The transition from summer to winter in Arizona brings two playing conditions, which are absolute opposites. It always astounds me how differently shots around the greens can be given these two turf conditions. When you pair turf conditions with the player’s attack angle, you can gain an accurate image of what the best bounce option may be. This is meant to be a very high-level overview of bounce, playing conditions & how to properly choose a wedge.

When fitting a player or even just assessing their wedge make up, I like to get some baseline attack angle numbers with TrackMan on some shorter shots. This gives me an idea of how they are delivering the club. Overall, I have found the lower the attack angle is when hitting the shorter shots, the more consistent a player is when it comes to spin rates and how the ball reacts on the green.

Most players don’t have the luxury of having multiple sets of wedges, all with different bounce configurations. With that, you must have a wedge that is versatile enough to touch multiple playing conditions.  

Arizona at its firmest, during the summer, requires less bounce across the board. The playing conditions in the bunkers as well as on the grass lend itself to a low to mid bounce wedge. Notice in the bounce diagram, the low bounce wedge has a leading edge that sits almost flush to the turf. This allows for the leading edge of the club to penetrate the firm conditions and provides a less active trailing edge. 

In the winter, Arizona conditions are between firm and soft. You can’t safely label it either one. Even though it may play completely opposite to the summer conditions, the winter’s here do not create overly soft conditions. What this means is the higher bounce wedges are not as necessary in the winter as one may think.  A player who is primarily playing in Arizona year round, ideally would want a wedge somewhere in the mid-range of bounce. Titleist offers a wide spectrum of wedge bounces & grinds. My recommendation is the M grind. I do have a lot of different wedges for fitting and can very precisely determine what bounce and grind is best for your game.  

Scott Sackett, GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher the past 14 years. Voted as one of Golf Digest’s Best Teacher in the State the past 21 years. Trackman Master Certification. Titleist Certified Club Fitter. Director of Instruction at Park Meadows CC in Park City, Utah and while in Scottsdale teaches private lessons at McCormick Ranch Golf Club and conducts all Scott Sackett Signature Schools at SunRidge Canyon Golf Club. If you would like to reach Scott, contact him through his website at
www.scottsackett.com or email directly to scott@scottsackett.com.