Need a Great Bunker Club From Firm Sand

In looking to find a wedge that is great from **_firm_** sand. I currently have 56* MD4 with low bounce and a 60* Vokey V grind. I don't hit either particularly well from the firm sand. I assume most of the problem lies in my technique, which Im working on. On the 56* I thought the low bounce would be good given the hard sand and wouldn't bounce into the ball. But, distance control and short bunker shots are difficult. My 60* is new so I'm still learning how to best use it. But so far, I cant seem to hit a good bunker shot with it. I would be interested in peoples thoughts on wedges and if a different club would see improved results. Thanks.

If you've already got and tried low bounce wedges, I don't think there is much else you can do from the standpoint of equipment selection. Have you tried not opening up the face when you address the ball? Play it square - or a lot more square than one might normally play from a bunker.

@"Stuart G." Yep. Working on playing with a square face. Back to practice I guess. Thanks.

FWIW, I generally will use the higher lofts (58/60) exclusively in the harder bunkers since squaring up looses a lot of loft (relatively speaking) - so I'm not surprised you might have issues with a 56* particularly for shorter shots. But I'm no bunker (or wedge) expert so maybe you'll get more useful advice from some others.

@"Stuart G." covered everything I was going to say.

Don't open the face so much (if at all) and hit closer to the ball. Plenty of vids out there regarding the subject. Swinging slower will also help minimize the damage from thin contact, too.

Callaway MD4 C or X grind. Problem solved

If you are looking to get out of a bunker, any bunker-- soft sand or firm; the PM Grind 60 wedge is the truth. I'm sure the TM Hi-Toe will do the same. But the PM Grind 60 will get you out of any bunker without too much hassle; it even comes with free lessons from Phil himself. Check out his Instagram posts. It's automatic if you follow Phil's method.

square face, early steep wrist set. will come out every time, going to run out though.

One thing that is necessary for any sand shot, but particularly firm sand, is a shallow angle of attack. If you are an over the top swinger, you've got your work cut out.

Practice makes perfect on this one. IF the sand is really firm, you can use a pitching wedge, opening the face a good bit. I use an AP2 PW for really firm sand. It works. Seve could hit that shot with his 3-iron; it takes practice.

Ping ES grind. Watch a couple YouTube videos. Go do a round at a slow time. After you finish each hole practice a couple bunker shots. At the end of 9 or 18 you will be good for a couple months. It’s getting that feel for how far the ball goes with some sand involved. Problem with bunker shots is you might go entire rounds without having to hit them and not a lot of places to practice.

@J13 Nice call. Love the Bo pic.

Mercer you can do it! Lots of methods work, pick one & get to it!

A lot of my local courses have thin/firm sand, any attempts to hit behind the ball result in bladed shots when the head bounces off of the firm sand underneath (even with low bounce wedges). For me, I have had the most success, and really good results, with treating them like bare or tight lies. Learning little high/soft shots off of tight lies on grass helps significantly. It is definitely a technique thing, square face, weight on front foot, relatively short backswing. A lot of the videos that Phil posts about ball position/weight help to significantly understand the technique.

The biggest thing is determining when to use the shot, and not a typical bunker shot. This is probably where a lot of shots are given up, when underestimating how thin/firm the sand really is, and then blading one over the green or into the lip.

Hi Toe is like cheating from bunkers.

I agree with the above comment. Whenever I get in a bunker that feels like rock below my feet I grab my low bounce 60 and play it like a high shot hit from a tight lie on grass. It's just becoming good at detecting when you can do that. If the sand is softer than you thought itll come out chunky.

I definitely like low bounce for that scenario though.

High loft, low bounce. Here in the Pacific Northwest soft bunkers are rarer than a Masters jacket for Rory. Bought a 58° with low bounce. Been happy so far.

I’ve never felt confident over the mb3/md4 wedges because their leading edges are so “blunt”.

If your current low bounce isn’t low enough clevland has an Xlow in their RTX4 wedges. It’s low. Almost flush to the ground. Get a high loft 60 or 62 for reasons that Stuart stated. I gained my tight lie/ hard pan confidence from all the time I spent on worn down range mats.

