Welcome to Fully eligible 2026GOLF’s new platform to provide you with real golfer insight into which 2026 equipment might be best for your game. To that end, we gathered six GOLF content creators of varying abilities and put them through the gauntlet of six full-bag rigs (from driver to bag!) at six major club manufacturers in Phoenix and Carlsbad, California. In this piece (below), Maddi MacClurg details the club she can’t live without from Fully Fit 2026, her Vokey SM11 wedges. You can browse our panelists’ complete dream bags for 2026 here:
I’ve never been one to chase profits through endless gear changes or obsessing over specs. My instinct has always supported a familiar expression that you’ve probably heard on the range or during a friendly match: a poor craftsman blames his tools.
More often than not, this philosophy worked for me—until one day, it didn’t.
I’ve always understood the importance of fitting and playing gear tailored to your game, yet I still assumed that most of my shortcomings were purely skill-based – a gap I could close with enough repetition.
That belief shifted during a wedge fit at the Titleist Performance Institute. There wasn’t one club in particular that caught my eye. Rather, I was surprised at how much I had left on the table by relying on “off the shelf” wedges. I was well versed in the basics before – shaft, length, loft, lie – but hadn’t experienced a true wedge assembly. For me the change was important.
After testing the full range of grinds on the SM11, I settled on an F-Grind for my 52s, a D-Grind for my 56s, and an S-Grind for my 60s. With this change, the improvement was immediate – especially with spin and distance control, which had been a challenge for me.
Decomposing the wedge
The first part of my wedge setup felt familiar. My 52-degree—used mostly for full swings rather than touch shots—stayed at an F fret, maintaining a sense of continuity. It’s one of the most predictable clubs in my bag, producing a consistent flight and reliable yards without much need for manipulation. If anything, that credibility has become more apparent. Every now and then, it’s the club I rely on for short shots because it just does what I expect it to do.
Where things really started to change was with the 56 degree D grind, which brought a definite step forward in both dexterity and forgiveness. The added bounce and toe relief made an immediate difference on softer lies and in sand – especially compared to my previous, more standard grind setup. Just as importantly, I saw a noticeable increase in rotation. Shots that were once fired unpredictably were now controlling with purpose, stopping faster and doing so with more consistency, even from less-than-ideal lies.
Then came the 60-degree (S-grind), and with it, my short game really opened up. It has quickly become the most versatile wedge in my bag. Designed for players who like to create shots from a variety of lies and conditions, the S-grind gave me the freedom to be more imaginative around the greens without sacrificing stability. Like my 56-degree, it also produced significantly more spin, bringing a new level of predictability to both landings and exits. I’m no longer choosing between creativity and control – now, both work together. With this club in hand, I feel confident about every shot from the green, even under pressure.
What stood out the most after putting them into play was not just how each wedge performed on its own, but how naturally they began to work together. I still have one club to go on the green, but now there is a clear structure to the set.
With that structure came clarity. Now there’s less hesitation or second-guessing around the greens—just a clear picture of the shot I want to hit. What I once saw as a purely skill-driven part of the game now feels like a mix of skill and setup, where the right tools don’t replace practice, but allow it to come across more reliably when it matters.
In the end, it’s not about chasing equipment for its own sake. It’s about recognizing when the setup is starting to limit you and being willing to adapt.
