Last week’s discussion sparked some conversation – especially on the handicap side. Nice to see the interaction!!

Let’s take a different direction this week. We have a wedge launch coming up. So, let’s talk about Bounce. Next week we can talk about fitting wedges, set make up, etc. Bounce comes up a lot. Most players have heard of it, but almost no one knows what it is. Most players think high Bounce is the enemy (based on what they’ve heard, not personal experience). Let’s dig deeper.

Simply put, Bounce is the angle of the sole from rear to front based on a horizontal plane. Bounce is measured in degrees. In English… If you hold the shaft perfectly vertical and sight down the sole (from the heel towards the toe or the reverse), you will see the trailing edge (rear of the sole) is lower that the leading edge (front of the sole). If you set the wedge on a table top in this same fashion (shaft vertical), the angle formed by the table top and the sole is your bounce angle. If the trailing edge is HIGHER than the leading edge, the Bounce angle would be negative. Every club has bounce. Long irons may be in the 1-2* range, wedges can be in the 6-14* range. 

What does bounce do? Essentially, it prevents the club from digging. Easiest way to explain it – the trailing edge is a “slider”, and the leading edge is a “digger”. Understanding Bounce and how it works will make you (and the player you fit) a better wedge player. Bounce has a tremendous impact on the Ball/Clubhead/Turf interaction. 

You have times when you want the club to do one or the other, or some degree in between. Turf is wet? Sand is fluffy? You want to wedge to slide. Hard Pan, tight lie? Firm sand?? You want it to dig. Once a player understands the conditions of the lie and how the bounce of the sole works, he can truly develop a good short game. If he doesn’t understand HOW the wedge works, hitting good short shots is dumb luck. 

Try this experiment. Take a wedge and set it on a table as we did above to look at the bounce angle. Now open the face. See how the leading edge raises up and greatly exposes the leading edge? Now close the face. See how the rear edge disappears? “We have times where we want the wedge to slide and times where we want it to dig”. Once as player understands this, and then understands HOW to make that happen, he will be on his way to a great short game. 

Bounce alone will not dictate how the wedge plays. Sole Grind is equally as important. Sole grinds will typically feature heel relief, toe relief, and rear of sole relief. These grinds will give players the versatility to open or close the face and achieve the correct amount of bounce. I tell people all the time – degrees of bounce on their own don’t mean much. The sole grind alone doesn’t mean much. But, together, they tell everything. 

We have 4 different Grinds in our wedge line up. We do not offer every grind in every loft. Typically, less lofted wedges only have 1 or 2 options, while more lofted wedges will have all 4. This helps to eliminate some clutter when choosing a wedge. 

Here’s a few questions… 

You have an advanced player with a good short game. He likes to open the face and play high shots around the greens. He’s also very steep – he takes big deep divots. What wedge do we give him? He’d be a perfect candidate for an X Grind sole. This is a high bounce wedge (12*) with a generous amount of heel/ toe/ rear relief. 

You have a beginning player who chunks his chip and pitch shots. His full swing shots sometimes have big divots, sometimes not. What wedge do we give him? I’d try a W Grind. 12* of bounce with a full, wide sole. I’d also consider a Full Toe due to it’s sole grind. 

Last one. You have a middle handicap player and she struggles with skulling her chips. What wedge do you give her? This is a tough one. Bounce and grind are a turf interaction spec. in the absence of this, we have to determine if the cause is her form, or is it a bad wedge choice. First thing I would do is look at her wedge to see the bounce and the grind. Then I’d look at her technique to see if the technique matches the type of wedge she has. Skulled ships often come from the wedge head passing the hands before impact (a lower bounce wedge can minimize this damage), or from a high bounce wedge that has too much leading edge exposed. In either case, I’d consider a lower Bounce wedge.

Up top I said most players think bounce is the enemy. Generally, this is not true. Most players need more bounce to compliment their games. Generally, “pickers”, players who play on VERY short fairways, and players who like to open the face wide open are the only players who “need” lower bounce wedges. Most players actually need more bounce. Fortunately, now that you know how to demonstrate and explain Bounce and Sole Grind together, this is an easier discussion. 

Often when we fit (or teach), we don’t explain enough about the tools the player is using. We focus on loft or technique and fail to discuss HOW the wedge works. A wedge isn’t just a 10 iron, 11 iron and a 12 iron – they ARE different. Often, once the player understands WHAT the sole does, their short games are revolutionized. The extra 5 minutes you spend going through the operators manual will pay big dividends in the long run. 

Hope this helps. Until next time – happy fitting!!