Sand and lob wedge

I'm not finicky about my clubs... with the exception that I hate chunky or cavity-backed wedges with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. I love opening up my wedges to play around with trajectories, and I don't feel good doing that with anything chunky. I shelved the SW that came with my set when I stumbled upon a nice used Nike wedge at a sale. $20, great buy, never regretted it. So go with what you feel most comfortable with. If I started this thread and everyone told me to buy chunky wedges I'd be miserable with them. Wedges are very personal clubs. My lob wedge has 4° of bounce, so I can't really hit a full shot with it unless the course is firm, but I love how easily I can get underneath the ball from tight lies with it. It's fun and I have another lob wedge from a set someone keeps at my house that would be much more versatile with 8° of bounce, but I don't feel as good opening it because the higher bounce and lack of grind in the back keeps the leading edge too far off the ground. Hate it. Watch some chipping videos. There's a good one on this site about chipping with a putting method that I've been playing around with. It's very useful, fairly foolproof. I personally prefer the method Phil Mickelson teaches in his Secrets of the Short game DVD (google hinge-and-hold; the DVD is constantly uploaded to Youtube faster than it gets taken down, though certainly consider buying it if you like what you see). Go with whatever you feel comfortable with, wedge-wise.

I have a Titleist SM5 56 in 10 bounce and a Cleveland 588 RTX cavity back 60 in 12. This is not a big chunky cavity back, but just more forgiving than a muscleback.

You have to learn how to work these clubs and they take time to learn how to use. I use the 60 for bunkers. Tempo is extremely important with these clubs. Learn to feel the natural club tempo especially for your backswing.

Bunker play - it will take you about 4 hrs of practice to become a decent bunker player.

Lob wedge - it is a difficult club to use, but I rarely hit a full shot with it. Full LW shot is about 70 yds. My average LW shot is about 45 and under.

For chipping, if you can use your putter, use it. I usually use my 8 iron - PW for chips. A LW is going to check quickly, and you have to be able to land it accurately. I use it for short pitches otherwise I'll run the shot.

The problem with Hinge and hold for the high handicapper is it is very easy to take the club back too far, and once that is done we decelerate on the downswing which leads to a duffed chip. This is why I avoid my LW and SW on short chips like a plague unless I have a tight pin with crap in between my ball and the flag and need my ball to check. Then three Hail Mary's and try it.

So I'd take four lessons: one dedicated to chipping; one dedicated to pitching; one dedicated to bunker play; and one dedicated to putting for your short game series.

It is a good feeling to hit a ball in a bunker and know you can get out of it in one shot.

Hey Rule try this.  Use the 20 sand and the Tour Lob.  That is what I do.  I play G20's in P&U; wedges.  I play a Karsten sand wedge with carbon shaft.  My lob is a Mizuno MPT12 60 and a Wilson harmonized 64.  I use the sand wedge for full or 3/4 hits and the occasional bump and run or long chip.

I find that the Karsten makes a great 55 yard shot every time.  The 60 and 64 take care of all the touch shots.  No need to play touch shots with the sand wedge.  Also opening the face for flops is so much easier with a low bounce lob.  My 60 is 8 degrees and don't know the Wilson's bounce.  Both are superb at the short flip or flop.  Try that combination you may like it.

Are you saying you carry two sand wedges?

I think he's talking about 5 different wedges: a G20 PW and AW/UW (45ish and 52ish degree), a Karsten sand wedge (whose loft is unclear; probably 56°), a Mizuno lob wedge (60°), and a Wilson ultra lob wedge (64°).

My own thoughts about that set up is it's tempting when you're learning because you can sort of assign a wedge to a particular shot, and I was incredibly tempted to get a 64° early on, but as I've gotten better, I use my 60° way less than before, and there's no way I could justify having that and a 64°. I learned different shots that I feel comfortable with using my lower lofted clubs, so I don't need to get the ball up super high each time anymore. That used to be my go to shot around the green. Now, I'll open up my sand wedge for flop shots out of the rough because I want to have the extra bounce to help me. So the lob tends to be for nice lies or fairways. Not to say having a 60 and 64 is crazy, just that it doesn't suit me anymore. I'd rather have a 3H or a 5W on the other end in case I need it for dogleg tee shots or par-5 approaches.

Also, 64° wedges can be hard to get really good at, especially for a high handicap player. It would definitely be something you should buy after getting comfortable with a 60° and deciding there's still a need for something more.

Probably more important than the brand or design of your wedges is the bounce angles. I live in Myrtle Beach where our sand is pretty fluffy and the turf is soft. Therefore I use 14 degrees of bounce on my 56 deg. sand wedge and 8 degrees of bounce on my 60 deg. lob wedge. As a general rule, the firmer your conditions, the lower the bounce angle you would want. Once that is straightened out, learning how to utilize the bounce will do wonders for your game both in the sand and greenside.

Thats strange - I swear that they used to show the actual bounce on their website.

Anyway - I have a 54 and a 58 Tour SS from back in August of 2012.  The 54 had 13 degrees of bounce and the 58 had 10.  (Mine have been bent a tad so they're actually 54.5/13.5 and 59/11)

No idea how the G bounces compare but at least that gives you an idea on the Tours.  (My only wish is that the 58 also had as much bounce as the 54.)

Found it on their repair site. You are correct about the tour bounce. Both the sand and lob g20 have 12 degrees of bounce. While on the site I took a look at their grinds but I figure if I'm going to get it grinded, I should just use the tour wedges.

Found it on their repair site. You are correct about the tour bounce. Both the sand and lob g20 have 12 degrees of bounce. While on the site I took a look at their grinds but I figure if I'm going to get it grinded, I should just use the tour wedges.[/quote] If there is ever a question about which grind, then you should get unground soling. Adjustments are then made easy. Its harder to customize the other way imo.

Rule I've been away for a little while.  You are correct.  The G20's have 54 in sand.  My Karsten is 55.  I hit full shots with the sand wedge most times.  The other 2 lobs are for in close.

I find myself short sided waaay to often.  I live in Central PA so hills are a fact of life.  So many of the greens I hit into are raised.  So at times I'm hitting uphill at least 8 feet.  I've been shortsided and had to hit it up 12 feet to the green.  The 64 has earned a spot in my bag.

I had 60 for my highest wedge for quite a while.  I had a bladed sand wedge to start.  But the dispersion and fat shots really hurt me.  I got the Karsten cheap used.  It's going nowhere.  The confidence it gives me is unreal.  Gets the ball in the air easily and dispersion is great.  Decent spin, there is no downside for me.  I also use it for longer chips and the occasional bump and run.

It is great having the option of a chunky sand wedge for bunkers and approach shots.  And the versatility of a bladed wedge for in close.  I hope you do well.

Mark Shuman