54º wedge as bunker club?

[WUTiger]

I added a 50.08 wedge at Christmastime, and I really like it.

My current SW is a 56.14 - great out of the bunker and for pop shots around the green.

Past experiences with 60º LWs have been disappointing - a club jacks the ball higher when the swing gets fuller, but not particularly reliable shot to shot.

Anyway, I'm wondering how 54º wedges work as bunker clubs. Was thinking about CG14 54.12. Some warn that SWs under 55º tend to disappoint.

Anyone use 54º as primary bunker club? How does it work? Plus and minus?

(Possible plan: add 54º and 58º; several people say they find 58º much more reliable than 60º + LWs)

[Shanks A Million]

I use a 53° SW, no problems. The 60° also works well out of the bunker. You could use your 58 from bunkers as well. Either way, anything from 52-64° seems to work just fine from a bunker.

[J_Bone]

First off, use what you have confidence in. For sand, use something with a medium to high bounce.

I use my 60LW as my sand wedge and my 56 for every thing else. Kind of the opposite of what others do, but I like it and have good success with it.

[JML22]

i use a 53 and have no problems
just hammer it as hard as you can to get out , just dont hit the ball first or itll prob go flying

[sean_miller]

I added a 50.08 wedge at Christmastime, and I really like it.

I'm pretty sure this has come up before, but when checking the WITB info for 2009 PGA Tour tournament winners, the following wedge setup is very common.

PW, 54, and 60 Seems to work just fine. PS. This year I've used the following clubs from greenside bunkers: 60, 56, 52, 9-iron, and 7-iron. From fairway bunkers, everything up to 4-iron.

[Titleist_ProV1x]

My 54 degree sand wedge with 14 degrees of bounce is my pride & joy from the bunkers

[Shanks A Million]

Like Jbone, I use my 60 out of nearly every bunker. The 53° is for bunker shots that need less loft, like bad lies, etc.

[sean_miller]

First off, use what you have confidence in. For sand, use something with a medium to high bounce.

If my 60 degree wedge had 12 degrees of bounce, I'd use it more often out of bunkers.

[Shorty]

i use a 53 and have no problems

That is pretty much the opposite of how you should play bunker shots. The fact that you even mention hitting the ball first would indicate that you do have problems.

[JML22]

zzz dont take things to literally

[TourSpoon]

No worries...I hit either my 54 or 60, although I prefer the 60 for most bunker shots.

[ohiolefty]

It depends on the lie, the green configuration, the pin placement, how confident I feel that day, etc.

In a general sense...
---60 on short bunker shots or short-sided bunker shots
---56 on general bunker shots
---on long bunker shots, a 56 if I don't have a lot of room to let it run out, a 52 if I've got some room

Once again, lie, confidence (and how well i've been playing bunker shots in recent practice sessions and rounds) and all of that play into the decision.


I would advise you practice a lot, try different things. You also have to accept on certain bunker shots that going near a pin isn't feasible. Pros have to do it all the time.

[drglew]

WUTiger, i use the exact same club you're considering (CG14, 2-dot i.e. std bounce) out of bunkers without problem. I use a 58* CG14 for shorter bunker shots (or if there's a high lip), and the 54* for longer ones (i.e. a lot of green to work with). As pointed out by others, bounce may be just as important (or more important) out of bunkers than the loft; and the standard CG14's have plenty.

[snowman0157]

Should work fine.... I often use my GW from the sand on longer greenside bunkers... no problem; just use the bounce and it will work.

[erock9174]

Guys this thread is applicable to me so I had a question.

My current wedge setup is PW - 48.6 vokey (100-105yds) and LW - 60.4 vokey (50-60 yds). So I need a club for 75 yards out and for sand shots since
my SW broke the other day.

So I plan to get a vokey 54 deg as my Gap and Sand Wedge. Question is, what bounce do I need?
I have a sweeper type swing which I understand I should use less bounce. But what is the lowest bounce I should get if I still want to use this club out of the sand ?

Some added info:
My old 56 was standard bounce (12 I think) for a SW and I had no problem hitting full shots from the fairway. Should I just getting something in the middle like a 54.8? Or go higher on the bounce ?
I don't know that I am good enough to even notice a difference.

I love my 60.4 though for greenside chipping.

[chef35ca]

Any wedge will work with a confident swing. A work buddy of mine uses his old PW out of every bunker. I'm guessing around the 48* range. Works for him quite well. He takes alot of sand though. I use my 60* as i like to hit a little closer to the ball with a softer stroke.

[tfauss]

Guys this thread is applicable to me so I had a question.

My setup is a PW-47 and a 54.08, and a 60.04. I use my 54.08 out of the sand and it works great.

[andef]

My set up is 47* PW, 54.11 SW and a 58.07 SW/LW. I think this set up works just fine, although most of the time I find myself in bunkers I'm using my 58.07. It's not because I don't feel comfortable hitting my 54.11 out of bunkers, it's just that I often short side myself so I need the extra loft and spin. If I have more room or need less height, I play my 54.11 with good results.
I think the 50,54,58 idea is a good one to have consistent gaps, I just like to have a smaller gap between 3W and 3i hence my set up.