Yesterday when we talked about sand play, I dropped the word “bounce” on you (in the comments) and I want to make sure you have a good grasp of it. Check out this diagram at Golfsmith that demonstrates bounce and come back and we’ll talk about it some more. In a nutshell, when you put the sole of the club on the ground (as if addressing a ball), the bounce refers to the amount that the leading edge of the club face is lifted off the ground. Drawing a line from the sole of the club (where it’s touching the ground) up to the leading edge and taking the difference in angle between that line and the ground refers to the bounce angle of the club. For a typical sand wedge, the bounce is usually 10-14 degrees. So how did it come about? Gene Sarazen is credited with the invention of the modern sand wedge in the 1930′s. It’s said he came up with the idea after he received a flying lesson and observed how

One thing I intend to do this year is get a professional club fitting. I guess I should add that to my to-do list. Aaaaaaand done. Anyway, years ago when I first started playing, the pro at the club I worked at took some general measurements for me that I still go with today (and I mean really general). I play my irons +1/2″ in length and with grips that are slightly fatter than standard. Over the years, I discovered new things. Mainly that I also get benefit from having my irons bent a degree or so upright. I’ve also found that I like to play an off the shelf driver with a stiff shaft. These little nuggets of information have been cobbled together over time, mostly from observation and not from scientific analysis. Over the years, I keep reading about all the new-fangled technology that gets employed like launch analysis and high-speed cameras and the like and I’ve been intrigued but have never taken the plunge. Meanwhile virtually everything I read tells me that