Does a high bounce wedge really make a difference out of bunkers?

[drcohen]

My bunker play has been really atrocious for the past few months. My club recently has renovated their bunkers and has started using really soft sand which I am not used to. I generally use my 62 out of the bunkers so I can hit it high and land it soft. It has 9 degrees of bounce. I carry standard/lower bounce wedges because I take a minimal to no divot, but I know that higher bounce wedges make it easier to hit out of bunkers with soft sand. I don't really use my lob wedge anywhere else except bunkers so should I get a higher bounce wedge to help, or stop being a loser and just keep practicing with my current one?

[grochol17]

It depends on the type of bunker shot you like to hit.  I will usually lay the face of my wedge wide open to hit it high and soft.  In that case, no matter what the stated bounce of the wedge is, it is going to play like it has a ton more bounce.  So I've recently used wedges with 8*, 10*, or 12* of bounce and similar sole grinds and I don't notice a difference in how they perform out of sand.  If you are someone that plays with a square face, then the amount of bounce might make a difference in how much the club digs into the sand.  Since your club recently moved to softer sand, I'd say to spend some time practicing your bunker shots to see a different technique will work better for you or if you really do need to consider a different sole grind on your wedge.

[larryd3]

Similar situation to you.  I was using a low bounce wedge and having a really hard time in the bunkers, moved to a higher bounce one and it solved the problem for me.  Got to be careful if the sand gets wet and packed down hard, then the low bounce may be the ticket.  That takes some experimenting to figure out.  

[Dan Drake]

As most on here know, I'm a huge believer in "Shot-specific clubs."  As such, as long as you can make it fit into the rest of your club matrix just a little bit, I have no issues with a golfer carrying a dedicated "Sand Wedge."  You may not hit it into that many greenside bunkers, but the disaster potential is so high that unless you are good/very good out of variable lies and types of sand, I think it is prudent to carry a sand wedge.  

 

My 64° OG PM grind is exactly what I'm describing here.  It handles 3 jobs:

 

1. Greenside bunker shots

2. Partial wedges between 40-60 yards

3. "Just get it somewhere on the green" shots from around the green

 

This club is so trusted from all different bunker lies and sand types that it more than makes up for the lack of full shot utility for me.  

[DaveGoodrich]

Good replies here.  I would add that, its not just a question of bounce, but also of loft.  A 62* low bounce wedge, especially when "opened" to 70-80*, is going to present very little face height, and is therefore not going to move a lot of sand, which is what actually moves the ball.  That may work when you really need soft and high.  But you are going to have to strike the sand very close to the ball and/or use a lot of speed if you need to cover any distance.  So don't neglect experimenting with different lofts and sole grinds as you work to find something that works for you.   Have you tried just using your 56*, and setup more square, from these soft bunkers?  

[ShortGolfer]

I am a slow swinger who naturally hits a high fade.  A 56 doesn't have enough easy reach unless the pin is short sided!

I prefer a 54, so I have a Vokey 54/10S in the bag.  I could get by with a 52/10S.

 

I just bought a Vokey 56/8M for Sunday bag!

 

I can rotate through a bunch of different wedges in a low quality municipal practice bunker and get out with all of them with more consistency than swinging my other clubs!!!

 

If I got to play in your soft sand I'd take out the 54 Vokey and put in a Callaway high bounce CB wedge instead.  One club in my bag is the best one for bunker play that day.  It has one job.

Constant heavy rains washed out the sand in the bunkers I play. 

One bunker is often a free drop out of the pool of water! I've made that free drop, picking the ball off very wet sand onto a short sided pin with a low bounce lob wedge.

 

Edited May 23 by ShortGolfer

[North Butte]

Speaking only for my own game, and I'm someone who has always struggled out of bunkers, especially soft or fluffy ones, I find a high bounce wedge is good if you intend on using a high lofted wedge, keeping the face square and hitting down hard behind the ball to gouge out a big wad of sand along with the ball. That's a technique I was shown in about my second or third golf lesson as a beginner and as long as the sand isn't too soft, you don't need but a few yards of carry to clear the lip and there's room for the ball to run out, it works fine. 

 

It took me many years to finally get comfortable with what I'd consider a "real" bunker shot technique instead of the beginner-friendly gouge-and-run shortcut. But now I open the face up a good bit and use hand action to accelerate the clubhead under the ball and past my hands. Probably 2-3x the clubhead speed of my old rudimentary technique but I still don't have as much speed as most people. So I've used things like a 58-degree K grind and unless the sand is very, very firm all that bulky sole when opened up just kills what little speed I'm able to generate. 

 

So like @ShortGolfer I've found a 54-degree Vokey (F grind for me) works best for getting the ball flying a fair distance even when I open the face up. And for shorter shots were I want what speed I can generate to be used for height rather than forward motion I do the same thing with a 60-degree M or D grind .

[drcohen]

1 hour ago, DaveGoodrich said:

Good replies here.  I would add that, its not just a question of bounce, but also of loft.  A 62* low bounce wedge, especially when "opened" to 70-80*, is going to present very little face height, and is therefore not going to move a lot of sand, which is what actually moves the ball.  That may work when you really need soft and high.  But you are going to have to strike the sand very close to the ball and/or use a lot of speed if you need to cover any distance.  So don't neglect experimenting with different lofts and sole grinds as you work to find something that works for you.   Have you tried just using your 56*, and setup more square, from these soft bunkers?  

 

You’re right, i have to strike it so close to the ball without striking it to clean or else it flies the green which happens all the time. The problem with my 56 is that it’s my dominant wedge and i don’t want to ruin it in the sand. I might just try it for a little bit to see what it’s like. 

[DaveGoodrich]

4 minutes ago, drcohen said:

The problem with my 56 is that it’s my dominant wedge and i don’t want to ruin it in the sand. I might just try it for a little bit to see what it’s like. 

Wedges should be considered "consumables." 

[SJP1]

Sole width also has a really big influence on how a wedge plays out of sand - and is arguably more influential than bounce angle.

 

A good example of this is a low-bounce K grind only has 6* of effective bounce. But it's really, really forgiving out of sand because of the sole width.

[ChipNRun]

On 5/23/2024 at 2:59 PM, drcohen said:

My bunker play has been really atrocious for the past few months. My club recently has renovated their bunkers and has started using really soft sand which I am not used to.

 

Before refitting wedges, consider taking a bunker lesson. You may need to make swing adjustments for the softer sand, not just a new wedge head.

 

In my area, courses have gone the other way for greenside bunkers - heavier sand that is available locally and less like to blow away in the wind.

 

I started having bunker hang-ups with my 54/12 Widesole. So, I switched to a 54/10 S-grind (see below). Two local pros told me they likewise had switched away from wide soles.