Wedge Bounce Questions

gasman777 · July 6, 2020

Currently have a cleveland 54 degree (10 bounce) that's bent to 55 degree and another cleveland 60D (9 bounce).

First, this means my 55 degree now has essentially 11 degrees of bounce right?

Second, I played golf this weekend and my pitching/chipping was awful yet again. For some reason, after a break from golf, the swing is getting back to what it was but I can't seem to find any resemblance of wedge play from before my break. From before break, I was playing a 6-8 handicap hitting probably 10-12 GIR on average, and now I'm hitting 10-12 GIR on average but am closer to a 12 handicap. I've never been good at pitching/chipping, but what I'm doing right now is absolutely pathetic. Chunks, blading it over the green, and even the occasional double hit. Personally, I had convinced myself that I'd keep practicing and possibly take a couple lessons on pitching/chipping but a friend this weekend suggested I don't have enough bounce in my wedges. I'm more of a "digger/steep swing person" but I would've assumed that I have enough bounce and that my problems were poor technique, not equipment. A later question during the round came up asking what bounce my Ping I210 gap wedge has (which I was striking ok during the round, but full swing)....I had no idea but after looking it up I found that it's 13 degrees of bounce, to which he replied, "see, you probably need to be closer to 13/14 degrees of bounce with your other wedges too".....

Personally I'm still convinced that it's user error and not equipment error, and I figure before I go buy a new wedge unnecessarily that I could open the club face some, practice pitching/chipping more, and possibly take a lesson or two. My friend means well but to me, comparing a good shot with a full swing utility wedge is an apples to oranges comparison to a half swing lob wedge........Am I being cheap and stubborn in trying to work through my current setup?

Myherobobhope · July 6, 2020

I believe you are correct that you added a degree of bounce by bending your club up a degree... 10-11 bounce is what I consider medium bounce... So it should be a huge difference to go up to more bounce, and likely won't fix your problems... It's probably a technique and confidence thing... I've found my golf game significantly improves with confidence... If I'm confident off the tee, I'll hit a good tee shot... if I know I'm going to make a putt, it is going to drop...

Adam Young talks about this a ton in terms of if you think about the mechanics, you are going to struggle, if you think about the results you are going to succeed... I've like his teaching style a whole lot.

I think it's just a practice / mental thing... wedge game is hard to get back after a long hiatus (I know from experience)... There are a ton of different "good" wedge thoughts to have, it just depends what works for you... I really like the thought of throwing the wedge into the ball (face ahead of the hands) and letting the club and the loft do the work for me. I had developed the tendency to lead with my hands, and basically rely on timing and control to hit a good shot... I was actually fairly successful with this technique, but leading with the blade of the wedge has been more consistent and less prone to errors.

In conclusion... it's likely not the bounce of the wedge that's holding you back, but you have a high bounce wedge to demonstrate that... just chip a bit with your gap wedge and see how it goes.

golfinbrad · July 6, 2020

I am curious on this as well. I switched wedges almost 2 seasons ago and hasn't worked. Full shots are fin, but not partial shots. I like to play knock down shots with spin and open it up when need be. Knocked downs with the current bounce leave little margin for error. Thinking of going with more bounce where you can open the face a little. I wonder how much the sole width has to do with it as well.

CougarRed · July 6, 2020

I got a 52 with 9 degrees bounce. It's always in the bag. Also a 56/14 and 60/6. I choose one of those two depending on the course I am playing.

Arlin964 · July 6, 2020

My two cents - I think it’s mostly technique. Are you more of a use the bounce type guy, or a ball back in the stance, shaft leaning forward type guy?

I used to be the latter - because I didn’t have confidence in my short game. I changed to a use the bounce style and I’m light years better, and more confident. Monte’s Use the Bounce 2 is like $35 or something super cheap right now. It’s fantastic. At least for how my brain works.