Bounce. Some need a little. Others need a lot! And yes we are talking about your golf clubs. Wedges to be exact.
Many golfers know which wedge to play when they’re in the sand, or just need to chip it close from the rough, based on the loft of the club. The bounce though, happens from the bottom of the club. Like loft, the bounce angle also comes in degrees. The lower the degree, the lower the bounce and vice versa.
What is bounce? 
Bounce refers to how much of the sole of the club is resting on the ground. The higher the leading edge is off the ground will result in the club bouncing off the ground instead of digging in when it contacts the ball. Think of it like a cushion to help get the ball up and going. More technically though it’s the angle between the leading edge and the trailing edge that hits the ground. So WHY is this important? Well, depending on the turf conditions (Soft, Medium, Firm), your attack angle (steep or shallow) and the shots you are going to play, the bounce can have a huge effect on the outcome of the shot.
Picture these two very common scenarios:
- It’s a rainy day and the ground is really soft. The leading edge of your wedge is digging into the ground and the ball winds up about 3 yards in front of where you started. Having too little bounce can cause you to chunk those shots and that’s not fun for you or your scorecard.
- On a hot day where the ground is firm, after hitting the drive of the day, all you have to do is chip the ball close to the pin for a birdie or at worse, a par. The leading edge of the wedge hits the ball, instead of the face, sending the ball low and fast across the green, far from the pin! Having a wedge with too much bounce can cause the club to “bounce” off the ground resulting in “blading the ball” where it can feel like you’re ping-ponging the ball from one side of the green to the other.
Now, in each of these scenarios it might be easy to say it’s “solely” the weather’s fault, but we also need to factor in your angle of attack. So as much as we may all love Milli Vanilli, we can’t just blame it on the rain or lack thereof.
By getting fit for wedges, we can analyze your angle of attack and help you determine what is the right amount of bounce for your wedges to help you execute more effective wedge shots. Did you know that you can have two different wedges in your bag with different amounts of bounce? Just like having different lofts, having a different bounce may give you more tools in the tool kit to help you around the green.
