Wedge Bounce and Grind: What it is and Why it Matters

Players preparing for this year’s U.S. Open made a rush on the equipment vans to come up with wedges with little bounce and fresh grooves. Here’s why.

Bag DropAs we saw this weekend, Oakmont Country Club proved itself capable of growing some of the toughest, most gnarly, luscious grass this side of Kentucky. So while some are calling Oakmont the true victor this year, I think it might have been modern agronomy that really won.

To deal with the combination of deep, thick rough as well as the extremely tight lies on fairways and in the runoff areas around some greens, players had to resort to wedges that could more easily cut through the thick stuff and not bounce off the tightly mowed turf and blade the ball (as happened to Tiger at the third hole Sunday).

Many opted to use wedges with less bounce and a grind that produced a sharper leading edge. Here’s what that means and why you might consider doing the same depending on the courses you play.

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Volume One Hundred Two

At the end of the day, Oakmont took the best golfers in the world out behind the woodshed for a beatdown.

Hitting the LinksThe USGA protected their precious score of par and the Oakmont County Club members must have had evil grins on their faces as their course took the best golfers in the world and smacked them silly.

Only one golfer broke was able to break par twice over four days (Angel Cabrera), Saturday’s leader Aaron Baddeley throws up a final round 80, and Tiger Woods still has not won a major when trailing.

This week we have a recap of the U.S. Open plus a Father’s Day story that golfers can really appreciate.

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U.S. Open at Oakmont Journal: Sunday

Angel Cabrera wins the 107th U.S. Open. Here’s my account of a 14-hour day in the 18th hole grandstand.

2007 U.S. OpenWhat follows is a transcription of my notes from the grandstands near the 18th green on Sunday at the U.S. Open.

4:30 am – I showered the night before, so I wake up, put my clothes on, deflate my bed for the week, and get in the car for the short drive to Oakmont.

5:10 am – I arrive at my destination for the day – the grandstands overlooking the 18th – and find that I’ve been beaten to my ideal spot by six people. The sun isn’t up yet, and people are in the 18th grandstands. My ideal spot was the back left corner, which offers views of the ninth/practice green, the 10th, 12th, and 15th tees, and the 11th, 14th, and 18th greens. With binoculars, you can see even more including the second, 15th, and 17th greens. I will be here for the next 14 hours.

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U.S. Open at Oakmont Journal: Friday

Phil plays the “bang and blame” game, Tiger hacks his way around the easy second hole and makes perhaps the best five I’ve seen in a long time, and Angel Cabrera relies on the Big Break to hold the lead?

2007 U.S. OpenI attended the U.S. Open yesterday and sat behind the first green for about five hours. Then I went to the ninth green for about three hours.

I saw one birdie: a chip-in by Justin Rose at the first. I saw Ian Poulter’s long putt from off the green nearly fall and Shingo Katayama’s chip from the fairway rattle the pin before rolling a few feet away. He would later miss the par putt.

Friday I sat behind the 18th green. Though the hole was blocked by a large tree, reasonable views of the tenth, twelfth, and fifteenth tees as well as the ninth green (if you’re on the railing). Sitting in the shadows of the trees, and with the wind whipping, the location was less than desirable: walking the course until about noon is advised for those coming on Saturday or Sunday.

Anyway, here are my observations…

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Callaway FT-i/FT-5 Driver Review

Callaway Golf has followed up the successful FT-3 driver with two new titanium/composite models. Is one of them worthy of a place in your bag?

Callaway FT-i/FT-5 HeroA pair of new drivers from Callaway Golf hit golf shops earlier this spring. Though they share the company’s Fusion multimaterial technology, the two 460cc big sticks couldn’t be much more different.

The FT-5 is a refined, evolutionary update to the FT-3 driver from mid-2005. Meanwhile, the FT-i (the i is for inertia) is something completely different, sporting the aggressively odd square shape that has, along with the Nike Sumo2 and Nickent’s 3DX Square, drawn so much attention to square-shaped drivers this year. The differences are more than cosmetic, as each driver will appeal to a certain type of player.

Read on to see which one might be best for you.

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U.S. Open Playoffs

Golf’s biggest names have been associated with the U.S. Open. Some of the greatest U.S. Open battles have been fought in playoffs. Here are the top five.

Trap Five LogoThe USGA’s U.S. Open is, without question, the most difficult tournament in golf. Since its inception in 1895 thirty-two winners have been decided in playoffs. The first playoff was won by Willie Anderson of Scotland in 1901. An eventual four-time U.S. Open winner, Anderson won three U.S. Opens in a row from 1903 to 1905. It is a record that still stands. Hard living Anderson died at age thirty of “hard living.”

What Willie Anderson and eventual 1906 U.S. Open victor Alex Smith did well over one-hundred years ago in their playoff has been repeated many times.

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2007 U.S. Open Staff Predictions

You’d think we’d all just pick Tiger Woods and go home, but that’s not the case.

Thrash TalkThe 107th U.S. Open Championship returns to Oakmont, hosting the national championship for a record eighth time.

As usual, our staff has gathered our thoughts into an article. We’re putting our money where our mouths are, so to speak. More likely, we’re setting ourselves up for eventual ridicule, but hey, we can take it!

Read on to see how right – or how incredibly wrong – we may be as we predict the winner, score, and some surprises at the 2007 U.S. Open.

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U.S. Open at Oakmont Journal: Tuesday

The Pelzmeter exists, and despite a ten-minute conversation on the fifth green with its inventor, Fred Funk ain’t buyin’ it.

2007 U.S. OpenWhen I arrived at lunchtime yesterday, Lot C was half full. Today, at 7am, I parked in the first row. As you might have guessed, the course was relatively empty as well, and in fact the last four or five holes didn’t even have new cups cut yet or flags installed.

Tiger Woods teed off today with Bubba Watson just as I arrived, and we eventually caught Tiger on the eighth hole as I walked the course backwards getting architectural shots. Read on for the rest of my journal notes from Tuesday at the U.S. Open.

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Par is a Good Score

Would you believe that the average winning score at the U.S. Open since 1945 has been below par? You’d better.

The Numbers GameThe U.S. Open is notorious for its idea of par as a standard. The courses that host the tournament are usually set up to be quite penal. “Par is a good score” you’ll hear pros say, and this year’s event at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, PA is looking no different.

The typical U.S. Open course has pinched fairways, long holes, super-fast, super-firm undulating greens, and the nastiest, thickest, juiciest rough you’ll ever want to see.

And yet the U.S. Open typically plays to about even par, and is actually trending lower. Let’s have a look.

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