How to Use Bounce Correctly in the Bunker

When hitting a sand shot, one major key needs to be determined (there is a quiz, take notes! http://gibbsgolf.com/?page_id=8)

The lie of the ball in the sand.

Therefore, assess whether or not there is no sand, little sand or a lot of sand under the ball. 

To determine how much sand is around the ball, use the feel that you have in your feet.

If your feet sink into the sand deeply (Florida courses typically have lots of soft sand or high end private clubs), odds are there is a lot of sand under the ball.

If your feet only sink a little bit into the sand (this is the most common condition you will find), there probably is only a small amount of sand.

If your feet make "crunching" sounds or don't sink at all into the sand (common in Arizona, New Mexico and desert types of courses) you are hitting off of fill dirt, good luck, there is basically no sand at all in that bunker!

Now that you know how to identify how much sand is under the ball, learning about bounce will make more sense.

Bounce is the angle of depth the sole of the club contains. The angle of depth is measured by manufacturers. Each company produces wedges that have different amounts of bounce classified by a number. This number ranges anywhere from 4-14, traditionally.

Wedges with 4-6 degrees of bounce would be considered to have low/little bounce, wedges from 6-10 degrees have mid/average bounce, and wedges with more than 10 degrees have high/large bounce.

The wedges in your bag should reflect the courses that you play the most. If you carry three wedges and live in Florida, TWO of the three should be high bounce. If you carry three wedges and live in Arizona, TWO of those three wedges should be low bounce.

Use bounce correctly in the bunker by the way that the club addresses the ball at the set up.

EXAMPLE 1 - If the lie is tight (little/no sand) the face of the club should be square to slightly closed.

EXAMPLE 2 - If the lie is average (some sand) the face of the club should be square to slightly open.

EXAMPLE 3 - If the lie is fluffy (lots of sand) the face of the club should be open to very open.

When the face of the club is square to slightly closed like in example one, this makes the trailing edge of the sole of the club negative to standard (negative in this situation means that some of the bounce of the club is being taken away). This will help the club dig into the ground making the shot easier.

When the face of the club is very open like in example three, the trailing edge of the sole of the club is positive to standard (positive in this situation means that the effective bounce is larger). This will help the club slide across the ground instead of dig into the ground, making the shot easier.

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How Many Wedges should you have in your Bag and what about Bounce?

Your golfing buddy has 6 wedges, and another has 2. They both make good cases for carrying what they do. Which golfer should you listen to?

Neither – consult a PGA Professional here at GibbsGolf! Add a comment below on your specific set if you need some help.

As a general overview of wedges, let’s start with the number of wedges and lofts.

Ideally keep the gap in loft from your two shortest clubs in your iron set even through out your wedge set.

For example, most commonly it's 42 degrees for nine irons today, and pitching wedges are roughly 46 degrees. Therefore, carry a 50 degree gap wedge, a 54 degree sand wedge and a 58 degree lob wedge (With a 4 degree gap from the nine to pitching wedge have a 4 degree gap between each wedge. If your gap is 5 degrees from the two shortest clubs in the iron set, have 5 degree gaps in your wedge set). The goal is to have your highest lofted wedge be at or below 60 degrees. You may need only one extra wedge, you may need 4.

Let’s also talk about bounce.

Bounce is the second number on the club. Traditionally it will be between 4-14. Depending on course conditions, one bounce will be more favorable over another. GibbsGolf recommends having one low to mid bounce club (4-10 degrees) and one mid to high bounce club (8-14 degrees) no matter what your conditions. On every course you will encounter fluffy lies and tight lies. Your clubs need to be able to hit any type of shot at any time.  

An example of a good wedge set could be...

46 degree PW

50 degree GW

54 degree SW with 12 degrees of bounce

58 degree LW with 6 degrees of bounce

Check your set specifically with either a golf shop or store, or just check online by Googling your clubs.

As a summary…

You are looking to find the loft of the two shortest clubs in your set. What ever the difference is between your two shortest clubs, keep that gap the same for your gap wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge (if you carry one).

Any comments, questions or suggestions for topics are welcome; enter them in the comment box below. Your topic might be the next post! 

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