What bounce and grind for a 52 58 wedge setup?

[Roenie]

You can go both ways, can't you, to make a certain wedge "do more" so you can drop a wedge from the bag. You can go higher bounce and reduce bounce (and loft) as needed (using forward shaft lean), or go low bounce and add bounce (+loft) as needed (by opening the face/leaning back the handle). It's a matter of which way is better.

Maybe this is a good rule of thumb for a club that needs to do the job of a LW and SW?:
If you're more likely to need less loft than the club has, go high bounce.
If you're more likely to need more loft than the club has, go low bounce.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Roenie

[iacas]

 

[Roenie]

Yeah looks like you got pretty steep on that, delofting it and reducing bounce. Wish you had hit another one with a club with a lower leading edge and compared how high each ball went. If the leading edge of the club sits lower you don't have to take as much loft off, right? You might even be able to add some. And even if you keep the shaft angle the same, the club with the lower leading edge will catch the ball higher up the face, resulting in a higher launch. It's not as simple as CAN you hit a shot off hardpan with a high bounce club. It's about how HIGH you can hit it, to land it softly.

Edit: I want a mancave like yours.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Roenie

[iacas]

17 minutes ago, Roenie said:

Yeah looks like you got pretty steep on that, delofting it and reducing bounce.

 No I didn't.

The ball launched at about 50° and the shaft was nearly vertical at impact, with less than 5° shaft lean at impact. Look at the image right there.

19 minutes ago, Roenie said:

It's not as simple as CAN you hit a shot off hardpan with a high bounce club. It's about how HIGH you can hit it, to land it softly.

The ball would have landed really, really softly. And I could have hit it higher with an open clubface, though the number of times I'd have to launch a ball at > 50° from hardpan, ever in the entire time I've been playing golf, I could probably count on one… finger.

 

[Roenie]

Edit time expired, so new post:

You're getting a decent amount of launch there. Let's say you add 4 degrees more bounce to the club you were using there. You'd then lean the shaft 4 degrees more forward to get the same strike (height of ball on the face), reducing effective loft and launch by 4 degrees.

Following that analogy, a 58/20 off hardpan should play like a 48/10.

Your potato camera makes it very hard to judge exactly where your hands were at impact. They look in front of the ball to me.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Roenie

[iacas]

1 minute ago, Roenie said:

Edit time expired, so new post:

You're getting a decent amount of launch there. Let's say you add 4 degrees more bounce to the club you were using there. You'd then lean the shaft 4 degrees more forward to get the same strike (height of ball on the face), reducing effective loft and launch by 4 degrees.

Following that analogy, a 58/20 off hardpan should play like a 48/10.

The shaft is nearly vertical at impact, dude. C'mon.

I think you posted again without noticing that I'd posted in the meantime.

Given the launch physics, launching a ball at 50° with a 60° wedge and a path of about 1 or 2° down means I'm not de-lofting much at all. At those speeds the ball launches at just under 85% of the clubface angle… 85% of 60° is 51°. My ball launched at about 50°.

[Roenie]

The video description says it's a 54 degree wedge. Point taken though.

13 minutes ago, iacas said:

My ball launched at about 50°.

I just measured it using a protractor. 50 looks about right.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Roenie

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, Roenie said:

The video description says it's a 54 degree wedge. Point taken though.

Even better then! It's got 17° bounce and it launched at about 50° despite having only 54° loft. I've done the shot multiple times with my 60°, so I apologize for not looking at the description and for assuming.

The ball launched above the 85% idea because it was an NXT Tour in that video, not a Pro V1 that I normally will use. Surlyn covers launch higher.

---

At the end of the day, I'm recommending wedges with:

• A lot of bounce/glide.
• A narrow camber/sole.
• A good amount of heel/toe relief.

They're the best of many worlds: forgiveness, versatility, etc.

That said, if by "none" you mean "high" for your handicap index, a wider sole may be more forgiving for you out of bunkers and softer conditions, as even a high-bounce wedge with a narrow sole can dig more than you might like. You'll give up the versatility, though.

[Roenie]

46 minutes ago, iacas said:

That said, if by "none" you mean "high" for your handicap index, a wider sole may be more forgiving for you out of bunkers and softer conditions

None means none, as in, never played a qualifying round. Planning to this season though. High for sure, but my short game's not bad having played par 3 courses for a few years.

I own a high bounce, relatively wide soled SW and yes it's like cheating. You can chuck it down at the sand as hard and steep as you like, it's not going to dig anyway. I have no problems giving up some of that for increased versatility. I'm going to have to as well, playing a 3 wedge setup.

What I dislike about the high bounce, wide sole SW is how it plays off the mats at a local par 3 course. Basically a bare lie but springy, so if you fat it a little, the wedge bounces back up off the mat and nails the ball with the leading edge.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Roenie

[Roenie]

44 minutes ago, Roenie said:

None means none, as in, never played a qualifying round. Planning to this season though. High for sure, but my short game's not bad having played par 3 courses for a few years.

...as I wasn't allowed to play any par 4/5 courses without a handicap to my name, it's the way it works here. You have to take an etiquette & rules theory exam as well as play a qualifying round and obviously pay for hcp registration at a club. It's such a big barrier to entry that now my short game far outclasses my long game. Best I've done at the par 3 course is 7 over (9 holes), so you can work out the rest from there.  I've only played par 4s and 5s a few times, and last season I got the "ok" from the local pro to use the championship course.

44 minutes ago, Roenie said:

What I dislike about the high bounce, wide sole SW is how it plays off the mats at a local par 3 course. Basically a bare lie but springy, so if you fat it a little, the wedge bounces back up off the mat and nails the ball with the leading edge.

I prevent this by leading with the hands plus a more sweeping attack angle. Doesn't mean I like the wedge. It's one chunky bugger. :)

Edited March 2, 2018 by Roenie

[Roenie]

Getting very off topic here, but the etiquette/rules exam I passed with flying colours. Then, another barrier to entry to the championship courses is to get your hcp you need a marker for your qualifying round, someone who already has a hcp registered. Well, my golf buddy didn't have one registered either.

If the local club was more like a "normal" sports club instead of a restaurant with bar and a pro shop (a money making machine) it might have been easier to make friends with more experienced golfers. I even e-mailed the club secretary to find a marker. No members applied.

Edited March 2, 2018 by Roenie

[tomvk77]

It's all about your prefferance. You should look first at what type of shots do you play with your wedges most. If you hit your 58 mostly from bunkers it is more ideal to have a higher bounce. If it's more chip pitch and full shots a lower bounce is more ideal.

At my home course i hardly hit greenside bunkers so i choose to carry a 58 with 8 degrees of bounce same as my 51.