GolfTEC Blog

The first post from Steve Atherton – GolfTEC VP of Research and Development and PGA Master Professional – in response to last week’s poll. (Follow Steve on Twitter: @AthertonPGA)

Well, we had a good response to last week’s poll on bounce and how it affects your wedge game. 82% of you hit the nail right on the head. Bounce mostly affects how cleanly you strike the ball from varying lies.

That’s the short answer, but you may still have questions about bounce. To give you a better understanding of bounce and how it affects your game, I’ve provided a brief explanation below.

What is bounce?

Bounce is defined as the angle (in degrees) between the leading edge of the club and the part of the sole that rests on the ground. The more bounce, the higher the leading edge of the club will sit off the ground. The most common bounce measurements for wedges would be in the neighborhood of 4-14 degrees. So that’s what bounce is, but there’s a more important question…

What type of bounce should you be playing for your wedges?

Unfortunately there is no cut-and-dried answer to this question, as some of the answer lies in what you feel most comfortable with, and that can be different for everyone. However, here are some basics to start from:

Play more bounce if:

1. You play in soft, fluffy sand or lush, thick fairways

2. You attack the ball with a sharp, downward-angle of approach

Play less bounce if:

1. You play in hard, firm sand or tight, dry fairways

2. You sweep the ball at impact

Keep in mind that you don’t have to match up the bounce in your lob, sand, gap and pitching wedge. It’s very common to have different bounce with each of those wedges. Just use the above suggestions and work from there. If your course has dry, firm fairways but soft sand, you might play a gap and pitching wedge that have little bounce, a SW with more bounce, and a lob wedge with little bounce. Also consider the type of shots you most commonly play around the greens at your course. If you typically have lots of shots to tight pins from tight lies, less bounce will help. If you have more shots from thick rough around the greens with the ball sitting up off the ground, more bounce would be the way to go.

Fiddle around with different wedge lofts AND bounce combinations until you find a set of wedges that gives you the confidence you need!

What’s your question for me?

So those are a few of my thoughts on bounce. Next up: YOUR questions. That’s right, I want to hear from you. In the comments section below, ask me any question you might have about your golf game. I’ll then choose one and personally answer it in a later post. Now, I know you may be hesitant to ask a question in the comments section. But seriously, just give it a try.

I’m looking forward to answering your questions and helping you play better golf.