The High Bounce Wedge

Bounce angle is a measure of how much the lowest point of the sole extends below the leading edge of the club face. The lowest point of the sole is where maximum curvature occurs in the sole radius. Bounce, or sole angle, is an essential design feature that affects the performance of wedges and irons as these club heads interact with the turf. 

The function of bounce is to prevent excessive digging of the club head into sand and turf through impact with the ground. It means that a high bounce angle will allow the club to glide more easily through sand and turf when the downswing is steep. When do you need a steep downswing with a sand wedge or lob wedge? We think the better question is when don't you need a steep downswing with these wedges?

Less bounce in a wedge increases the tendency to take a deep divot, slide the clubhead too low under the ball, or hitting the ball with the leading edge of the wedge head. None of these results benefits your game. Taking a divot the size of your shoe might look impressive, but the negative effects on wrist and elbow and gouged-out turf are not worth it.

The optimum bounce angle for your swing style is an essential fitting parameter to maximize wedge performance. A high bounce angle facilitates an aggressive downswing attack on the ball to lift it out of the sand from medium to deep bunkers. A high bounce also benefits shots made from the light rough near the green where you want to avoid having the clubhead slide excessively under the ball for any swing style.

The key question is how much bounce do you need and what design should you buy? Understanding something about your downswing tendencies is a good place to start, followed by detailed fitting for length, weight, balance, shaft, and other critical features in club head design. Since nearly 20 % of the shots made in a typical round are made by wedges, it's worth devoting some time to getting it right.

A high bounce angle in a lob wedge benefits shotmaking with this club. By high bounce we mean greater than 12º. We recommend 14º - 16º or greater (depending on downswing technique) for just about any turf condition. We know this view is contrary to popular designs and opinions about how to hit a lob wedge, but we've never seen anyone with a properly fit high bounce lob wedge go back to anything else. 

There are many misconceptions about the effectiveness of low bounce angles. Consider the lob wedge. The typical loft for a lob wedge ranges from 58º - 60º, and we use those wedges for short distance shots to generate a high trajectory for the ball to land in a "tight" landing area with minimum roll. It's a skill shot made substantially more difficult with a low bounce wedge and easier with a high bounce wedge. 

If you are tired of chunking the lob wedge into the turf or blading the ball across the green into that deep bunker close to the hole location, put a high-bounce lob wedge into your bag. If someone tells you that you can't play a high bounce wedge off firm turf, then you have found the ideal opponent for your next match. 

Unfortunately, there are not many high-bounce wedge choices in current golf offerings: some OEMs have none while others might have only one or two options. Top quality boutique brands like Miura are where discerning golfers need to look for high performance wedges. If improved performance around the green matter to your game, we suggest getting professionally fit with a high-bounce lob wedge.