A little bit about wedges

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By Quintin H

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  1. Quintin H

    Quintin H
    Morehead, KY

    There are people that believe their wedge setup is what everyone on every course should use. And how they use their wedges is how everyone should use theirs.

    There are 2 schools of thought on wedge use around the green, 1 use many different wedges(Pelz, seems to be most common now) and 2 use 1 wedge and get the feel for that wedge and learn the many shots that wedge has to offer(Jack Nicklaus).

    Bounce and sole width, the more bounce and/or the wider the sole the less versatility the club has, but the better it is in particular situations. Bounce is in degrees, sole width can be narrow(remember back when the pros always went for a bunker, they had hard sand and narrow sole wedges, you don't find sand like that anymore) medium(commonly considered narrow now), wide, extra wide(swoosh Slingshots, some cally and Clevelands), and extremely wide(Alien, Maltby Sand Putter, Sand Slider)

    There are basically 3 ways to get the ball out of the sand, 1 pick it clean(good luck), 2 the splash, and 3 scrape it out(this is what many do thinking they are splashing)

    The splash, open the clubface wide open, the bounce moves the sand which moves the ball. The shallower the attack angle the lower the ball comes out, the steeper the attack angle the higher the ball comes out, much like standing in a pool and splashing the water with your hand. The softer the sand the less effective this method becomes and turns your shot into a scrape it out.

    Scrape it out, the face enters the sand and the face moves the sand, the splash is a high intensity shock wave that moves the ball, scrape out is like a surfer riding a wave. The sand is moved by the face and provides a cushion. The trajectory the ball comes out is controlled by the loft of the club, the trajectory will be lower than the loft. The harder the sand the harder this shot is to control. You are limited to how far you can open the face and still control the shot.

    With the splash you want more bounce, the softer the sand the wider the sole.

    Scrape out you want a wider sole with less bounce, the softer the sand the wider the better.

    Did you notice at Bay Hill the pros having problems out of the sand, the sand was much softer than they are used to. One commentator said in this sand you must get your knees moving forward, what is the typical sand instruction? Quiet lower body, so why now do they need to get their knees moving forward? Because they must hit the sand close to the ball.

    If you have ever used an extra wide sole wedge then you know they come with instructions, sand, square stance square face hit the sand about 2 inches behind the ball, pitching same instructions, you let the club slide into the ball.

    The scrape out is so much easier, true you get roll out, so you play the roll out. You can use about any iron as long as you clear the lip and have the room for the roll out.

    So the wedge characteristics you use(and how many) depends on your technique, your angle of attack, and the conditions you most commonly encounter. It has nothing to do with what someone else uses.

    So certainly you don't want to think, or publicly declare that the wedges someone else uses is wrong, especially when you have never seen that person play.

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