Sand wedge and the correct bounce?

Question

im looking to buy a titleist 56 spin mill sand wedge.....which bounce do i get the 10 or the 14?? what is bounce and does it make a difference?

Thanks

Answer 1

Fauxbot has it right. Very good explanation of bounce.

The sand wedge is designed with less bounce than a pitching wedge and up so that it will not hit the sand and bounce back up into the ball. When in a greenside bunker you need to get a layer sand between the club and the ball. Where the sand goes, so does the ball. A little bounce will allow you to get into the sand and get the needed layer. More bounce means you are more likely to hit the the bounce portion of the club and misshit the shot.

Which bounce to get will depend on the courses in your area. If the sand is nice and soft, the 14 might be a good choice. If it is hard, you need to go down to the 10. My preference would be the 10.

Answer 2

Go with the 10 degree of bounce.  14 is a lot and will work well out of sand, but be hard to use anywhere else.  Bounce is the difference from the leading edge of the club to the heel of the sole.

Answer 3

try pitch hitting with run at the end...

Answer 4

Bounce is the distance between the leading edge of the clubface and the very bottom of the clubhead.   Bounce does make a difference in a club's performance.    The bounce you need depends on the type of courses you typically play.   A small amount of bounce is good for hard, thin lies, so the face of the club will hit the ball, rather than the leading edge hit the ball (a skull).    A small bounce club is good for shots where the ball is a shorter distance vertically from where the club will bottom out.  A small bounce is also better from firm or wet sand.   A larger bounce is better suited for shots out of thick, fluffy lies, like deep rough or very soft, fine sand.  The larger bounce has a tendency to prevent the club from bottoming out and going underneath the ball (this can easily happen in thick rough around the greens).     A large bounce is good for shots were the ball is elevated from where the club will bottom out on the swing.   Evaluate where you play the most, and you'll have your answer.   If you play at a lot of municipal courses like I do, the smaller bounce will probably be better because lies are typically thinner and sand is firmer at muni courses.  Also, the smaller bounce club will usually allow you open up the clubface to increase the bounce if necessary.

Answer 5

The bounce is the part under the club that sticks out when you lay the club on a hard surface that prevents the clubface from touching the ground.  The job is to prevent the club from digging into the sand when you hit a sand shot. It also helps when your ball is in a 'fluffy' lie.  It will be unforgiving if you are in the fairway on a tight lie, unless you are a 'digger' and can take a divot.

My advice is to take a sand wedge with 14 degrees and 8 or less on a lob.  Then take a pitching wedge.  If you get better you can and a gap wedge  between you pitching wedge and sand.

By the way, I have those spin mill wedges with the square grooves for my sand and lob.  You will be very pleased.