Wedge help...

[Wet Doggg]

So the new 56 degree sand wedge I bought has 14 degrees of bounce and for the life of me I can't hit it solid. It is almost like the club head is slipping under the ball and I hit it fat. It is a very odd feeling and something I have never experienced. I do not have the issue with the 52 degree wedge I also have and have never had this issue with any other sand wedge I have ever had.

I am a decent player...but this club just scares me as I have lost a lot of scoring opportunities in the past weeks. Any thoughts? Much appreciated.

[Scott_K]

When hitting a full shot with my SW, I address it with my hands in front of the ball. I also have a natural foward press with all my shots as well. My SW is around a 56 and it has a lot of bounce as well. I end up catching the ball cleaner and the leading edge tends to dig for a healthy divot. If I address it with the shaft standing straight up, I tend to catch it fat. I don't think it's the leading edge, but the flange that's chunking it up. The ball ends up short. The bounce of the club reacts differently with different lies as well. I find it hardest to controll off of dried out hardpans as it tends to skip off the ground and I end up with a thin shot.

[James_Black]

What bounce was your old club?

Maybe it's the grind instead of the bounce?

[Wet Doggg]

Problem solved...it was the flange. It was too short and too rounded. So I did a little grind as well as bent the 52 to a 50 and the 56 to a 54. They now are nice and crisp. The think the bending did quite a bit more than the grind.

[WUTiger]

Good club smithing lesson here. If you bend an iron head one degree strong, you lose a degree of bounce. If you bend an iron head one degree weaker, you gain a degree of bounce.

Also, sole grind is a big factor in whether you can hit a given wedge or not.

Maltby talks about wedges and rated bounce vs. effective bounce in this link:
http://www.ralphmaltby.com/50