ideal wedge bounce out of the sand

[cajuntexan00]

when hitting out of bunkers, is it better to use a wedge with low bounce, high bounce, or does it matter?

[Jon Robert]

If the sand is like wet concrete from rain then high bounce can be a problem.  Zero bounce like on my 1963 Hogans IPT would be great because I could lay the club open and slide so wonderfully along right under the ball. High bounce may not get under and produce a bit of a flier effect especially if the club is not opened. The zero bounce in soft fluffy sand would be like a butter knife in butter - not good.

[cajuntexan00]

we don't get a lot of rain in our area.  sand is usually fluffy.  I bought a Cleveland 60 degree with high bounce. did I make a good choice?

[iacas]

Originally Posted by cajuntexan00

we don't get a lot of rain in our area.  sand is usually fluffy.  I bought a Cleveland 60 degree with high bounce. did I make a good choice?

I love having a lot of "glide" (I'm renaming bounce to "glide") on wedges.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/57874/my-edel-wedges-or-super-bounce-and-why-its-good-for-you-or-the-sweet-spot-is-finally-in-the-right-place/

[Jon Robert]

Originally Posted by cajuntexan00

we don't get a lot of rain in our area.  sand is usually fluffy.  I bought a Cleveland 60 degree with high bounce. did I make a good choice?

Most likely a good choice but be aware that a poor swing on hard fairway and the bounce may cause a "flier"  so keep the hands ahead of the club head and don't flip the head under the ball like trying to scoop it up.  I love Cleveland wedges.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Jon Robert

Most likely a good choice but be aware that a poor swing on hard fairway and the bounce may cause a "flier"  so keep the hands ahead of the club head and don't flip the head under the ball like trying to scoop it up.

A wedge's bounce cannot cause a "flier." A "flier" is when grass gets between the clubface and the ball out of light rough and the ball is shot upwards more with less spin and an unpredictable (but longer) distance.

[Jon Robert]

Originally Posted by iacas

A wedge's bounce cannot cause a "flier." A "flier" is when grass gets between the clubface and the ball out of light rough and the ball is shot upwards more with less spin and an unpredictable (but longer) distance.

Good point,  technically quite correct but  a poster can likely visualize a "flier" better than a "thin"  And I GUARANTEE that if you hit a 60 degree wedge thin due to bounce on hard fairway the ball will be flying to far and distant lands that you never intended to visit.  Result is the same. thin or flier.   "less spin and an unpredictable (but longer) distance."

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Jon Robert

Good point,  technically quite correct but  a poster can likely visualize a "flier" better than a "thin"  And I GUARANTEE that if you hit a 60 degree wedge thin due to bounce on hard fairway the ball will be flying to far and distant lands that you never intended to visit.  Result is the same. thin or flier.   "less spin and an unpredictable (but longer) distance."

Thin shots can actually have more spin.

You goofed up and now you're trying to cover it up by saying someone can "visualize" a flier better than "thin"? Thin and fat are common terms. I greatly prefer everyone on the site simply use the terms properly .

And I disagree that a lot of bounce is going to lead to hitting the ball thin. The opposite is more often true because of how it'll change the person's technique. With more bounce, a player doesn't need to try to force a really shallow divot - it happens for them. So they can swing aggressively and take nice shallow divots out of the sand. With too little bounce players will have to hit too close to the ball.

Almost nobody thins the ball by taking a divot behind it and having the club come up and out of the sand. Most thins from greenside bunkers take place because the guy doesn't get into the sand early enough (or never touches the sand at all - i.e. same way they don't take divots from the fairway).

[BioGolfNebraska]

I have 10* of bounce on my 60* wedge (which most people would consider on the higher side, I believe).  With the higher bounce, I feel like I can hit down on the ball a little bit out of the sand (similar to a regular iron shot) without it taking a huge divot.  I will say that if the sand is hard (or if I'm using it to hit off a tight lie on a well-manicured fairway), I have had a bad swing which hit behind the ball slightly, and I can feel the club bounce off the ground and cause me to hit the ball thin.  I don't have enough knowledge/experience to say whether this is exaggerated by the higher bounce of my lob, or if it is just something that happens with wedges.  My understanding is that a wedge with less bounce in that situation would dig into the ground and cause a big divot before the ball (a fat shot).

Either way, I have been using my 60.10 as my go-to club for greenside bunkers and it has been working pretty well.  I usually get a nice gentle plop out that gets a little bit of roll towards the hole.  Mishits are almost always thinned shots, but, as long as there isn't a huge wall to jump over, I tend to favor a thin over a fat bunker shot (because at least you get out).  Granted, you don't want to sail one over the green into the trees/water.

[Willie Malay]

Thin and or wet sand: low bounce

Thick and or fluffy sand: high bounce

Just think about it for a while and you will figure it out. Bounce is confusing to some because they don't stop to figure out what is happening.

[misty_mountainhop]

Ideal bounce? I'd say depends on you/your swing to some extent. Generally, more bounce out of deep/fluffy sand but try some different bounce angles out. I have a 56° SW w/ 10° bounce which seems to work well for me and I trust implicitly to get the job done well. I've always tended to slide under the ball rather than dig, both out of sand and off turf. I also tend to lay my SW open to varying degrees as well, depending on the shot, so most times I probably have >10° bounce.

[Willie Malay]

I carry two "sand wedges".

1) 54 degree Cleveland with very low bounce. Great in wet/thin sand and from a fairway.

2) 56 degree Odyssey with 10* bounce. Great in fluffy grass and fluffy sand.

If you carry two utility wedges, I'd consider one with low bounce and one with medium to high bounce.

[TourSpoon]

You should be fine with your selection given the conditions that you describe. If you do encounter some hard packed sand, just don't crank it wide open exposing max bounce. By squaring it up a bit you can reduce the exposure and cheat a little with a shot that will come out lower.

[Willie Malay]

Cleveland online wedge fitting system. Very nice.

http://www.clevelandgolf.com/US_wedge_fitting_system.html

[Snakum]

I guess I'll be the lone dissenting voice.  IMHO the "best" wedge depends a lot on you.  I like a low bounce 54 or 55 degree sand wedge.  Why? I don't like a lot of bounce on most pitches from tight lies.  Too easy for me to skull one.  Low bounce in line with the rest of my irons works best for me.  Then in the sand or a different lie I can create 'bounce' by opening my stance and the clubface.  I can't really take bounce off a wedge, but I can add "bounce".  That said, learning to play a fanned clubface with an open stance takes a lot of practice to nail your aim and various swing lengths for varying distances.  If you don't have the time or inclination to practice, maybe two wedges is better.

[Audaxi]

I use a 60* with 10* of bounce and a 56* with only 5. That way I'm covered for both types of sand and rough, but I use the 60* more around the green due to it's versatility and the fact that I never try to hit a flop off a tight lie, so the bounce is fine. (Been burned too many times trying it)

[Paradox]

the whole thing of "hard packed/wet sand = low bounce" is not very accurate.  I can take a 10* bounce wedge into soaking wet sand and hit great bunker shots with no problem with the clubface wide open....I actually like MORE bounce in wet sand because you don't have to worry about digging in and the club head getting stuck due to the heavy sand.

[Gerwally]

So if I were to get one "all purpose" wedge for hitting out of green side bunkers, what degree and bounce  (and even manufacturer) would anyone recommend.  Thanks.