Which do you prefer out of the sand trap: 56 or 60 degree sand iron?

[xilez]

After a few hours of bunker practice today, I narrowed which club I prefered in the trap better between the 56 and 60 degree. I like the 60 deg for the lobbing capabilities but I felt I trusted the 56 more. I was curious what other SandTrappers use.

[uttexas]

My 56* SW has more bounce, thus I prefer it out of the sand.

[blackxpress]

It depends on the condition of the bunker. If the sand is shallow or hard packed I prefer my 60 because it has less bounce. Conversely, the 56 works better in fluffy sand. If the sand is hard packed or shallow and the bunker is a long way from the center of the green I might use my 50. It also has low bounce. Of course, there is also the question of ball location. Is it against the front lip, side lip, back lip? Is it in the center of the bunker? And what about the lie? Is it a fried egg? And don't get me started on fairway bunkers.

[meenman]

I generally use my 58 degree, although i have played courses where the putter is a better option.

[Losttsol]

My sand wedge is 57.7 °.  It's one of my favorite clubs overall, not just out of the sand.

[Leftygolfer]

Just depends on the shot and sand.  Firmer sand, shorter shot or have to carry it a long way, LW.  Fluffy sand, medium length shot and want a little roll SW.  Also how high do I have to hit or want to comes into the equation.

[clubchamp]

7 times out of 10 I go with my 56*

[GaijinGolfer]

56*.  With the lob wedge I find it too easy for the clubhead to dig into the sand and go right under the ball.  My 56* has enough bounce that it doesnt dig into the sand as much.

[tomvk77]

It's the bounce on the club that makes it a good bunker wedge

I have a 54.08 ( low bounce ) wedge i use alot out of the fairway and for chip shots

i have 58.12 ( high bounce ) for bunker and flop shots

with more bounce your able to slide the ball under the ball ( in the sand ) more easy,

as a low bounce is more shaped like your iron's.

so for me the 58 wedge is the club for greenside bunkers

[ezmorningrebel]

Originally Posted by uttexas

My 56* SW has more bounce, thus I prefer it out of the sand.

same here.

[lumpuckeroo]

Most of the bunkers in my area are hard river bottom sand, so it's not easy to dig it out.  In that sand I prefer a 56 with the least amount of bounce I can get, so that's what is in my bag.  If I was playing from bunkers that you see on tour, I would prefer a 60 with as much bounce as I could find.

Many years ago I read an article by Greg Norman, he said the average joe golfer should play a wedge from the sand with as much loft and bounce as they could find.

[MiniBlueDragon]

I use either my 54.11 or my 58.08 depending on the state of the sand and how much bounce I think I'll be using. I'd say my 54.11 is used 7/10 times at my local course.

[Gioguy21]

greenside bunkers are almost exclusively my 58*...

[dhanson]

58 for shorter shots i want to stop and 54 for longer shots i want to release.

[Bo the Golfer]

Originally Posted by dhanson

58 for shorter shots i want to stop and 54 for longer shots i want to release.

This!

[parbreaker]

For me, it really depends on the shot. I would say I use my sand wedge (usually my 54 degree 8 bounce) for most shots. If I need a lot of height, alot of stoppage, or the sand is wet and hard, I will not hesitate to use my lob wedge. I use a lob wedge with low bounce for some versatility. I have been known to swap out wedges though based on feel and the course I'm playing though.

I enjoy hitting my lob wedge more, and would hit it more if I could but for most bunker shots the sand wedge is more reliable.

[Topper]

SW

[mdl]

I use my 54˚ exclusively out of green side bunkers.  That's sort of legacy though, as I got comfortable with my 54˚ out of the sand before I got a 60˚.  When I really need to get the ball airborne and though I never have a problem just opening the club face way up and opening up my stance and making sure I hit behind the ball, so I don't think I'll be switching to my 60˚ any time soon...