The story behind Koepka's Titleist Vokey Design SM4 TVD wedge

Go ahead and peruse Brooks Koepka's bag setup from his win at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. If you're a gearhead, you'll notice something feels out of place — and it's not the Nike Vapor Fly Pro 3-iron he's had in the bag going to 2016 when the Swoosh was still in the equipment game.

Next to a Scotty Cameron T10 Select Newport 2 putter, Koepka's Titleist Vokey Design SM4 TVD lob wedge is arguably the oldest club in his bag at the moment, with a product release date that goes back to 2011.

There's a reason why Koepka loves the wedge so much, and it has to do with a custom low-bounce TVD M-Grind he's placed on his 60-degree for every TOUR title, including three major championships.

Bottom line, Koepka and his lob wedge have some good history — so much so that when he decided to move into the current SM7 version earlier this year, Vokey Tour rep Aaron Dill added the same SM4 TVD M-Grind to the updated head.

Koepka had three Vokey SM7 wedges in play during his win at this year's U.S. Open, but like most professionals, fresh sets are needed throughout the season to ensure the grooves have extra zip for the major championships.

Given Koepka's success with SM7, many wondered why the 28-year-old suddenly decided to revert back to SM4 in his lob wedge late in the year, but retain SM7 gap and sand wedges.

Of course, there's a story behind the older model wedge getting a spot in Koepka's bag.

The week prior to the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Koepka made a call to Aaron Dill, Vokey's Tour rep, to have three new SM7 wedges built in preparation for the PGA Championship and FedExCup Playoffs. It was a simple ask that Dill was able to knock out — shipping the clubs to Koepka's house prior to his departure for Firestone.

But there was one problem when Koepka arrived on site in Ohio: He left the wedges at home. In need of a set at the last minute, Koepka's caddie, Ricky Elliott, asked Dill if he could build something new in less than a day.

Dill is a modern-day magician on the grinding wheel, but on short notice, even he wasn't able to completely fulfill Koepka's request. The issue came down to the grind on the lob wedge, which is highly complicated and takes roughly two days for Dill to add Koepka's customized SM4 TVD M-Grind geometry on a special SM7 head.

"I'd say about 10 to 15 percent of the guys I work with need something exotic on their wedge," Dill said. "A few of those grinds just take time to get it exactly right, and that's the case with his grind."

To help Koepka out in a pinch, Dill reached into his bag of tricks, pulling an old SM4 TVD M-Grind head from the Titleist truck. Due to the number of players who still use exotic offerings on TOUR, Dill keeps special stock — custom grinds and head offerings that may have been retired — on hand each week for unique requests.

Dill would eventually build Koepka an SM7 with his preferred grind after the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but instead of putting it in play, the PGA TOUR Player of then Year chose to keep the older model SM4 in the bag for the remainder of the season and into the new 2018-19 campaign.

What makes Koepka's M-Grind so different from the standard version? According to Dill, it comes down to bounce characteristics that are lower than most golfers would prefer on the grind.

Koepka's lob wedge sits tight on the turf, due to the relief that's added to the heel, toe and trailing edge, making it ideal for firm conditions — something he encountered for years in Europe before he earned his TOUR card.

"When it comes to his lob wedge, the bounce on it is extremely low," said Dill, who noted the bounce on a standard M-Grind is 8 degrees. "He's got some terrific hands and delivers the wedge impeccably. He's able to get away with just having very little bounce.

"We talk about low bounce numbers, he's about 8 to 9 degrees less forward angle than the original. It's quite a bit. That's just from him experimenting and finding what's worked best for him. He's been using that for years."

Koepka's SM4 may be one of the oldest wedges on TOUR, but when it comes to the way it performs on the course, there's a reason why he continues to use the same setup. The results speak for themselves.

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