otto6457
New
OK.....
I don't necessarily want this to turn into an "equipment debate" but I have some questions about my wedges.
I have used Vokeys for what seems like forever. I have tinkered with my wedge set-up for almost as long, and I'm currently carrying 4 wedges (48, 52,08 56,010 60,08)
I may go to three as I dropped my 4 iron to make way for the gap wedge (52), and I miss my 4-iron So, I may move to a 48, bent 1 degree weak, a 54, and either a 58 or 60. I do like my 60 but the gap between 54-60 may be too big.
The turf on my home course is incredibly tight. It's Sport Turf Bermuda that is mowed to 3/16" and it is as tight as berber carpet around the greens. Flop shots require REAL skill with a wedge.
The sand on my home course is what I call "blow sand" in that it isn't at all consistent and it's "heavy". It's like the sand that blows off of a cotton field in the spring when the wind howls.
I use my 60.08 for most green side bunker shots due to how deep and penal the bunkers are on my home course. Also, because of our really strong wind, our bunkers are often "out of sand", where a big part of the sand has actually been blown out of the bunkers. It's not uncommon to have less than an inch of sand in the bottom of the bunkers and just hard packed soil directly underneath. In this sort of bunker, I won't even try my 56.10 because I fear the club bouncing off the bottom and blading the ball. Which still happens sometimes with the 60.08.
Now, I have gotten conflicting recommendations for bounce on wedges for my kind of conditions. Some guys (including the club pro) tell me that the lower bounce on my 60 is better for sort of sand and the tight lies we have. He even recommended that a 60.04 would be a better choice. And a mini-tour player I play quite a bit of golf with, insists that more bounce is better when the sand is inconsistent. He also likes the additional bounce on the fairways as he say it helps to prevent too much digging. He just gets an aggressive heel grind so that he can open it up if he needs to play off of tight lies.
Which brings me to Scratch wedges. The "effective" bounce on most of the Scratch wedges is 14 degrees. But they grind the heels and toes to allow for opening them up on the tight turf. They also appear to have a MUCH bigger selection of head shapes, grinds, and sole configurations. But there are so many, I have no idea how to decide what I need. Using their questionnaire, I am a digger/driver since I take pretty good divots and have a steep angle of attack.
Now, while I obviously play most of my golf on my home course, I will be traveling this season for some state amateur events and I have no idea what kind of sand I will encounter, but I'm pretty certain that the turf I will see elsewhere will not be as tight as what I play on everyday.
Is there a standard rule for more or less bounce and sand/turf conditions. Do better players have different wedges for different conditions or adjust their technique according to conditions?
I don't necessarily want this to turn into an "equipment debate" but I have some questions about my wedges.
I have used Vokeys for what seems like forever. I have tinkered with my wedge set-up for almost as long, and I'm currently carrying 4 wedges (48, 52,08 56,010 60,08)
I may go to three as I dropped my 4 iron to make way for the gap wedge (52), and I miss my 4-iron So, I may move to a 48, bent 1 degree weak, a 54, and either a 58 or 60. I do like my 60 but the gap between 54-60 may be too big.
The turf on my home course is incredibly tight. It's Sport Turf Bermuda that is mowed to 3/16" and it is as tight as berber carpet around the greens. Flop shots require REAL skill with a wedge.
The sand on my home course is what I call "blow sand" in that it isn't at all consistent and it's "heavy". It's like the sand that blows off of a cotton field in the spring when the wind howls.
I use my 60.08 for most green side bunker shots due to how deep and penal the bunkers are on my home course. Also, because of our really strong wind, our bunkers are often "out of sand", where a big part of the sand has actually been blown out of the bunkers. It's not uncommon to have less than an inch of sand in the bottom of the bunkers and just hard packed soil directly underneath. In this sort of bunker, I won't even try my 56.10 because I fear the club bouncing off the bottom and blading the ball. Which still happens sometimes with the 60.08.
Now, I have gotten conflicting recommendations for bounce on wedges for my kind of conditions. Some guys (including the club pro) tell me that the lower bounce on my 60 is better for sort of sand and the tight lies we have. He even recommended that a 60.04 would be a better choice. And a mini-tour player I play quite a bit of golf with, insists that more bounce is better when the sand is inconsistent. He also likes the additional bounce on the fairways as he say it helps to prevent too much digging. He just gets an aggressive heel grind so that he can open it up if he needs to play off of tight lies.
Which brings me to Scratch wedges. The "effective" bounce on most of the Scratch wedges is 14 degrees. But they grind the heels and toes to allow for opening them up on the tight turf. They also appear to have a MUCH bigger selection of head shapes, grinds, and sole configurations. But there are so many, I have no idea how to decide what I need. Using their questionnaire, I am a digger/driver since I take pretty good divots and have a steep angle of attack.
Now, while I obviously play most of my golf on my home course, I will be traveling this season for some state amateur events and I have no idea what kind of sand I will encounter, but I'm pretty certain that the turf I will see elsewhere will not be as tight as what I play on everyday.
Is there a standard rule for more or less bounce and sand/turf conditions. Do better players have different wedges for different conditions or adjust their technique according to conditions?
My 60 (58 bent week to add more bounce) is allows for a ton of fudge on the mid-sole pitch and flop.
