56 or 60 club face in a bunker ( various lays)

[David in FL]

I'll use my 56* 90% of the time from a greenside bunker.

I don't carry a 60* wedge.

[joekelly]

OP, i think you want to say 'various lies', not 'lays'.  Usually when used like that 'lays' refers to sex partners...'i had a great lay last night', or 'let's get laid every night in Bangkok'. Golfers prefer (well, on the course at least) the various lies, or positions of the ball on the turf or sand, whatever.

Me? I like my 56* sand wedge out of the sand. I read that Elin Woods preferred the PW when she laid into the car window. Tricky verbs, eh?

[nick1998bunker]

The loft is irrelevant. What matters is the bounce. and how high the face sits above the sand.

[jamo]

The loft is irrelevant. What matters is the bounce. and how high the face sits above the sand.

That's not entirely true. Most people open the face of their wedges in the sand, which serves the dual purposes of increasing the effective loft and adding bounce. When you start with a club that has less loft (say, a 56˚ rather than a 60˚), you have to open it more, which exposes more bounce. FWIW, I use a 60˚.

[Slice of Life]

The loft is irrelevant. What matters is the bounce. and how high the face sits above the sand.

Loft is never irrelevant.

[nick1998bunker]

Loft is never irrelevant.  :doh:

uh yeah it can be.... Like when you open it up to 90 degrees

[saevel25]

uh yeah it can be.... Like when you open it up to 90 degrees

You really can't open it up to 90, why would you want to. If you have a 20 bounce 7 iron you'd have trouble getting out of bunkers. It's a combo of both, but for amateurs a high bounce 60 wedge would be a life saver for people who struggle with bunkers.

[nick1998bunker]

You really can't open it up to 90, why would you want to. If you have a 20 bounce 7 iron you'd have trouble getting out of bunkers. It's a combo of both, but for amateurs a high bounce 60 wedge would be a life saver for people who struggle with bunkers.

Opening it up to 90 is how you hit out of bunkers... But the bounce is what matters in the end

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saevel25

You really can't open it up to 90, why would you want to. If you have a 20 bounce 7 iron you'd have trouble getting out of bunkers.

It's a combo of both, but for amateurs a high bounce 60 wedge would be a life saver for people who struggle with bunkers.

Opening it up to 90 is how you hit out of bunkers... But the bounce is what matters in the end

What?  That just shows how little you really know.  If you open it to 90°, the ball goes straight up and straight down back in the bunker - never moves forward at all.  Wow...

[saevel25]

I hardly upen up the club at all, I do just fine

[GingerGolfer]

I hardly upen up the club at all, I do just fine

you don't have to open the face but the club can dig sometimes if you don't

[Ernest Jones]

For anyone in this thread who is having issues getting out of the sand I recommend you look into Stan Utley's method. Thump the sand with the back of the club (bounce) and let your momentum pull you through the shot. It's an intentional flip. The setup feels really weird at first but once you see the success you won't care. My main thought when I used to be in a bunker was, "oh please let me get out of here" now my main thought in a bunker is, "how close should I get it to land and how does the green break from my landing point to the hole?" Total game changer. YMMV.

[nick1998bunker]

What?  That just shows how little you really know.  If you open it to 90°, the ball goes straight up and straight down back in the bunker - never moves forward at all.  Wow..

Friction buddy... Friction

[saevel25]

Friction buddy... Friction

Does not cause forward movement. Friction is a force opposing movement. So friction would not cause forward movement.

[jamo]

FWIW, a ball would go forward in the sand even if the face is completely flat because of the sand. Think of if this way: you're not impacting the ball directly anyway. You're propelling the sand underneath and behind it forward and up, which carries the ball with it.

[Fourputt]

FWIW, a ball would go forward in the sand even if the face is completely flat because of the sand. Think of if this way: you're not impacting the ball directly anyway. You're propelling the sand underneath and behind it forward and up, which carries the ball with it.

Not far enough to do any good.   If you open a clubface so it's dead flat, the sand and ball will pop straight up and down, with friction causing only slight forward movement at most.  Anything else defies the laws of physics.  Some of you may think that you are opening the face that far, but it's an illusion, not reality.  I'm a fairly decent bunker player and I know how to play that shot, so don't let that 16.8 handicap I've posted fool you.

[Slice of Life]

Does not cause forward movement. Friction is a force opposing movement. So friction would not cause forward movement.

Dude, he's 14...don't argue with him. You and I might be engineers with physics knowledge that he could only dream of...but...

Friction. Loft doesn't matter, only friction.

I'm actually using my 3 iron from the sand now, I just open it 90 degrees and it goes in the hole every time.

Friction.

[Slice of Life]

FWIW, a ball would go forward in the sand even if the face is completely flat because of the sand. Think of if this way: you're not impacting the ball directly anyway. You're propelling the sand underneath and behind it forward and up, which carries the ball with it.

Which, as I'm sure you'd agree, has absolutely nothing to do with "friction". lol