Question about wedges

Status
Not open for further replies.
Erik_K

Erik_K

New
All -

I carry a 54 deg wedge with 8 degrees of bounce. At the moment I have 13 clubs in my bag, so I can add a club. I have a pitching wedge and the 54 degree wedge and I am thinking a 58 degree wedge would be nice to have - essentially this would be the SW.

Regarding bounce - is there a 'standard' for a 58 degree wedge?

I am looking for a club to use in the trap but also a club for your standard wedge shots from the fairway or rough. I realize that people may alter the bounce (via owning a number of wedges) depending on the course and how they play a pitch (sweep type shot, or more of a dig may require different amounts of bounce).

I am by no means a skilled short game artist. At my best my wedge play is a C-. Thus, is there an amount of bounce that is more 'forgiving'?

I tend to miss a lot of greens and in general the area around the greens (where my league play takes place) has some grass that isn't overly long, but it's not cut really short either. The fairways can also be firm at times, but also rather soft in some places. In maryland the weather is always in flux. The season starts out cold and damp, and then it can get very warm in the summer which might dry out the course some.

thanks,
Erik
 
C

cwdlaw223

New
Many moving parts to answer that question. The "grind" of the wedge can add or subtract effective/delivered bounce (as opposed to static bounce) just as the sole width can add or subtract effective bounce. Harder turf = less bounce needed. Soft turf = more bounce needed. I would say that 8* might be the most consistent static bounce angle for a 58* wedge, but you really need to hit various wedges to find the correct grind and bounce that works for the shot you want to hit with that club. Edel has a wedge now with 24* bounce! I have 60* wedges with anywhere from 0-14* bounce.
 
B

BIGBALL

New
Erik_K said:
All -

I carry a 54 deg wedge with 8 degrees of bounce. At the moment I have 13 clubs in my bag, so I can add a club. I have a pitching wedge and the 54 degree wedge and I am thinking a 58 degree wedge would be nice to have - essentially this would be the SW.

Regarding bounce - is there a 'standard' for a 58 degree wedge?

I am looking for a club to use in the trap but also a club for your standard wedge shots from the fairway or rough. I realize that people may alter the bounce (via owning a number of wedges) depending on the course and how they play a pitch (sweep type shot, or more of a dig may require different amounts of bounce).

I am by no means a skilled short game artist. At my best my wedge play is a C-. Thus, is there an amount of bounce that is more 'forgiving'?

I tend to miss a lot of greens and in general the area around the greens (where my league play takes place) has some grass that isn't overly long, but it's not cut really short either. The fairways can also be firm at times, but also rather soft in some places. In maryland the weather is always in flux. The season starts out cold and damp, and then it can get very warm in the summer which might dry out the course some.

thanks,
Erik
Click to expand...

Fellow Marylander here - spot on about the weather. I tend to have less bounce on my wedges, mainly because it seems a lot of the bunkers in the area tend to be on the firm side. ( And my golf buds and I play a lot of different courses here and up in Pa. ) I use my lob wedge alot, both fairway and bunkers, and I actually have 2, one is 10 deg ( I think!) and one is 4. I switch them depending on the course and recent weather, etc. I actually probably use my 4 more. My sand wedge is a 14' I believe, and I use that in more powdery type bunkers, etc.
Anyway, just my .02 cents!
 
B

Billy McKinney

New
Outside of hard-packed bunkers, bounce and a big sole are your friends for most of the shots you'll hit. That sole will let you get away with a bit of imprecision (in the odd case you'd ever need it). Sandy Andy, Sure Out, Alien...they were ugly but had merit for the vast majority of golfers.
 
B

Billy McKinney

New
It depends how adept you are at pitches and lobs, especially. I like a 56 with lots of bounce and a lob wedge with very little so I can open it for flops. But sure, even 14 of bounce is useful to most.
 
Erik_K

Erik_K

New
I don't possess much skill in this area. So I'd be looking for a club that is relatively easy to hit under 'normal' conditions. I see what you are saying though. If you have a desired shot, and know what you are doing, more/less bounce could help.
 
johnnymarlboro

johnnymarlboro

New
I mixed mine up a bit so I've got options. I've got a 50° with 6° of bounce, a 55° with 11° of bounce, and a 60° with 6° of bounce. I'd love to get different combinations of bounce for each of these lofts to swap out depending on the course conditions. Particularly a 55° or 56° with more bounce.
 
R

Rick Dandy

New
Erik,

First it's important to know where you contact the bounce on your wedges. Here's how to do it at home.

Find some smooth concrete.

Get your PW and 54 and chip swing on the concrete and see where you contact the bounce.
You will see a mark on the sole.
Preferred would be somewhere in the mid point from heel to toe (is lie angle good)

AND based on the bounce the mark will show somewhere from front edge to middle to back edge.

No Bounce mark is at or near front edge

Say 4 degrees Bounce is away from front edge.

Say 10 degrees Bounce is more away from leading edge.

Try to have three different contact points. Front middle and back. No use in having three wedges hit the same.
 
Erik_K

Erik_K

New
Rick -

You are saying I need three different contact points for each club? That is to say (for example) - the PW contact is at the leading edge, the 54 degree contact is just a bit farther back, and for the 58 degree (say it's 12 degrees or whatever) the strike point is a little behind the 54.

Naturally I won't be able to check the 58 degree on concrete, but I can probably use a lie board (though that may not leave a mark on the head of the club).
 
R

Rick Dandy

New
Knowing where the bottom is, ...is.

My 60 scratches in between the other two because it has less bounce than my 54 and more bounce than my PW.

Apply the bounce to the lie and the shot.

Use black tape if you like.
 
ZAP

ZAP

New
I was thinking that you could use tape and hit off a lie board or something. I guess I know what I am doing the next time i touch my clubs. God only knows when that will be.
 
magicmarker

magicmarker

New
I use a PW from my set, a 52* gap wedge (12 bounce), a 56* sand wedge (14 bounce) and a 58* with an M grind finish (12 bounce). Most players go for even gaps leaving a 60 degree wedge. I like to think of the 58 as a 56 I can be very aggressive with, I find the risk reward factor to be much better with a 58 vs 60. I've tried many wedges and I wouldn't wanna play with less than 12 degrees of bounce. Just my opinion.
 
dschultz6072

dschultz6072

New
These videos were very helpful in me understanding how to use bounce.



I have a 50 and a 56 with a good amount of bounce (10 and 11) so I have more to play with, and my 60 has 4 so I can slide it under the ball if I need to. I'd rather use the 56 from tight lies if the shot allows. Once you learn how to really glide the bounce along the turf, hitting short shots from tight lies becomes a hell of a lot easier. You don't have to set up like you're falling over onto your left side and hit perfectly ball first with the leading edge. Listen to Ben! With a bit of practice, you'll find the ball checks up super nice and it feels like you're cheating. You can hit solid shots off the putting green like cake and never leave a mark. We have a night-lit driving range here and I like to practice using the bounce on the short game area at night. They don't really like seeing people hitting wedges on the putting green in broad daylight.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top