Wedge grinds

[harpo_72]

I have been struggling with my short game all year.
I have a tendency to chunk or thin my wedges around the green. I play from tight lies, and firm surfaces.
I also am not a huge divot taker, I might go steep on a full shot but the stuff around the green is where my problems are.
So I am thinking of going away from the 56.08 vokey to something like a 58.04 , has anyone got experience of this ?

The loft change is to get a bit more of a gap, full 56 is around 100yards , 3/4 75-78yards , a 58 might shed 5-10 yards off all of these allowing me to fully drop a 60 which is too specialist and a bit of bag ballast.
As further info PW is 46 degrees, have a Vokey 52.08 (which is good)

 

[bobmac]

46,52,58
Perfect

 

[garyinderry]

Going to 4 degrees of bounce really isnt going to help those fats and thins.

 

[greenone]

Going to 4 degrees of bounce really isnt going to help those fats and thins.

Depends on his swing. I have struggled with thins all year and then started fatting them to the stage it was like I had the yips . So I binned the 10 Deg bounce wedges I was using and started using 6 Deg bounce, the result is no more issues with thins or chunks.

 

[bobmac]

You don't need a huge divot, just a downward angle of attack. (AOA)
The exercise below is to try and hit the ball under the shaft, that will help increase your AOA.

Think of a high take away and a low follow through.
I'd place a small bet that you have a low takeaway and a high follow through.
The first step is to convince yourself that to hit the ball high, you have to try and hit it low, the second step is make sure you accelerate past impact into the follow through

 

[jim8flog]

I have got both 54 low bounce and 54 high bounce

as per Garyinderry the bounce makes very little difference to fats for me.

The real reason I keep the two (they get switched) is for bunker play. High bounce when they are soft and fluffy and low bounce when they are compacted.

I used to use a links wedge for really hard ground and that did work. Tom Watson Ram Troon grind, sole the width of about an old halfpenny and negative bounce.

 

[CliveW]

To me, grinds are a black art. I understand loft and bounce, but not grind. Both my wedges have different bounce angles for different ground conditions.

 

[Orikoru]

To me, grinds are a black art. I understand loft and bounce, but not grind. Both my wedges have different bounce angles for different ground conditions.

Same here. Have absolutely no idea what 'grind' my wedges are. I know what lofts they are and that'll do me.

 

[harpo_72]

To me, grinds are a black art. I understand loft and bounce, but not grind. Both my wedges have different bounce angles for different ground conditions.

My understanding wrongly or rightly are about how they get sole profile and in the end bounce angle. It’s about how you want to lay the club down and ultimately the orientation or angle you hold the club at.
I thought it might help me but actually I think bounce has more value to my stroke.

 

[garyinderry]

Simplest way to think of a grind is they will have a standard shape design for the wedge. Then will then grind off various parts of the wedge such as the leading edge, heel section, toe, back edge.

Removing a little bit of the heel will allow the player to open the club up without the leading edge raising up too far. Back edge relief allows the handle to be leaned back again without the leading edge raising up.

Alot of the pros have very specific wants and needs from their wedge set up. Especially their lob wedge.

 

[jim8flog]

To me, grinds are a black art. I understand loft and bounce, but not grind. Both my wedges have different bounce angles for different ground conditions.

Same here. Have absolutely no idea what 'grind' my wedges are. I know what lofts they are and that'll do me.

Take your wedge and on a very flat hard surface hold the grip in two fingers at the very top. Keeping the club shaft vertical and gently turn it clockwise and anti clockwise whilst watching what happens to the gap between the leading edge and the floor. Grinds are mainly about getting a wedge to either maintain the gap or to reduce/ increase the gap as per your wants.

 

[Backache]

It's very difficult to get an all purpose grind for wedges as different turf requires different soles.
Personally I have 15 wedges divided into groups of three with different soles.
I take a hygrometer to the course and measure the water content of the turf prior to playing and select my wedges accordingly. Occasionally if it is very sunny with wet turf that is likely to dry or if the forecast is for rain I may have to mix my grinds.
After that I don't worry too much, it's a pretty simple process once you get used to it

 

[IanM]

Hence "backache"...shelpping all those wedges to the practice tee!

 

[evemccc]

I went to the Titleist fitting centre in St Ives and the excellent fitter there made me hit 3 wedges with the same loft without knowing the grind — a surprising difference could be felt between them

 

[sweaty sock]

1. Grind effects bounce. As you can imagine, manipulating the face open or closed will change the effective bounce on the sole. Grinds are used to further affect the bounce when the face is manipulated. For instance, if you imagine opening up a titliest f grind, you would expect to see the leading edge raise off the ground significantly as the point of contact with the ground moves to the back edge of the sole effective bounce is then very high. So by grinding away the back edge, you enable the wedge to play as if it has less bounce when in the open position but (more or less) the same bounce when square...
2. Sole widths also have an effect.
3. Some manufacturers use effective bounce, rather than measured bounce, so its important you compare.

So when buying wedges, both could be stamped 10 degree bounce. But if one has a narrow sole, heel and trailing edge grind and the manufacturer advises measured bounce, Itll be an entirely different wedge than that of a wide soled wedge with no grind who's manufacturer advises effective bounce....

Lastly, and most importantly, none of this will in any way effect fats and thins, thats down to low point of your swing being before the ball. Most likely club ahead of hands or/and weight on back foot... much easier solved with a £25 lesson, than a £150 wedge...

 

[sweaty sock]

I went to the Titleist fitting centre in St Ives and the excellent fitter there made me hit 3 wedges with the same loft without knowing the grind — a surprising difference could be felt between them

On shorter chips theres also a noticable flight change, high bounce can often lower the strike point enough to really lower the flight, vice versa for low bounce.

 

[harpo_72]

All points taken I will work on my chipping more, it’s the really short ones that require the up and down so high loft stuff the 8,9, PW stuff is fine when there is a bit of roll out required.. it’s the touch stuff. I usually pull out a putter but the odd occasion I can’t and I cannot flop it then I struggle.

 

[Blue in Munich]

All points taken I will work on my chipping more, it’s the really short ones that require the up and down so high loft stuff the 8,9, PW stuff is fine when there is a bit of roll out required.. it’s the touch stuff. I usually pull out a putter but the odd occasion I can’t and I cannot flop it then I struggle.

Use a hybrid/fairway wood?

 

[harpo_72]

Use a hybrid/fairway wood?

I’ll give it a go, did use the 3 cross over a bit which was okay

 

[Oddsocks]

For the average golfer I don’t see grinds of any concern. Unless your a magician with wedges any gains on good shots will surely be outweighed by consistency or lack of? Personally I’d defo have a wedge lesson before letting your brain get cluttered with another variable,

Your current set up “ could “ be perfect for your course and game, but if your technique has slipped as it does with all of us it’s easy to blame the tools not the tradesman.

From personal view, I do think a 60* wedge is a risky bat to carry, especially in wetter conditions