They're finally here! Vokey and team are out at Sea Island gearing up to introduce all-new SM8 wedges on TOUR tomorrow. We caught up with Aaron Dill on the van to give us a little preview of things to come:
Be sure to check back on this thread throughout the week as we'll be adding daily photos and tour updates. You can also learn more about SM8 at Vokey.com and sign up for the Vokey Email for official SM8 communication.
We've included a handful of first-look photos below to enjoy in the meantime. Stay tuned. Much much more to follow!
UPDATE: Monday, November 18th @ 9:23a EST:
• J.T. Poston makes the switch in less than one hour from sunrise on day one. The Postman said "These feel great. My scrambling stats have gotten so much better since we made a grind change (From 54.08 M & 60.08 M to 54.14 F & 60.04 L). I’ve got options now."
• Cameron Smith was blown away by the new SM8 design. Based on early feedback, we wouldn't be surprised to see Cameron put it in play come Thursday.
UPDATE: Monday, November 18th @ 1:56p EST:
• The Master Craftsman himself. Always a good sign when Voke's smile makes a very early appearance at a Tour launch.
• Doug Ghim smiled like a kid on Christmas in anticipation of testing SM8 wedges. Voke was equally excited to talk to Doug about the under-the-hood improvements and how they will affect his wedge shots.
UPDATE: Monday, November 18th @ 3:42p EST:
• Players were having a lot of trouble keeping their teeth covered during Monday's launch. Peter Uihlein was no exception as he couldn't help but smile when having his first look at SM8. He spent some time with Aaron Dill getting a new set dialed in.
• One of the highlights of the day came from a non-contract athlete who we, unfortunately, cannot name. The six-time PGA TOUR winner admitted, “I didn’t want to change lob wedges this week, but this wedge is really good."
UPDATE: Monday, November 18th @ 5:26p EST:
• Aaron Dill and team were closing up shop on the Tour van after a long day. As the sun was setting on Sea Island, the team remembered to (literally) run out and grab the promised day 1 recap video. You can check that out here:
• That's it for today. We'll continue our updates tomorrow AM. Here's a collection of Monday's top photos to hold you over in the meantime!
UPDATE: Tuesday, November 19th @ 7:29a EST:
• Early bird gets the worm! In this case, it was Bill Haas who was out bright and early giving SM8 a spin with some tricky greens-side pitch shots. After passing the test there, Haas moved his testing to the range under the expert eye of Aaron Dill. The team is feeling confident SM8 could be making an appearance in Haas' bag come Thursday.
UPDATE: Tuesday, November 19th @ 12:15p EST:
• What do you know? It's another smile. This one belonging to the 12th Ranked Golfer in the World, Webb Simpson. Webb made no hesitation bagging a fresh set of SM8s. The "Step by Step" stamp made the transition as well. Whether it's an inspirational reminder or a humorous nod to the 90s sitcom; we'll never know.
UPDATE: Tuesday, November 19th @ 5:14p EST:
• Peter Malnati embraced his trusty wedge guru, Aaron Dill, when he hand-delivering his SM8 set. Peter wasted no time breaking them in on the range and getting them dialed in with AD and his Trackman.
• Scott Stallings joined the SM8 smiled club when AD greeted the journeyman with his preferred setup. A common theme amongst the group, the new modern look was complemented by a majority of the athletes who tested the latest Vokey Design wedges..
As promised, Aaron Dill took time to recap Tuesday's events in the following short video message:
We also have gotten a lot of positive feedback on the product photography, so leaving a variety of those to keep you occupied until we resume tomorrow AM. Thanks, everyone!
UPDATE: Wednesday, November 20th @ 9:33a EST:
• Rise and shine! Voke and company are back on the grind for one more day before SM8 gets its first taste of Tour action tomorrow morning.
• Lanto Griffin kept his wedge stamping light-hearted with Dumb & Dumber quotes, which had his competitors laughing Mon-Wed. The stamps are for laughs but Lanto's switch to SM8 is strictly business to become lethal Thurs-Sun.
• Denny McCarthy couldn't get over SM8's performance around the greens:
UPDATE: Wednesday, November 20th @ 2:57p EST:
• As thing's quieted down on Wednesday afternoon with a pro-am stymieing player access, the Vokey team closed up shop to head back to California. We'll be keeping close tabs on who puts SM8 in play for the tournament and hope for a win over the weekend. Stay tuned!
UPDATE: Saturday, November 23rd @ 12:57p EST:
102 SM8 wedges went into play this week at the RSM Classic, which is a record for first-week adoption (67 SM7 wedges went into play in its first week on TOUR). There were also more Vokey Design wedges in play than all competitor wedges combined! As of this update, 2 SM8 early-adopted sit T4 or better, so a potential win is still in sight.
UPDATE: Sunday, November 24th @ 5:57p EST:
In less than a week of introducing SM8 to athletes on Tour, Tyler Duncan used two SM8 wedges en route to victory at the RSM Classic. Here's Tyler's winning wedge setup:
- Raw SM7 50-12F
- Raw SM8 54-08M
- Raw SM8 58-04L
This may not seem like a big news story to the everyday golfer, but this is HUGE for the Vokey team. Having a Tour player put a new product in play only a couple of days after seeing it is the ultimate validation for new innovations. 37 players did just that this week (almost 25% of the field!) and Duncan's win was the icing on the cake. The team couldn't ask for a hotter start for SM8 and there's no doubt Tyler's win will only increase SM8 interest this week on Tour.