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Wedges - How Often Does Sole Size Impact Club Selection

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JB

JB

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I was speaking with Roger Cleveland this past weekend at the THP Event and he was discussing sole size and amateur golfers in certain situations. He said more and more he sees golfers grab the highest lofted wedge in their bag when they hit the bunker without any thinking about what works best. He went on to say that originally the SW was a larger soled wedge and then the LW came out with even more loft, but it was not designed to replace the SW in terms of what to hit out of a bunker.

So that goes to my question. Do you pay attention to the full selection out of the bunker, or are you grabbing the highest loft and going from there?
 
I go by distance I need to hit the ball out of the bunker. Since the greens at my course are pretty small, I typically hit LW at least 95% out of them since the required carry is not very great. There are a couple of pretty long bunkers that I will hit SW out of if I catch the front of those bunkers.
 
With the pm grind 56 and 60 in the bag currently I feel it covers the spectrum of needed shots well. If I am in a fluffy bunker, I'll grab the 56. With 13° bounce and the u grind it really engages the sole when opened up. I'll grab the same club around the greens if I'm in fluffy rough as well. The 60° with 10° bounce comes in handy when in tighter lies or firmer sand where I won't open the face as much. Only 3° difference in bounce but the c grind in the 60 makes it feel more of a difference. If I ever switch to the md3s, I'll game a similar set up with 56 in w grind and 60 in c grind.
 
Personally I typically use my sand wedge unless I need the extra loft from my lob wedge. It's worked the best for me, and I don't fear the sand using it.


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I actually pay attention to what my situation in the bunker and I very rarely use my 60.
 
I normally use my SW. Will use LW if not much green to between bunker and hole.
 
If I was efficient in using bounce it would be more of a factor, but I'm lacking that skill.
 
I rarely hit my 60 from any bunkers, regardless of distance of the shot, or height needed. Most of the time I use my 56, but have been using my 53 more and more lately - for all shots. I can open the face on either to whatever amount I deem necessary to hit the shot. I used my 53 the other day for a very short shot, with no green to work with and put it 6".
 
The bunkers at my course have very little to no sand and are usually very hard and I have found that my wide soled SW is not good in them and am forced to use my not wide soled 60*. In good sand though my SW is my go to club even if I need to open it up more like my 60* just because the wider sole makes the shots easier.
 
For me, I hit the 56 two dot for everything. Not because it is the best club for the job, but because it is the only wedge I have.

When I did have a higher loft (a 60*), I was inevitably just grabbing for it when going to the sand, and it probably was not the best option.
 
Both of my wedges (If I'm playing the 54-58, otherwise my highest lofted wedge is a 56) are pretty wide soled - so I'm comfortable using either of them in the bunker or around the green depending on how high I want to go or how much rollout I'm looking for.
 
I play a 52, 56 and 60 and usually I take the 56 out of the bunker, 60 comes out of its super tight. 50% of the time it ends up across the green anyway.
 
I have 2 wedges in the bag with 2 different sole grinds, I pick the appropriate wedge according to the conditions of the sand not the loft of the club.
 
I do not own a SW. Assuming a decent lie, anything under 25 yards is a 60-08. And, I'll open the face the closer I am, and also depending on the lie. For longer greenside bunker shots, I used a 51-06 and open the face. I like the lower bounced wedges due to the firmer conditions from the fw.
 
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T2GRN18 said:
If I was efficient in using bounce it would be more of a factor, but I'm lacking that skill.
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You and I both brother. And JB knows it all to well as I almost killed him. I've always just grabbed the 60* and it's something intend on change and learning how to actually play out of a bunker and not just perfect fluffy sand.
 
I pay attention but more often that not when I'm in a green side bunker I'm using my 54.
 
My default move is to reach for my 58*. I go to the 54* when the shot requires a longer carry to the hole. The 58* is one of those variable sole technology type wedges. It has given me the sense that I didn't need to worry about sole width. Maybe that's bad thinking.
 
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The soles of my J15 54 and 58 degree wedges are identical. The 58 degree may even be a hair thicker. I always use the 58 degree because I tend to hit the 54 too far out of bunkers. It might be easier to use the 54 if I spent some time working on swing speed with it out of bunkers.
 
For standard bunker shots, I'll take my 56/10. I've only recently been intelligent enough (with some help) to club up for longer bunker shots and I even opened up my PW and used it one day. It felt very strange, but worked out great.
 
At my home club, I play a 62* low bounce wedge from the bunker.
When I travel, depending on the sand, I will play either my 60/09 or my 54* SS wedges. Usually it is the 60, tho.
 
dazeedmonds said:
Personally I typically use my sand wedge unless I need the extra loft from my lob wedge. It's worked the best for me, and I don't fear the sand using it.


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Click to expand...

Same here. Greenside, I normally use my 54 and only pull out my 58 for getting over the lip of a bunker or where I need to keep the shot short.
 
I use my 60 56 and 52 depending on the distance/ lie of the shot.
 
Don't know why but I always grab my 56* 2dot when in the sand.
 
I go by distance and whether I need to elevate the ball to get it out of the sand. But usually I use my 54° for greenside bunker shots if I need to get them into the air at all, because I don't feel like I need to swing as hard as with my lob wedge.

In direct reference to the question, though, I don't really think about it. The S-grind on my 54 is a bit wider than the C-Grind on my 58, but I don't really take it into consideration in a way that has more to do with the loft and height of the shot I'm trying to hit.
 
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For me I like to use my 58* anywhere I can. It has low bounce and I feel I can control for the most part distances and spin better compared to my 54*. Depending on wetness of sand and distances between myself and the hole the 54 may make an appierience

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