They came up as recommendations for me online as well. However, i did a Titleist Thursday fitting and tried them and didn't like them. Even with a high bounce, they dug way too much for me. Great if you primarly use with the face open a little, but they felt unstable on full shots with a square face, and just didn't give me the crisp contact around the greens. But everyone is different... what works for some won't for others.

That's a starting point. Did you try them before you bought them? The online selector tool recommended lower bounce wedges for me and when I did an in-person fitting at Manchester Lane, the fitter put me into higher bounce wedges.

I play both the 54.12 D Grind and the 58.12 D Grind in the SM8. I have had great results with them around the green, but I did with my 54 and 58 SM7s too. However, my 54 SM7 was an S Grind. I would say, I get more check with the 12 D Grind SM8 on chips and pitches. That's partially due to playing the face open more with the SM8. It's a very comfortable grind for opening the face. Better than the S-Grind in my opinion after playing a season with each.

I was a bit skeptical about moving to the higher bounce D Grind in the SM8 after being so comfortable with my S-Grind 54.10 in the SM7. Yet, within an hour of practicing with the D Grind when I first got it, I was like, "I shouda switched to this grind in my 54 sooner. So much more versatile than the S-Grind. That's not to say the S isn't good, because I used to think it was great....until I began playing the D.

I also have a 60.08 M-Grind SM8 which I sometimes substitute for my 58.12 D when conditions are very firm, or if I leave my 4i out of the bag, I will take both the 58 and the 60 with me. That gives me even more options. And the M and D are very similar grinds, separated by 4* of bounce. So the style of play is nearly the same for both. With tight lies or firm conditions the 60.08 works great for open faced chips and pitches, while from rough the 12* of bounce is more helpful.

Thank you for the detailed reply! I'm excited to get out and hit them, we'll see how it goes. Since the main reason I ordered them was because I wasn't getting a whole lot of check up around the greens, then I'm excited to hear they are checking good!

I got my SM 8’s a few weeks ago. Hit them twice. 56/8 S and 50/12 F. Both feel pretty good thus far. My 56 is same specs ad previous SM 6, so expected same Feel. I was nervous about the feel of the 50 (previous AW/matching from irons) but love the feel this far.

For a year or so I used a SM7 lob wedge in D grind (it was a 60 degree). But my 54 degree sand wedge was a plain old 54.14 F grind. There wasn't a D grind option in 54 back then but if if there had been I'd have used the F grind.

Not saying that's what you ought to do but just wanted to remind you there's a high-bounce 54 option other than the D. I found the 54.14F and 60.12D to be an excellent combination for my game, in fact I'm not sure I'm happy having moved to a different combo in my current SM7 set!