Talk to me about bounce

[peaty]

So I started playing last September having never picked up a club before.

I've had 3 lessons and things are definantly improving, just need to work on my consistency (tend to top too many shots
)

I went for a game on Monday and was pitching and chipping quite well. Just felt that I could do with a wedge with more loft at times, I had to go over bunkers a couple of times with the pin very close to the edge of the green, so I couldn't get the ball high enough and when it did land it bounced quite a few times before stopping.

I have been recommended to buy a lob wedge 60 degree. I currently have a Pitching wedge 45 Degree and a Sand wedge 55 degree.

I was looking at possibly getting an MD Norman Drew 60 degree wedge, they come in low bounce 4 degree and normal bounce 8 degree. What are the benefits of each one and what bounce do people typically use?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Quite simply, save your money and don't bother with the 60 degree wedge. In my bitter experience they tend to cost as many shots as they save. Learn to open the face of your 56 to create more loft and spin. Failing that and if you fancy some new clubs, why not look at a gap wedge, say 52 degree and a 58 wedge which would help out of sand and give you a little more ready built loft to play with without having to open the face.

 

[robbest3offthetee]

Peaty, Im not an expert but i think less bounce means you can play from tight lies better,chipping that type of thing,more bounce is better from bunkers and heavier rough,so easier to get the ball up....

 

[bobmac]

Hi
If you play at courses with short tight fairways, links for example you be better off with the 4 deg.
If your lush thick parkland grass, go with the 8

Oorrrrr
Have a lesson on the flop shot.
A 55 deg SW is plenty loft to flip the ball over bunkers etc and stop quickly.

 

[Aztecs27]

Quite simply, save your money and don't bother with the 60 degree wedge. In my bitter experience they tend to cost as many shots as they save. Learn to open the face of your 56 to create more loft and spin. Failing that and if you fancy some new clubs, why not look at a gap wedge, say 52 degree and a 58 wedge which would help out of sand and give you a little more ready built loft to play with without having to open the face.

This is the correct answer.

I have a PW, 52, 56 and 60 and am very much considering dropping the 60 from the bag in favour of a longer iron/wood.

 

[Alex1975]

You star, I was about to make a post about this. Ill take a read and addd a question after I have made HID dinner if needed.

 

[EaseNgrace]

Quite simply, save your money and don't bother with the 60 degree wedge. In my bitter experience they tend to cost as many shots as they save. Learn to open the face of your 56 to create more loft and spin. Failing that and if you fancy some new clubs, why not look at a gap wedge, say 52 degree and a 58 wedge which would help out of sand and give you a little more ready built loft to play with without having to open the face.

This is the correct answer.

I have a PW, 52, 56 and 60 and am very much considering dropping the 60 from the bag in favour of a longer iron/wood.

I disagree, I can't see how you can advise someone to avoid a lob wedge because yours has cost you shots. It's no more difficult to use than any other club and if you find yourself in difficult spots(delicate shots over bunkers for example) quite often then a lob wedge is always going to be more succesful than openning up the sand wedge.

 

[Aztecs27]

I've not actually experienced the bitterness Homer has, but I've found I can do what I need to do with a 56 and have hardly used the 60 since getting it.

 

[Robobum]

Still surprises me that guys who struggle to hit a straight forward shot with a high lofted wedge would advocate opening up the face of another less lofted one instead.

 

[Toby_LeRhone]

I would agree with the comment re 60 deg wedges. Unless you have the head speed to get a 60 out some considerable way, you're probably better off with something longer, eg a 56.

I like to think of bounce more as 'skid'. Unless hit perfectly every time, a wedge without bounce will dig into the ground as it is descending relatively steeply at impact. Bounce allows the wedge to skid along or through the ground or sand into impact. All irons are designed to do this (ie, skid along the ground slightly on impact), it is only with the wedges that extra material is required behind the face to present the sole to the ground in a flat manner as it descends.

There is a podcast on this subject at golf better @ edwin watts golf, dated 14 Jan on iTunes.

