Bump n' Grind

[Tiger]

Bump 'n' Grind

Those hoping for a discussion on the life and works of RnB singer R Kelly should got to the MOBOs, MOFOs & MO'HOs forum. Anyone who wants to have a pop at me about gear obsessing please note this is a thread sparked by curiosity not intent to purchase.

Right, now the prologue is over, can anyone shed some light for me on wedge sole grinds. Reading this month's mag and got to the bit about the new SM4 wedges. You know, the article above the picture of Jezz at John Letters looking like a kid in a sweet shop.

The piece says that the new wedges have five different sole grinds!!! Five! Wow that seems like quite a lot. Anyway I understand that the grind determines how the club interacts with turf and sand. But wondered if anyone on here has ever had a proper wedge fitting and, following discussion about the type of course you regularly play, had opted for a variance in sole grind. And did it make any difference to your game.

NB for those that didn't read the opening stanza I'm asking out of curiosity so please don't shoot the cat. Tigers are verging on extinction you know!

Ta muchly

 

[Tiger]

C'mon surely someone must have been fitted for wedges and changed their grind or is this solely the preserve of the insanely good players?

 

[CMAC]

never had a wedge fitting, its looks and feel and loft for me, been fitted for everything else funnily enough

 

[Imurg]

Ping and Titleist do several different grinds that will produce different results depending on what you're looking for.
But to us mere mortals would it really make that much difference to have a bit of metal ground from one part of the club, would we be able to detect a difference..?

 

[Tiger]

Not sure but I tweeted VokeyWedges and they seem to think so (though they would say that as it's part of their competitive edge). I'm really interested to find out what it means in reality. If you wonderful souls can't enlighten me I'll have to wait for a GM feature

 

[MashieNiblick]

Which grind is recommended for players who alternately hit the ground six inches in front of the ball and then hit the ball about half way up?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I bumped into a pro who use to teach me (I swapped teachers - he didn't give me up as a lost cause!) and he had some Vega wedges custom ground. They did sit lovely behind the ball and seemed to produce a good clean contact but personally I wouldn't be interested as I'm not good enough to justify the cost of the benefits

 

[Tiger]

But Homer that's exactly my point(s). You said it sat nicely and gave a nice clean contact. Homer the man who fears the wedge . I'm not talking about a custom grind but Titleist, as an example, have five different grinds to choose from. I'm not 100% sure but it sounds like these are stock options so therefore no extra charge. If that's the case then what exactly do we stand to lose apart from an hour testing wedge variations?

I'm not suggesting it will fix technical flaws but it strikes me as very strange that very few people fully explore their options.

 

[CMAC]

Interestingly enough Mizuno say their new MP69's are ground for better turf contact at th sole, time will tell

 

[jasondransfieldgolf]

I have had the new SM4 wedges for a week now and I have gone with the low bounce on all of them. I have the extra grind on the 56 and 60 as I like to open them up a bit, so with the extra grind they sit tighter.

 

[PaulOHagan]

Hi Tiger

The grind of the wedge will affect how much bounce there is, which is important for the following reasons...

The bounce angle of your wedge is the angle made up of the bottom of the sole and the leading edge. Choosing the bounce of your wedges depends on the course conditions you usually play on as well as your style of swing.
Those who generally play on a firm, links style course will benefit from a club with less bounce as the sharper leading edge will help dig into the hard turf and through the ball. This will also suit anyone with a flat swing path.

If you play on a course with softer turf and lush grass, more bounce on your wedges will stop the club from digging into the ground. If you have a steep angle of attack and tend to fat your chip shots/pitch shots you will also benefit from more bounce.

Some grinds also help if you like to open the face of the wedge and manipulate the loft.
Hope that helps.

 

[Tiger]

Cheers Paul. So reading between the lines (and based on past articles you've written in the magazine ) you think everyone could benefit from being fitted for wedges...?

 

[PaulOHagan]

It would certainly help, particularly when it comes to finding a set of wedges with consistent distance gaps. You also get a rough idea about the bounce you need by studying your divots. Anyone with a steep angle of attack will create deep divots when pitching and would benefit from more bounce. A shallow angle of attack will produce shallower divots.

 

[Tiger]

Thanks Paul. Really helpful