want to thank My Golf Spy and their incredibly supportive forum staff, for this, my first, testing opportunity! I know it’s a substantially different test than most in that there are two phases being documented in this one thread with lots of participants: the Mindset sampling opportunity and the Shot Scope data/Mindset opportunity. I have been selected to be one of 29 for the Shot Scope/Mindset phase, and that means that my contributions will be far more ‘final Shot Scope data changes’ than you’re used to seeing with the typical testing process and protocols. Hopefully that in-depth testing opportunity will come for me. In the meantime, I just received my 2 doz Tour RXS balls so I have a lot of ground to cover quickly, mostly getting enough rounds in to complete the test. As there have already been many-many sampling reviews with excellent unboxing posts, ball condition reports and much more, I’ll try to not increase reading volume with redundant observations. But there are a couple of things that I’d like to share. I physically examined and like @buckpillar, salt-water balanced all of the balls. None of them had any surface irregularities and only two were anything less than perfectly balanced (see the circled areas below). Those two happened to come from the same sleeve, and really only rotated back to a general area and not the same spot as other out-of-balance balls have for me in the past. Toney Covey would be in a much better position to say whether that would result in any flight abnormalities, but I tend to doubt it. So those two will go into the rotation along with the others. It seems reasonable to me that considering the number of sampling opportunities Bridgestone is providing, they believe Mindset to be a tremendous concept and want to get it into the hands of as many players as possible. And since I don’t know of other Spys in my general area to share them with, I plan on sharing a few with some of my league partners to see if they find it helpful. I’ll let you know their feedback as well. I’ve got at least 36 holes planned this week, assuming rain doesn’t alter those plans. And while there has already been robust Mindset reporting and questions & answers, if anyone has a question or would like me to try something specific, please let me know. 5/7/2024 Update: Well, it's only been one round so there's no good Shot Scope data to point to. But so far, I'm pretty impressed overall with the Mindset RSX. First, the Mindset feature took a bit of getting used to even though I already have a pre-shot routine. It’s a matter of using the circles and arrow (why do I suddenly feel like eating turkey and listening to lengthy anti-war songs??? (too dated???)) instead of a line on the ball or the model name, and then trying to visualize my shot. I haven’t been consciously visualizing shot shape, probably more hoping for a certain shot shape, so that took effort to incorporate. And I’ll admit that it threw me out of my normal cadence a bit. I’m not exactly blaming that on my crappy play yesterday, but still!!! It’s certainly a worthy addition to my routine so I’ll try to keep at it. It was a mixed bag of opinions for the 3 league partners with whom I shared a sleeve. One didn't like it at all even though he should have embraced it more than any of us since he has little in the way of a pre-shot routine. One liked it quite a bit as he already has a pre-shot routine but felt the added thought process (positively) slowed him down and helped him focus a bit. The third liked it, but felt it was of little benefit over his usual process. Kinda sounds like porridge, doesn’t it! NO supporting data for any of this. But as nearly every Most Wanted test demonstrates, players often ‘dislike’ things in spite of the fact that data suggests it’ll help them. Perhaps those who embrace Mindset will be those who are more disciplined to begin with. What I am surprised at is the fact that I quite like the performance of the ball. The balls I usually play are much firmer (over 100 compression) and the Bridgestone ball selector tool fit me into the RXS which apparently is in the lower 80’s. So, I expected it to feel mushy and fly shorter. What was that I said about not liking something in spite of data to the contrary?? Of those drives that I actually managed to hit well, distance was at least as good or better than my gamers. In fact on one hole, a short but narrow par 4 with a distance penalty if hit middle-right of the fairway, I just swing smooth but full with little umph into it. But RSX went my Performance Average! On 3 approach shots, a 136 yard soft 9i, a 132 yard softer 9i and a 153 yard soft 7i, they all stopped within a few feet of the carry distance, easily matching my gamers. On the green, I was surprised how similar the RSX felt to my gamers and since putting kept me from have a totally disastrous round, I’ll have to say that Mindset helped me there as well. BTW, there was more than one occasion that could have resulted in damage to the cover, but there was nothing I could see. Definitely no scrapes and only smudges that wiped off with a wet towel. Not sure why these seemed so good when other have obviously had damage. Again, just one round and lots of subjectiveness. But I’m pleased so far. I just hope I don’t end up liking them too much; I have about 7 doz -ProV1-X and MaxFli Tour X balls to use up before I can go buying more! 5/15/2024 Update: Bad weather and schedules have conspired to keep me off the course, but I finally got another round in yesterday. Not that I would say weather cooperated exactly. Temps were in the low 50s with totally cloudy skies, a bit of wind and occasional rain. Just 5 miles north of where we played, literally 7 degs warmer with totally sunny skies, sheesh!!! As I intimated above, yesterday wasn't a particularly good day to do performance comparisons between the RXS model and my gamer(s). Drives were definitely well short of my PA, so I found myself over-swinging and making matters worse. But as @deattle and some others have opined, I'm beginning to think this ball has been designed from the green back (huh, that's exactly how Dean Snell says you should evaluate a ball!). As with the 1st round, shots into the green performed terrifically; good flight and checked up nicely. I was also pleased with some longer 2nd shots (6i & 7w) with regard to flight and distance. But I still struggling with Mindset; not the concept, but with the graphic. I've used ball alignment aids (lines, model name if it's long enough) for many years so maybe it's still just a matter of getting accustomed to their graphic. But I actually dislike it vs lines/model name on the ball when putting. My current Shot Scope stats will definitely portray the RXS badly. But tomorrow promises much better weather for the planned afternoon round so maybe I can pull together some better comparisons to report. 5/28/2024 Update: After a few more rounds, there's no doubt that the RXS is not as long with the driver as my gamers (-ProV1 X & MaxFli Tour X), but the performance into the green is every bit as good. Since a few people have mentioned concerns with spin and stopping on the green, I thought I'd share two specific examples. First is a 187-yard 6 iron from an elevated tee. It backed up the length of the putter grip. Next is a sand wedge from 105 yards that backed up a couple of feet. Full disclosure, the greens were pretty soft because of rain the previous 24 hours, but the balls definitely perform well into the green. More to follow....

Whoo-hoo!!! My 2 doz have finally arrived! Although in full disclosure, the last week has been on me as I had to travel away from my home mail drop until today. But I have them now and I plan on salt-water balancing at least a doz and give them all a once-over. Hopefully weather doesn't golf-block me (admit it, you thought I was going to say something else, didn't you?? ) as rain is predominately featured in this week's forecast.

I, too, have bunions. I've never bothered to have them removed as they came back on the two people I know that did. I also have hammer toe, much worse on my left foot. I haven't been able to wear big-boy shoes (leather street shoes) for more than 10 years because the leather upper rubs a blister after about an hour. So finding comfortable shoes of any kind pretty much leaves me with larger sized soft shoes; until Sqairz. I finally got tired of my feet slopping around while golfing, so I took the leap of faith and bought a pair of Sqairz sized normally. They've been a game changer for me. Because of the squared toe, I have plenty of room while securing the remainder of my foot. They are the most comfortable and stable golf shoes I've owned in 20 years. I have no clue about the greater swing speed, but they certainly have made a difference. I've never been overly fashion conscious anyway, but the squared toe doesn't bother me.