The degree rating on wedges?

[ILLZ]

I started this season with only the PW that my set came with (TourEdge) and a 20 year old sand wedge that was my Dad's that I can't hit to save my life. As my game has slowly improved I realized the necessity for a different array of wedges. Last week I went to the local golf shop and talked to the guy for a while about wedges. He suggested the first thing I should do is replace my old sand wedge. I ended up with a Titleist Vokey 56*10. I played on Thursday with it for the first time and I LOVE it. I previously couldn't even use anything but my PW greenside because I didn't trust that SW (unless I was playing a bump and run, in which case I'd use my 8). This wedge enabled me to make so many different shots that required more loft. Anyways... now that I'm using this thing I HAVE to go get a 60* wedge to compliment it. My question is in regards to the bounde rating or whatever it is? The guy that sold me my 56* mentioned nothing of this. What does that refer to? Should I be getting the 60* with the 4 or the 8 bounce rating? Thanks in advance!

[Shindig]

  ILLZ said:

I started this season with only the PW that my set came with (TourEdge) and a 20 year old sand wedge that was my Dad's that I can't hit to save my life. As my game has slowly improved I realized the necessity for a different array of wedges. Last week I went to the local golf shop and talked to the guy for a while about wedges. He suggested the first thing I should do is replace my old sand wedge. I ended up with a Titleist Vokey 56*10. I played on Thursday with it for the first time and I LOVE it. I previously couldn't even use anything but my PW greenside because I didn't trust that SW (unless I was playing a bump and run, in which case I'd use my 8). This wedge enabled me to make so many different shots that required more loft. Anyways... now that I'm using this thing I HAVE to go get a 60* wedge to compliment it. My question is in regards to the bounde rating or whatever it is? The guy that sold me my 56* mentioned nothing of this. What does that refer to? Should I be getting the 60* with the 4 or the 8 bounce rating? Thanks in advance!

About.com has a good article on it: http://golf.about.com/od/faqs/f/bounce.htm My understanding of it is that more bounce makes it easier to hit out of the sand, but harder to hit out of hard surfaces. I realize the next thing doesn't answer your question, but it bears saying since you're filling out your wedges: consider spacing them. If your PW is 46* and your SW is 56*, and you have nothing inbetween, consider a 50-52* wedge. Check out the difference in how far you hit the PW and SW, and I think you'll see it's a 15-20+ yard difference. Hitting half wedges when you could just use a full of another club is preferable (to me, at least).

[ILLZ]

I just read that article and don't quite grasp the idea. You may be right with your assumption.

I agree that I need a wedge to fill the 46*-56* gap. I'd say that right now if I were to only get one, the 60* would be more useful, but I should definitely add a 52 at some point and ditch my 5-wood.

EDIT - I just found this on Titleist's website... http://www.titleist.com/golfclubs/we...y200series.asp

The diagram shows what the bounce degree refers to. It looks like the higher then bouncve degree the harder it would be to hit? But if that's true, I'm not sure the benefit of a higher degree of bounce... hopefully someone else can chime in...

[jackace]

here is an article from golfsmith. http://www.golfsmith.com/ps/display_...rsguide_wedges

More bounce means less drag. This is good in tall grass and sand where your club goes through the grass or sand. This allows your club to "cut" through the grass or sand and hit the ball.

Less bounce lowers the height of the leading edge and is best used on lies with hard flat ground, down-sloped lies, or any lie you think you might "blade" the ball.

Thats my understanding of the benefits and uses of bounce. I'm no pro though.

[Parker0065]

Your right about the bounce Shindig!

But I would look at the bounce of a wedge based on the usual condition of my home course or courses that I normally play at.

For instance if I were going to buy a wedge to be mostly played from the fairway or rough and I played in an area where the ground is hard and dry most of the year I would get a wedge with a lower bounce.



Fluffy Sand or Wet Fairways = High Bounce Wedge

Hard Packed Sand or Fast Dry Fairways = Low Bounce Wedge

[ILLZ]

Thanks for all the replies. My home course doesn't have particularly wet fairways, especially in the summer, and I don't plan on hitting the 60* from the bunker very often, so I think I'll go with the 60*4*.

[winders]

ILLZ,

Do you really think you need 4 wedges in your bag? With a 46º PW, a 52º gap wedge, and a 58º sand/lob wedge makes more sense to me. Most of us non-pro players don't have time to learn how to play three wedges properly, much less four.

Scott

[Burg]

  winders said:

ILLZ,

This is a good point but I would offer one other thing to consider. In my case, I carry four wedges (PW, 52, 56, 60) simply because in a normal round of golf I face very few (if any) shots that I have to hit between 210 and 240. This enabled me to give up the five wood in favor of another wedge. I face a ton of shots from 125 in and four wedges allow me take a full swing more often than not, which benefits my game.

I guess the question to ask is, how often do you need a five wood? Also, are you comfortable taking something off a wedge? For me, I would rather just take full swings. I think the pros are much better at "feel" shots than a normal amateur and the extra wedge means more full swings.

[ILLZ]

I currently have a 5 wood, a 46* PW, and a 56* wedge. I think the best setup for me right now would be to add a 60* and call it a day. The gap wedge, while useful, is probably less important than my 5W.

[winders]

Burg,

What distances do you hit your four wedges with full swings? How consistent are you at hitting them those distances? What do you do when you have to hit a wedge shot that is shorter than the full swing of your 60° wedge?

Scott

[The Golfing Polack]

  ILLZ said:

I currently have a 5 wood, a 46* PW, and a 56* wedge. I think the best setup for me right now would be to add a 60* and call it a day. The gap wedge, while useful, is probably less important than my 5W.

You need to take into consideration that a 60* lob wedge is a hard club to use. You're better off opening the face of your 56* than spending money on a lob. I wouldn't trade my gap wedge (50*-52*) for anything in the world. It's laser guided from around 100 yards. If I need to hit shorter than 70 I open the face of my 55* sand wedge.

60* wedges, especially with the really low bounce may frustrate you buy hitting very fat shots that go around 20 yards. My recomendation is to test the 60* out a lot before committing to buy.

[sandtrap]

If you ask me the 60 is way over rated. I've had 5 or 6 and they don't get much play. The gap wedge however is the most used in my bag.

[MGP]

As I was reading this thread I thought I was going to be the only one to disagree until I got to the last page...

I almost always leave the 60* wedge out of my bag unless I know I am playing a course that has elevated and fast greens and I'll likely need to hit some flop shots. My 60* has 6* of bounce, so it's not a great sand club.

On the other hand, I use the 52* gap wedge all the time. There aren't too many shots around the green I can't hit with it. My 56* sand wedge doesn't get used much except for sand shots (12* of bounce).

I don't hit full shots with anything less that a PW so from GW on down they are all "feel clubs" and partial swing shots anyway for me.

[Burg]

  winders said:

Burg,

My distances are roughly as follows:

PW - 130-135 52 - 115-120 56 - 100-105 60 - 80-85 I play anything less than 80 yards (except greenside shots) with my 60 degree wedge because I have the best "feel" with that club. As for my other wedges, I'm fairly consistent with all of them. I spend the majority of my practice time on irons, specifically 7-LW. I've found that these are the majority of the shots that I play in a round so I should spend more time practicing them. I've always been solid off the tee so I have learned to avoid spending too much time ripping drives.