![]() In the second case, the lead edge of the sole presents a much sharper target to the turf and will tend to dig much more. In the first case, the sole hits the ground with a very glancing blow, and despite the downward force at impact (ball goes up, club is forced down) it will not dig excessively. The sole interacts with the turf very differently. On the right, the club is delivered with the hands well forward and a steep attack angle. The player on the left delivers the club with hands quite neutral and a shallow attack angle. This is a very wide range.įigure 2 (below) shows the same thin-sole wedge being delivered by two different elite-level golfers at PING. Most players deliver a high-lofted wedge with an angle of attack between -2° and -12°, and a shaft forward lean between about 4° and 14°. The fitting question comes down to club delivery and turf conditions. I often hear people say that better golfers play less bounce and higher-handicap players need more bounce. Simply put, a thin sole equates well with low effective bounce while a wide sole equates well with high effective bounce. If you were to classify a wedge sole with a single number, the measured width is a more intuitive and comparable number than effective bounce angle. The main reason is the thin, 1/2-inch-wide sole. Our Glide Thin Sole 60° wedge actually has 20° of measured bounce angle, but an “effective bounce” of only 6°. To classify the sole of a wedge, you really need to know both bounce angle and sole width. Sole width is not a perfect description of a wedge’s sole design, but it gives the golfer a better measure to use for comparison. This is easier to see and can be measured and compared from club to club. Going back to Figure 1, the more visible and measurable attribute is the width of the principal sole section. For this reason, there may be other measurements that are more intuitive and less open to interpretation. PING’s 8° effective bounce wedge, for example, is probably a lot different from another company’s 8° effective bounce wedge. But since there’s no real definition or standard for this number, there’s a lot of variation in effective bounce numbers among golf companies. We all use the term “effective bounce.” It’s a communication tool more than a scientific term. Most companies, including PING, don’t quote a measured bounce angle. The wedge on the left, which has a thinner sole, will cut through turf more easily the one on the right will avoid digging.īy putting an arbitrary number to it and calling it “effective bounce” or “plays-like bounce”. The wedges in Figure 1 will interact with the turf very differently, so just using a bounce angle to define a wedge sole is not sufficient. The back section of the sole, where it starts to rise up after the low point, doesn’t affect the initial ground impact, and is not really part of the playable width. ![]() Their measured bounce angles are identical, but one wedge has a much wider and deeper principal sole section. The graphic above shows two wedge sole designs from the toe view. There is, however, a lot more to a wedge sole shape than just the angle of the lead edge. Conversely, a player who sweeps the club over the turf will get more consistent results with a wedge with less bounce. Clearly this is a very intricate dynamic that we’re trying to simplify to make a useful point.Ī player with a swing that causes the wedge to dig too much will benefit from a wedge with more bounce. ![]() My aim with this article is to explain effective bounce and how to decide which sole design (and how much bounce) will work best for your game.įor wedges, bounce angle has traditionally been held up as the best attribute to explain how the complex geometry of a given wedge sole, delivered by an individual player's attack angle, interacting with a particular kind of turf, will affect ball flight. ![]() “He used the bounce effectively with that shot.” The phrase is typically used to describe how a wedge sole interacts with the turf, but it has’t often been defined. We’ll separate fact from fiction with the goal of helping you make informed decisions when choosing the PING equipment best suited for maximizing your performance.Įffective bounce sounds like a good description for what happens when a wedge shot works well, e.g. Using the most advanced tools available, we’ll explain and explore the science behind golf-equipment performance. Bringing you insights from the PING Proving Grounds, where our talented team of engineers, researchers, fitting experts and data scientists design and develop the newest product and fitting technologies to help you play better. ![]()
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