Sand Wedges for Bunker Play.

Mr. Larson

Just want to get thoughts on what SW people use for Greenside Bunkers.

I have G10 Irons and use the G10 SW for this shot currently but I'm wondering if people generally use the SW that comes with the set for greenside bunkers or if there are better options out there? Would it be foolish to look outside of the one that comes with the set? What degree of loft do most ppl use or think works best for SW for Greenside Bunkers?

My G10 SW just doesn't look 'sharp' enough to cut into the sand as I would like and I'm not getting any consistency with it. I have a Cleveland 54 degree SW that I love for all shots inside 100 yards but it's not much use in the sand.

I appreciate my technique could well be arseways if I'm struggling with the G10 SW... so just wanted to get opinions... Buy another or stick with the G10 because it 'should' be just fine?

Adding pics so you can see the G10 SW.

Adiaga 2

Have never used that club but it's a fairly new model so I'd say it's designed pretty well for getting out of green side bunkers. You don't really want a 'sharp' wedge as it's not really about 'cutting' through the sand - more sliding through which about bounch. There's a couple of threads over the last few months on here about bounch on wedges - might be worth a read if you fancy searching for them.

Personnally my irons didn't come with a SW so I bought a 56* wedge with 10* of bounch - does the job well enough.

PhilipMarlowe

I use a 60 degree lob wedge in greenside bunkers.
If you feel the club is not 'sharp' enough, you probably struggle with understanding what is going on in a bunker shot and the technique needed...
A couple of videos might help
The first one is fairly basic but helps in visualisation...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S11eK_pTQo

The next one is a help for buried balls in the bunker but he also explains more of what happens in a 'normal' bunker shot too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRA3UBdNGF8

Mister Sifter

Adiaga 2 wrote: »

Have never used that club but it's a fairly new model so I'd say it's designed pretty well for getting out of green side bunkers. You don't really want a 'sharp' wedge as it's not really about 'cutting' through the sand - more sliding through which about bounch. There's a couple of threads over the last few months on here about bounch on wedges - might be worth a read if you fancy searching for them.

Personnally my irons didn't come with a SW so I bought a 56* wedge with 10* of bounch - does the job well enough.

Adiaga, has somebody switched your e and h button around? Or has your keyboard just got a lisp? :-D

Mr. Larson

I just assumed he was from the Wesht?

Thx all.

Mr. Larson

Licksy wrote: »

I use a 60 degree lob wedge in greenside bunkers.
If you feel the club is not 'sharp' enough, you probably struggle with understanding what is going on in a bunker shot and the technique needed...
A couple of videos might help

Cheers Licksy I get the feeling I may have been opening the face out a bit too much with the new SW. I do take an open stance, open out the club face and try to hit sand about an inch before the ball... but what I got from the video and what Adiga mentioned about 'bounce' makes more sense. I may have been opening out the club face a little too much... thereby negating (or at least not maximising) the bounce from the bottom of the club.

Thx again will keep that in mind.

stockdam

I kinda know what the OP means.

I have the G5 Ping irons and I don't really like the SW.

It's fine for really soft sand but for "normal" Irish sand its sole is too broad. That means you have to try really hard to get it to go deep enough. The tendency is for it to skip across the sand. I find that I have to hit down a lot more than I want to.

My old SW (A Ben Hogan) one has a thinner sole and is much easier to adjust how deep it goes (open the clubface more for softer sand to stop it going too deep).

The G5 is hard to use for "soft" bunker shots where the pin is close to the flag.

Oh and I'm a pretty good bunker player but I think I'll go with a club with a thinner sole but quite a lot of bounce.

Adiaga 2

Graeme1982 wrote: »

Adiaga, has somebody switched your e and h button around? Or has your keyboard just got a lisp? :-D

Bounch! Had to read that post about 5 times to figure out what you meant! Must bh strhss or somhteing - eow whird!

GreeBo

Jabberwocky wrote: »

Cheers Licksy I get the feeling I may have been opening the face out a bit too much with the new SW. I do take an open stance, open out the club face and try to hit sand about an inch before the ball... but what I got from the video and what Adiga mentioned about 'bounce' makes more sense. I may have been opening out the club face a little too much... thereby negating (or at least not maximising) the bounce from the bottom of the club.

Thx again will keep that in mind.

FYI
opening the face increases the effective bounce of the club (unless you have tour grind wedges)

For wet, hard (Irish!) sand you are usually better off using your pitching/gap/lob wedge as you dont want or need bounce. Hard compacted sand is like hitting off the grass, you can play the shot like a regular chip/pitch/flop.

Bounce stops the club digging in in nice fluffly, dry sand. You can get a similar effect by keeping more weight on the back foot. Similiarily you can negate bounce by having more weight on your front foot.

What problems are you having with the current SW? (Bearing in mind that if you dont like the look of a club you are already in trouble before you hit it )

Mr. Larson

GreeBo wrote: »

FYI
opening the face increases the effective bounce of the club (unless you have tour grind wedges)

For wet, hard (Irish!) sand you are usually better off using your pitching/gap/lob wedge as you dont want or need bounce. Hard compacted sand is like hitting off the grass, you can play the shot like a regular chip/pitch/flop.

Bounce stops the club digging in in nice fluffly, dry sand. You can get a similar effect by keeping more weight on the back foot. Similiarily you can negate bounce by having more weight on your front foot.

What problems are you having with the current SW? (Bearing in mind that if you dont like the look of a club you are already in trouble before you hit it )

Probably a technique thing... and it is in shallow bunkers or damp/wet sand where I have this difficulty. When I try my usual blast shot the club tends to skid forward resulting in either a complete top, or the ball shooting out and not getting any check or backspin... i.e. it will chase forward about 5-10 yards from where it lands.... if that makes sense.

GreeBo

Jabberwocky wrote: »

Probably a technique thing... and it is in shallow bunkers or damp/wet sand where I have this difficulty. When I try my usual blast shot the club tends to skid forward resulting in either a complete top, or the ball shooting out and not getting any check or backspin... i.e. it will chase forward about 5-10 yards from where it lands.... if that makes sense.

yep sounds like you just need to adjust to different sand conditions.
Try a read of this. Basically you dont want a big bounce in wet sand, its the same as trying to use a SW with a big bounce off a very tight/bald lie, if you dont get it right you get a ball that will go like a shell over the green (or into the face of the bunker)

Realistically you need to go with a bag of balls and LW, SW and PW to a practice bunker and see what works for you best, adjusting the club or the technique.
Best of luck!

Mr. Larson

GreeBo wrote: »

Realistically you need to go with a bag of balls and LW, SW and PW to a practice bunker and see what works for you best, adjusting the club or the technique.
Best of luck!

Sounds like great advice and thanks for the tip... going to try out the chip method for sure.