Medinah is not the course you remember.
The rebuilt No. 3, Vokey's three-line wedge cue, and how the modern 7-iron quietly moved.
Course No. 3 was redesigned by OCM in 2024. For the September 22–27 Presidents Cup, the official card lists 7,564 yards and par 72. The more interesting changes are spatial: larger greens, bigger-scale bunkers, wider fairways, open vistas, and broad fescue rough.
OPEN MEDINAH →Medinah changed the question.
The 2012 Ryder Cup made Course No. 3 a memory: narrow escapes, the lake, and a Sunday comeback. The 2026 Presidents Cup will not simply replay it. OCM's redesign changed the scale of the place.
Wider fairways do not automatically make a course easier. They can create more distinct angles into larger greens. Bigger bunkers shape the choice before they threaten the ball. Open vistas let viewers see those choices; long fescue gives the miss a visible cost.
The event moved the finish forward.
Fewer than 40% of past Presidents Cup matches reached the 17th hole. So this event changed the order: member No. 5 becomes the opener; member No. 18 becomes No. 14; and member Nos. 1 and 2 become Nos. 15 and 16.
The reroute pulls more of Medinah's best finishing ground into the part of the match more players will actually reach. That is a design choice driven by a tournament statistic—not change for change's sake.
EXPLORE THE COURSES →Vokey put the setup on the hosel.
Most club launches ask you to believe an invisible story about speed, spin, or stability. The newest SM11 detail is refreshingly literal: three engraved Flight Lines on the hosel.
Titleist says each line aligns to the player's nose to cue a different setup. It is a tiny interface printed directly on the club—and an admission that a versatile sole only helps when the golfer can return it to the intended position.
The SM11 matrix spans 44° to 60° and concentrates choice where versatility matters most: six distinct loft/bounce/grind setups at 58°, and another six at 60°. Flight Lines are a WedgeWorks customization. They will not fix a short game, but they are a genuinely different answer to a real equipment problem: making setup repeatable before technique takes over.
OPEN THE SM11 RECORD →Your 7-iron is quietly becoming a 6-iron.
We followed three major-brand iron families that publish both measurements through their recent generations. Two strengthened the 7-iron loft. Two added offset.
The number on the sole is becoming a worse shorthand for the shot. Less loft can add speed and distance, but it can also reduce launch and spin unless the head design recovers them. More offset moves the face behind the shaft axis; for some golfers that helps launch and face closure, while others dislike the look or left tendency.
Neither number is “better.” Compare the actual geometry—and the carry, descent and stopping window it produces—not the stamp on the sole.
One family per material design; cosmetic, finish-only and duplicate women's variants removed. 2020–22: 12 families / 5 brands; 2023–25: 28 / 8; early 2026: 4 / 3. Mid-handicap is Zomma Golf's disclosed derived band.
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