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What happened to the sand wedge?

SuperStroke
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I play sm6 56* m grind 8* as my sand wedge and most lofted wedge. I also use it a lot around the green if I choose not to bump and run. For many years I’ve used a 56 as the sand wedge not sure how I ended up with 8* bounce. Green side bunkers I play are pretty good. Manufacturers really complicate wedges, I’m ok out of sand not great, wondering if I should rethink sand wedge? (10hcp) thanks
 
In days gone by it was simple, your sand wedge you only used in bunkers or if you had to flip something over a bunker as a last resort, your PW was for full shots 100 in but your best friend was your 7 iron and your 1 iron just made your bag look good.

If you hit the 56 great put the 60 in the cupboard, i recently did, less loft = less opportunities to stuff it up. Also it takes out the 'do i hit the 56 or the 60 here which is great.. I play at a 7.3 handicap and have no issue as i happily manipulate the 56 or knockdown the PW around the greens.. actually its great having to do that and i wonder about binning the gap wedge as well.

An old pro at our club only uses a 56, i asked him why, his response was 'i get it close enough with the 56 and a 60 for him meant losing the 3 iron which was a compromise he wasnt willing to make. Its all ducks and drakes so i went home and took out the 60 and have loved it.
 
i’m not sure how the op title relates to the first post. i guess i would say manufactures have started offering more options for different techniques and conditions.


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Most sand wedges still have 10-14 degrees of bounce but different bounce/grinds are more common now than they were in the past. I have 12* bounce on my SW but rarely use it from the sand where my LW is the go to club. I also don’t use it much around the greens, once or less per round for a greenside shot. I do use it from the fairway for full shots between 95 and 110 yards.
 
If I understand your question, the answer is Tom Kite, I believe, was the first touring pro to have a 60 degree wedge in his bag full time. Over time, the higher lofted wedge caught on, due to its versatility. Manufacturers continue to innovate and provide additional options.
 
As time goes by, my appreciation grows and grows for the Vokey "F grind" which is basically a full sole with no grind at all. As does my appreciation for double-digit bounce angles.

My 50, 54 and 58 degree wedges all are shaped similar to the 56-degree generic "Sand Wedge" a typical player would have been using in 1960-something. Just a shiny chrome club with a big, round sole, plenty of bounce and a heavy steel shaft.

I love the thump a full-sole 14-degree bounce wedge makes when it contacts the ground on a perfect, accelerating swing.
 
What happened to the sand wedge? Well, they got better, as more options opened up to find our ideal loft/grind/bounce configurations.
 
Id say what happened to the sand wedges was that iron lofts got stronger, so it neccecitated people carrying more wedges because you dont really want a 10 degree gap between your PW and your SW.
Id also say that the manufacturers sold people on the notion that they need more wedges, so you now see people carrying 3 or 4 wedges because it gives you more options of shots you can play around the green.
 
I can hit a variety of shots with my 56 8* m grind. I call this my sand wedge. I’m ok with it in sand. Generally speaking should a 56 with more bounce be a better sand choice? Then get a 52 with a grind and bounce to hit off tight lies etc. I basically use my 52 for 80 to 100 yd shots.
 
Pelz promotion of the lob wedge is likely the single most detrimental thing to players scoring than any other equipment related factor.
 
The 54-degree in my set is the "sand wedge". Only use it from the sand around the greens if I need a little extra carry. Lob wedge gets most of the green side sand duty and do almost all of my pitching and chipping with the 58-degree & 50-degree. This club mostly just fills a full swing gap for me at the lower end of the bag......

How golfers set up the lower end of the bag has changed a lot in the last 20 years and for the better IMO. Can't really fathom myself going back to playing so many feel shots under 120 yards like we used to and having to hit a lot of the those shots with a standard pitching wedge.
 
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