Taylormade Hi Toe

Low Bounce K-Grind

Sure Out

> @LowAndLeft32 said:

> In looking to find a wedge that is great from **_firm_** sand. I currently have 56* MD4 with low bounce and a 60* Vokey V grind. I don't hit either particularly well from the firm sand. I assume most of the problem lies in my technique, which Im working on. On the 56* I thought the low bounce would be good given the hard sand and wouldn't bounce into the ball. But, distance control and short bunker shots are difficult. My 60* is new so I'm still learning how to best use it. But so far, I cant seem to hit a good bunker shot with it. I would be interested in peoples thoughts on wedges and if a different club would see improved results. Thanks.

Speed, confidence, bounce [8 to 10.5 degrees] and a less open face are your best friend for this shot... Emphasis on speed, confidence and enough bounce! Use of either a 58 or 60* wedge is more than sufficient for the job... just stay steep and aggressive.

Vokey 62 T grind

All I do is swing my 56 like a normal iron and the ball just comes out . The sand is so packed it is not going to help you.

It's mix bunkers my neck of the woods. Some courses have tight firm bunkers, some very fluffy. 60* PM grind is the money club out of any type of bunker. I open the face a lot though and it works really well. What works too is me telling myself to use the bounce, whatever bounce the club has. That has helped me from thinning shots, misses with my wedges are primarily thin shots.

@BB28403 said:

> All I do is swing my 56 like a normal iron and the ball just comes out . The sand is so packed it is not going to help you.

Good advice. I stay pretty square face, weight toward target side, not too steep (because I will stick the leading edge right into the hard sand) and smooth, relaxed tempo. I think it’s an easier shot with a little less bounce and a club with a little heel relief, just in case, because that is where the club will most likely catch the hard sand and bounce into the ball, not under it. You’re not trying to use the bounce on this shot. You’re hitting a pitch off a hard surface. RTX4 58 Low grind and a Mizuno S18 60.06 are the two I rotate.

If sand is firm, you don’t need a big swing. Cannot ever decel, that is always a death move,

but you also don’t need to swing hard. Smooth tempo and let the club fall on the ball is how I think. Just a little stronger than if you were hitting a pitch off a hard-pan cart path running right by the side of a green. You would not swing hard at that ball. Only increases risk. Smooth contact is all you need and its coming up and out.

Good videos out there. Google “Stan Utley hard sand bunkers and Golf Channel” and he gives a pretty good explanation and demonstrates this shot. I think Charlie Rymer is the vid host. He keeps it simple.

> @dmeeksDC said:

> @BB28403 said:

> > All I do is swing my 56 like a normal iron and the ball just comes out . The sand is so packed it is not going to help you.

>

> Good advice. I stay pretty square face, weight toward target side, not too steep (because I will stick the leading edge right into the hard sand) and smooth, relaxed tempo. I think it’s an easier shot with a little less bounce and a club with a little heel relief, just in case, because that is where the club will most likely catch the hard sand and bounce into the ball, not under it. You’re not trying to use the bounce on this shot. You’re hitting a pitch off a hard surface. RTX4 58 Low grind and a Mizuno S18 60.06 are the two I rotate.

> If sand is firm, you don’t need a big swing. Cannot ever decel, that is always a death move,

> but you also don’t need to swing hard. Smooth tempo and let the club fall on the ball is how I think. Just a little stronger than if you were hitting a pitch off a hard-pan cart path running right by the side of a green. You would not swing hard at that ball. Only increases risk. Smooth contact is all you need and its coming up and out.

> Good videos out there. Google “Stan Utley hard sand bunkers and Golf Channel” and he gives a pretty good explanation and demonstrates this shot. I think Charlie Rymer is the vid host. He keeps it simple.

>

>

Man I love Utley! that man taught me how to putt. I need to re read his stuff because im doing his dead weight a bit wrong these days.

the best wedge for these shots is called the foot wedge - xd

but if you are sadistical, there really is no wedge better than the vokey K grind - retail got that grind starting with SM 5. its literally the only wedge that is good for shallow or super steep swingers. any wedge that is comparable is just a replica of the k grind. the high toe is really nice as well, but for full, 3/4 shots, the toe is too wide imo.

I switched from a Glide 58 SS a couple months ago to a Stealth 58 ES. Love it out of bunkers & around greens.