 

[peaty]

Wow, thanks for the quick response guys.

Homer, is the reason it costs you shots because it is more difficult to hit?

Bob, I mainly play at Parkland and sort of Heathland at the moment but will probably play at links courses every now and again, so I guess the 8 degree regular bounce would be the one to go for. As for the flop shot, have tried it a few times and, well its quite tough isn't it

Aztec, why are you going to remove it from your bag? At the moment I only have twelve clubs so I have got room.

 

[Toby_LeRhone]

The danger is that a wedge with extreme loft might slide under the ball and simply pop it up if not hit well.

..as Phil Mickelson et al will testify.

 

[ScienceBoy]

This is the correct answer.

I have a PW, 52, 56 and 60 and am very much considering dropping the 60 from the bag in favour of a longer iron/wood.

Same for me, I want to drop the 60 for a 3 wood when I play courses other than my home course which is quite open off the tee. We have very short dry firm fairways and I need the 60 low bounce about 3-4 times a round. It is also very useful off a down slope for chipping.

If I go to a shorter narrower course I will need options other than the driver off the tee.

I just need to find a ping g-15 3 wood cheap

 

[Oddsocks]

Like homer I had a 60 and for every great shots was 10 from hell. The 60 went in favour of a 58, if I'm honest a 56 would have been find but two courses I play have mega deep green side bunkers so opted for the 58

 

[Toby_LeRhone]

It seems to me that, despite intuitive opinion to the contrary, if you can afford a gap anywhere in your bag, its in the shorter irons.

Long clubs are normally hit to their known full distance. Short clubs have more potential for finessed shots because (1) there is more control inherent in a shorter club and more importantly (2) most people cant see 150 yards with the accuracy required to finesse a shot at that distance. If you have more control with the short irons, it stands to reason that you need fewer of them not more. To illustrate, I can use my 55 with some accuracy from 5 to 90 yards, whereas my 6 iron goes the distance my 6 iron goes.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Wow, thanks for the quick response guys.

Homer, is the reason it costs you shots because it is more difficult to hit?

The problem I have (had) was on the scenario you described where you have short sided yourself and have a bunker to go over. I wasn't making a long or aggressive enough swing and would invariably fat it or thin it. I never found I got any more control on full shots than I would from a controlled 3/4 pitch with the 52 or a PW

I think there are a lot of golfers who don't use the 60 correctly and so it does become an expensive luxury for the odd time a shot comes off. I have much more confidence and committment through the shot with a 58 either convetionally or with the face open should I need it

 

[Macster]

Bounce required is more dependent on whether you're a Digger or a Slider ?
ie do you take Big Divots, or hardly at all ?
Digger = More Bounce Slider = less Bounce.

I have always carried a 60degree Lob Wedge, and really dont know why people find them hard to use ??

Mine has 4* Bounce, and I rarely use it from more than 40yds, but mostly just around the green, where I find it invaluable to get the ball up and over bunkers etc.

The Flop shot isnt difficult, you just need to keep everything 'quiet' as you slide the Lob Wedge under the ball....... never a problem for me, altho I concede that I have a lot more experience than the OP.

Macster the Slider.

 

[Robobum]

Peaty - please don't base your decision on other people's poor technique and experiences. You may find that a 60* (or more) wedge is like a wand in your hands.

When making your decision bare in mind a few things...

In some cases getting it close isn't an option, just be pleased with 10 feet or so past the pin REGARDLESS of what club you have.

If you are just starting then hit stock shots with all your wedges and note how they all react on the green and how far they fly, spin and roll.

Trying to be too cute with any club will cost you shots, try to make sure you are on the putting green after one chip/ pitch. The key is to turn 3 shots into 2 not 3 into 4.

 

[Toby_LeRhone]

I thinkyou are quite right macster. However, that is not to say that diggers need bounce whereas sliders dont; bounce is required in both cases, it is the type of bounce that differs.

 

[Junior]

Get a 58 or 60 degree and practise your short game. Much easier to do this than open up a 56 degree wedge.