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

[xxsoultonesxx]

I like my 60* although I feel like I'm in the minority after reading the above posts. I play a Scratch 8620 60* with the D/D grind, and I can be pretty aggressive with it, which I like. Also, the sand at most of the courses I play in western WA is generally pretty firm/rocky/crappy sand, and if it gets wet, I will use the 56* which has just a hair less bounce.

[LankyLefty]

I really think out of a trap it is about bounce more then loft. You can launch a ball as high as you want with a 56 or a 60 or anything else +/- a fe degrees from there. If you open the face up like a  flop shot it will go up, if you close the face more like a punch shot it will stay low. So really I think in general in green side bunkers a 56 or 60 will get the job done, it just comes down to the type of the shot and the bounce on the club. Over 10-15 yards 4 degrees of loft means nothing.

[Stonecold]

Usually go with my *58-12

For me it depends most on the sand.

Fluffy with a lower lip and more roll to the hole I may go as low as *50-09.

[bcgolf]

I usually use my 58/08 vokey

[Bananarama]

Originally Posted by 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.

This, +1

60 with less bounce is good for skipping off concrete, 56 with more bounce is for when the sand has been raked!

[JoelCochran]

At almost any course except my home course I would use my old Hogan "Special SI".  It is 56* with about 14* of bounce.

Unfortunately the sand in the bunkers at my home source is practically non-existent, not quite hardpan but only about 1/4" deep, so I quickly learned that club is out (although it is fantastic from greenside rough).  I've been using my 62* lob with varying degrees of success: sometimes it's an OK shot, but usually it either chunks or blows over the green.  I think next time I'm going to try my 51* and see if that is any better.  Being in the sand has ruined more holes on this course for me than anything else.  I miss *real* sand.

[bunkerputt]

Both are fine.  Depends on the sand.  56 has more bounce, so that's the way I go most of the time.