What do you use out of a bunker?

[BagofToast]

Specifically greenside bunkers...

Story about this for anyone who cares to read it:

For me I used my 60 exclusively in a greenside bunker unless it was a longer shot. However last weekend in a tournament I left my 60 by the 11th green after a poor chip. After 3 holes of not noticing it was gone, I found myself in a greenside bunker on the 15th and now dicovered I didn't have my trusty 60. I pull out the 54, open it up and nearly hole out. It wasn't just the good shot but it felt different than the 60 through the sand, better. The following weekend, anytime I found myself in a greenside bunker I hit the 54, I hit the best bunker shots I've hit in a while. I suspect it's due to the bounce, 60 is 08 and 54 is 11, anyway, found my new bunker club lol. 

[Palmydrain]

Definitely the bounce. It should have more of a "Thud" sound with the higher bounce as the club isn't digging into the sand. Where I play, the sand is fairly hard so if I tried to used a 11 degree bounce wedge I would blade everything. As far as loft goes, I vary lofts with each shot. 

 

 

[Edwijn]

55 SM8 d grind 11 bounce when i have some green to work with or in a uphill lie where I still get loft. Shorter shots with 60 D grind 12 bounce and downhill lie to get maximum loft presented at impact. Different needs

[Abh159]

60* low bounce. My club has firmer sand (sort of the opposite of beachy type sand you get on coastal resort courses). I typically play greenside bunker shots with a lot of carry and spin instead of the "chunk and run" style.

 

If it's a shot longer than about 20 yards I'll use my 54* full bounce.

[Leftyjoe89]

I base mind usually off the distance and lie and sand type .  I have three wedges that all have different grinds and bounces and pick which one is best suited for the shot . In an ideal situation I like my 60* the most 

[Kmagnuss]

It's almost like the 54 was made with sand shots in mind... and why they're typically called a sand wedge.  🙂

Sorry... I had to.... plus I'm just taking a guess that your 54 has a much higher bounce than your 60.

[third-times-a-charm]

58* always, unless it's not a greenside. If the 54 felt better it's because the grind or bounce are better for you and you can look into doing a similar one in your 60. My lob and sand are the same grind for this reason.

[jholz]

If it's a generic greenside bunker shot - i.e. decent lie, decent sand, not short-sided - my 54* works just fine every time.

 

If I'm dealing with wet sand, thin sand, short-sided - my 58* comes in handy.

[Is Golf Fun or Work]

58* for anything greenside, fairway bunkers depending on the lie, whatever the longest club I can use to get back in fairway or on the green

[cgasucks]

Usually my 56 is my go to club for most bunker shots but I use my PW when I practice.  The low bounce forces me to have a shallow AOA which takes a little finesse but makes it stupid easy when playing for real with my 56.

[Boricua Golf]

58* or 54* depending on length and sand type, 58* has 8* of bounce, 54* has 10*

[scott406]

58* Full face CBX2

Very easy to hit out of the sand

 

 

 

[kmay__]

58 almost exclusively, I went down to pw 52 58, so I wont go up to the 52 unless the length of the shot calls for it. I'll just adjust how much I open the 58 to adjust shot length, and try to make the same length and speed of swing on almost all bunker shots, unless say the pin is really jammed close to the bunker.

[forrester_fire]

Depends on a lot of factors; distance, how much green I have to work with, type/quality of sand

 

I use my 60 mostly on shorter/short-sided shots, 56 for everything else.  If the bunker is thin, compacted, or dirt (rather than sand) I'll use my 60 exclusively because it has less bounce.

[becoh]

58 Lob web, Thin Sole

 

60% of the time it works everytime.

[Mob]

I use a different wedge, based on the type of sand.  I mainly play 2 courses, with totally different sand.  The course that has fluffy sand, I use a 58 K grind which has 14 degrees of bounce.  For the other course that has thinner, less fluffy sand, I use a 58T grind which has 4 degrees of bounce.  I also have 2 different 54 degree wedges with different bounce, so I can always alternate 54's, along with the 58, so I have an opposite bounce option in the bag, depending on where I am playing so I don't get stuck.

[nitram]

60/10 for most bunker shots inside 30 ft.

 

55/12 for most others depending on height and distance required.

[Brooks_Cupcake]

2 hours ago, Palmydrain said:

Definitely the bounce. It should have more of a "Thud" sound with the higher bounce as the club isn't digging into the sand. Where I play, the sand is fairly hard so if I tried to used a 11 degree bounce wedge I would blade everything. As far as loft goes, I vary lofts with each shot. 

 

 

Exactly what I found at my club. 
I went as far as asking my pros what they felt the sand was like at the course prior to placing my order, and with their feedback I went with a low bounce option and it was the best I played out of the bunkers in many seasons.

