COMMUNITY

I've played a lot of golf with a lot of folks of all abilities, and one thing that I've noticed almost across the board is that most golfers do not know how to use the bounce on their wedges at all. Bounce is one of the biggest helpers around the green, but you have to know how and when to use it.

What is bounce? To put it simply, it's the fact that the leading edge of a club sits higher than the bottom of the sole or flange (see photo). All iron clubs have bounce, but it is most prominent on wedges. The significance of the increased bounce on wedges is that it allows the club to glide along the ground, rather than the leading edge digging in and taking a divot. This is what enables you to hit a variety of shots around the green from a variety of lies.

What I've found, however, is that most weekenders set their hands way in front of the ball with a wedge, which takes out the bounce entirely. That's fine for some shots, but the potential for digging/chunking the shot is much greater because the leading edge is closer to the ground (imagine, in the attached photo, what the club would look like if the shaft were angled forward).

In order to use the bounce of the club, the shaft must be pretty much vertical at address and impact. This gets the leading edge off the ground...but keep in mind, the leading edge is still WELL under the equator of the ball. This means that as long as you don't try to hit "up" on the ball, the leading edge will contact the ball under the equator and the ball will roll up the face briefly before taking flight.

From this basic vertical-shaft position, the face can be opened to add loft and bring even more of the bounce into play. You'll be surprised how high you can hit a sand wedge flop shot (rather than a lob wedge) using this technique. Just let the bounce glide along the ground underneath the ball, and the club will collect the ball on its way through.

One place I RARELY see people use enough bounce is in a bunker. Bounce was first and foremost designed for use in the sand. In normal sand, you need to avoid as much "dig" as possible, even though you DO want the club to get into the sand. But instead of the leading edge entering the sand, you want the bounce to get into the sand. Open the face wide, and even angle the shaft away from the target, to bring more bounce into play. Then take a nice, full swing and let the bounce skim through the sand under the ball.

For firm, tight lies such as hardpan, however, you may not want as much bounce. You can either close the clubface, or play the ball back in the stance, and hit more "down" on the ball rather than skimming under it. This takes the bounce out of play and brings the leading edge into play.

So experiment with using varying amounts of bounce in your wedges, by opening/closing the face and varying your ball position. You'll be surprised at the number of different shots you can hit with just one wedge.

As far as how much bounce to choose when buying a wedge (generally wedges will have the loft and bounce numbers stamped on them...like 56/12, etc), I suggest an intermediate bounce on most wedges, unless you are an accomplished bounce-user and play certain types of courses that require a very high or very low bounce. Around 8 to 10 degrees is a good number for most clubs and most situations. Low bounce is generally only useful if you play tight, pristine courses...like Augusta. Not many of us play there, so it's probably not necessary. High bounce is more helpful if you play courses with very fluffy sand, or soft/scruffy fairways. But 8 to 10 degrees on all your wedges should get you through the vast majority of playing situations.