Low bounce wedges.

[onthehunt526]

Alright, I have a generic question. Names of companies notwithstanding. Back in the 90s and early 2000s, the OEMs seemed to have low bounce or their highest lofted offerings. Back in the day, a 50-52° wedge had 8-10° of bounce typically, a 54-56° had 12°-16°, 58° had the most variation anywhere from 4° all the way up to 16°, 60° had 4-10°, and higher than that had 0°-6°.

When I was a teenager around 2000 (I grew up in a lower middle class family), I had a 54° wedge with 12° of bounce (from Walmart) and a 58° wedge with 4° of bounce. I was able to play full shots with both just fine, my 54° was about 110 and my 58° was 90 yards.

Fast forward to now, I can't hit any one of my 4 "sand wedges" with any sort of full swing. (54° thru 60° which all have 14° of bounce). I think I need less bounce in my 58 or 60, and a little less in my 52, 54, or 56, my 48 (matching AW is fine) I'm looking at around 10°-12° with my 3rd wedge and about 4°-6° with my lob wedge.

So my two part question is,

1)Which companies make wedges that I can get new heads with these bounce numbers?

2) Or would I be better served sending my current wedges back to Tour Edge and having them grind the bounce down to where I need it?

Thanks for any and all input.

And apologies for rambling.

[David in FL]

The last time I looked, both Cleveland and Titleist had offerings in the range you mention.

I'd be very careful though.  There's a reason that more and more people are playing higher bounce wedges these days.  Your issues could very well be due to something other than the bounce of your wedges.  The Indian, not so much the arrow...  

Heck, it's even possible that your own standards for what constitutes a good shot are much higher now than they were back then, and you're misremembering how well you really hit those shots as a youngster.  

[1badbadger]

If you really like your wedges (the shape, feel, etc) then you might consider having a new grind on the sole.  I doubt Tour Edge offers this service though...most OEMs don't do custom sole grinds, so you may need to have it done by another company like this:

http://joekwokgolf.com/wedges

If you don't have an attachment to these wedges, or don't have much confidence in them, then replacing them or trading them in on something else might be the best option.  Vokey offers lower bounce with their L Grind and M Grind wedges and Cleveland has some low bounce options as does Callaway.

[Dave2512]

I doubt bounce has much affect on full swing shots that should be ball first impact. The variation is probably from being a little fat or thin, which won't be fixed by less bounce but might produce a slightly different outcome. I tend to hit wedges a tad fat on full swings shots and the bounce helps by skidding but it's typically a couple grooves high or worse. I often don't trust it at full swing distances opting to play a knock down with something less lofted. IME expectation plays a big part, it should always usually end up closer than it does from 100ish or less.

[iacas]

26 minutes ago, Dave2512 said:

I doubt bounce has much affect on full swing shots that should be ball first impact. The variation is probably from being a little fat or thin, which won't be fixed by less bounce but might produce a slightly different outcome.

That's true of the ball flight… but the amount of bounce will dramatically affect the feel.

[onthehunt526]

If it helps you guys, I live in Upstate NY where the ground conditions vary from very soggy to firm in the summer/fall... I don't know if I'm hitting it wrong or "flipping" at it... Inside of say 50 yards, the higher lofts are fine, but if I try to hit a 56° say 90 yards... It feels chunky and feels a groove or two high and goes nowhere. I try to play it further back and "cheat" my weight over, I hit it fat or blade it through someone's windshield. (That's a metaphor, of course) I don't take big divots with my irons, finally taking them, and they're skinny shallow things when I do.

Maybe it's not the bounce, but then again maybe it could be...

[iacas]

19 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

If it helps you guys, I live in Upstate NY where the ground conditions vary from very soggy to firm in the summer/fall... I don't know if I'm hitting it wrong or "flipping" at it... Inside of say 50 yards, the higher lofts are fine, but if I try to hit a 56° say 90 yards... It feels chunky and feels a groove or two high and goes nowhere. I try to play it further back and "cheat" my weight over, I hit it fat or blade it through someone's windshield. (That's a metaphor, of course) I don't take big divots with my irons, finally taking them, and they're skinny shallow things when I do.

Maybe it's not the bounce, but then again maybe it could be...

Probably not the bounce.

Stop hitting it fat. And try putting the ball further FORWARD, too. Ball back, players tend to tip back a little to get the loft on the shot.

[onthehunt526]

21 hours ago, iacas said:

Probably not the bounce.

Stop hitting it fat. And try putting the ball further FORWARD, too. Ball back, players tend to tip back a little to get the loft on the shot.

I'll give it a try Erik. I do tend to catch it a couple grooves high at times. Lately I'll just take more club, and hit a partial shot. I typically play say 8-iron thru my 48° Wedge (4 clubs) in about the middle of my stance. I usually hit them fine from there, been trying to stick to about a 10:30-11:00 backswing with my shorter irons. 

Erik, would you recommend slightly forward of middle? I'm trying to feel as my belt buckle is facing the target.

[iacas]

15 hours ago, onthehunt526 said:

Erik, would you recommend slightly forward of middle? I'm trying to feel as my belt buckle is facing the target.

Never really behind middle, or even middle. Sometimes I play a wedge off my front foot (it's a narrow stance so it's not THAT far forward) because then I get the feeling that I can move "into" the ball and toward the target.

[DrvFrShow]

Wedges are also very personal things. My favorites are the Callaway Mack Daddy PM Grind. 

[MarvChamp]

The OP might look at Mizuno wedges. I recall seeing several low bounce (my 56 is 10). But I also recall some old axiom, probably wrong, that I should consider whether the lies I usually have are firm or maybe more lush. Lower bounce for former, higher for the latter. Same for sand trap conditions I usually encounter. Like I say, probably wrong. I have a Cleveland 60 with high bounce. Our local Texas courses tend to be firm. I have difficulty using that wedge. -Marv