Now I need to learn to spin it from tight, compact sand, as I primarily play run out shots.

The greatest learning experience I had this year was in fairway bunkers I took one extra club in case it hit it fat and if I flush it I’m still on but a bit long. Worked amazing all season.

 

[Shushwap]

2 hours ago, Palmydrain said:

Definitely the bounce. It should have more of a "Thud" sound with the higher bounce as the club isn't digging into the sand. Where I play, the sand is fairly hard so if I tried to used a 11 degree bounce wedge I would blade everything. As far as loft goes, I vary lofts with each shot. 

 

 

This right here... depends on the sand u play in...  I use a low bounce 60 as the sand around here is hard..I have a 54 I use in fluffy sand 

A few weeks ago was playing with a friend he ends up in a green side bunker.. pulls out his 54 opens it up and blades 3 shots into the edge of the lip... 

I hand him my low bounce 60 and it's on the green in 1

I think more people need to use the proper tools for the job.. 

My buddy has now ordered a low bounce 60 

[Santiago Golf]

I have a special lob wedge, I had a friend make back in 2016 

 

It has a sharp leading, wide sole with a combination of stricker grind along with 5 knuckles on the back of the grind like the Miura k grind

 

raw finish (used to rainbow at one point in time)

 

It has been anywhere from 59 to 62 of loft depending on my swing at the time

 

It works in almost all greenside bunker situations (40 yards and in) 

I mainly will keep the face straight, sometimes I will lay the shaft backwards to add loft

 

(don't like opening the face for bunker shots)

[kwcsports]

I have an old 57 deg Eye 2 SW. It's all i've used out of greenside bunkers for 30 years. Best wedge for the job IMHO

[bcjim]

56/12 almost exclusively.

 

The low bounce 60 is a random number generator for me.  From rough or sand.

[me05501]

I've always liked having different bounces on my two highest-lofted wedges. 

 

My 58* lob has a low bounce and it's helpful from hard-packed sand. My 55* sand wedge has a more traditional sand wedge bounce and it's better from fluffy sand. 

 

If both of those clubs had 10* of bounce I'd have less shots in my arsenal. 

[Sub_Roc]

58 Glide 3.0 Eye2 grind.  It's been quite good for sand shots, especially when the ground is a bit crusty and not so fluffy.  If I need more bounce, I just open it up a bit and let the club do all the work.

 

For all other greenside shots, the 54 (bent to 52) Glide 3.0 Wide Sole grind does most of the grunt work.  Can use that for longer bunker shots that has a decent lie.

 

Both wedges are 1* flat (red dot) and have similarly heavy swingweight and same grip configuration.  Feel wise they are the same while swinging to help with shot consistency.

 

[lazyjc4]

Either of my two PM wedges (58 or 64 degree).  The easiest sand wedges for me, ever.  By far. 

[philly2kuk]

Depends on the bunker. 99% of bunkers I use my 56 degree with 14 degrees of bounce. If I need to get the ball up super quick or it’s very firm I use my 60 degree with 10 degrees of bounce, but for most shots I need all the bounce I can get.

[Pepperturbo]

It depends on bunker lie, pin distance and bunker position in relationship to the green.   Normally, I use open face 58/8' from bunkers next to the green.  But, also use 52/12' if the bunker is near the front of the green and the pin is in back of the green, needing carry.  If the bunker is 60-100yds from the green, I use open face 620 MB PW, or slightly open MB 9 iron.

 

On my recent golf trip, my ball was near the front lip in a bunker, 110yds from the green.  Pin was on the narrow green front, just above a false front.  Using 9i, I stuck the ball 3' from the pin, for easy par.  It was maybe my best shot this year.  Damn, it feels good recalling that shot.

[anser85029]

Old school Vokey Design 256.12

 

any sand, wet/dry, hard/soft

 

grew up in the 1960s/70s era when you had to be proficient with one sand wedge with 55/56* loft...that's all we had back then...still prefer it to this day

 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by anser85029

[phizzy30]

I use all 3 of my wedges in the bunker depending on how long the green side bunker shot is.  PW(rarely), 54 and 58. 

[jomatty]

I use either my 58 low bounce K or 54/14f.  Lie, consistency of sand, length of shot and lip decide which one.  The 58k is great in packed/firm sand and the 54f is too easy out of softer/fluffy sand.  I use the 58 a lot as my course tends to have very hard bunkers. Bounce is more important than loft as far as choosing a club for most bunker shots.  The 58k is a very versatile club imho because it is good out of firm sand because of the low bounce but still is fine as the sand gets softer because of the wide sole. Much better than something like a T grind out of bunkers for me.  The 54/14f is great out of softer sand but I struggle with consistency in hard, compact sand unless I’m playing some sort of a square faced chunk and run, and even for that it is not my favorite.  Like cheating out of soft sand though…