| Whats in a wedge? With nearly three quarters of your | | | | most average golfers. |
| golf shots made from 120 yards out there is a good | | | | The one quality that wedges have and a lot of golfers |
| reason most professional golfers carry four and | | | | do not give enough consideration to is 'bounce' Bounce |
| sometimes five wedges. The wedges are your short | | | | is a combination of sole profile, degree of difference |
| cut to lower scores and here is why, with a good | | | | between the leading and trailing edges and the width |
| wedge shot it is possible to land a golf ball on the | | | | of the sole of the club. Bounce is normally given as a |
| firmest of greens and have it stay there and when | | | | degree somewhere between 6 and 18 degrees. For |
| you can drop it within a couple of feet of the pin birdie | | | | most of us something between 8 and 14 will suffice. |
| opportunities are there for the taking. | | | | How do you know which bounce is right for you? |
| Picking the right wedge can give you a definite | | | | When deciding on the degree of bounce you must |
| advantage over your fellow players and that is what | | | | consider your personal swing, is it wide and shallow or, |
| we all want isn't it? You may have a particular | | | | as in common with most amateurs, is it fairly steep? A |
| favourite manufacturer or one of your golf buddies | | | | shallow swing will require a lower degree of bounce |
| may have a club that you have tried out and like but | | | | towards the eight range. A high bounce factor will |
| there are a few points to bear in mind when selecting | | | | cause you to thin the ball as the leading edge of the |
| a club like a golf wedge. | | | | wedge will kept too high thus hitting the ball around the |
| Most but not all single wedges come with a steel shaft | | | | equator instead of the bottom half. A steep swing will |
| so expect to pay more for a graphite shaft if you can | | | | need a bounce towards the higher end to prevent the |
| find one. These shorter clubs are generally a stiff flex | | | | club diving into the ground, taking huge divots and |
| and graphites will also be rated stiff. The relatively | | | | wasting power. |
| short swing with these clubs means shaft flex doesn't | | | | The final consideration of bounce is, what is your |
| really factor. | | | | course like? Parkland courses with soft fairways need |
| Loft is the most common thing golfers look for when | | | | a higher bounce but a links course with firmer, harder |
| buying wedges and these will indicate what sort of | | | | fairways will require a lower bounce as you will not |
| wedge you are looking for. The generally accepted | | | | take so much turf with the ball. |
| lofts are; | | | | I buy a lot of clubs on ebay as I can chop and change |
| Pitching wedge- 47-50 degrees | | | | them regularly, trying out different ones and then when |
| Gap wedge- 51-55 degrees | | | | I've finished with them I'll simply re-list them and |
| Sand wedge 56-58 degrees | | | | sometimes make a profit. On the website below there |
| Lob Wedge 58-64 degrees | | | | are a huge number of golf wedges to buy and a |
| There are now wedges appearing with 66 and 68 | | | | handy price guide from the USPGA so you can see if |
| degree lofts but I think that we are drifting into | | | | a club is too much money or, even better, too little. |
| specialist areas there. The standard ranges will do for | | | | There's a bargain. |