Andrew Rice Golf

Posts Tagged ‘bounce’

When it comes to the shortgame it is vital that the golfer strikes the ball and the ground on every shot – and preferably in that order! Golfers run into trouble when the club contacts the ground before the ball, particularly with a closing clubface as the leading edge will dig into the turf. There is no quicker way to deplete confidence than to start  alternating between bladed and heavy pitch shots.

A helpful drill is to practice hitting 40-60 yard pitch shots with an 8-iron. Try to get the ball up in the air, with a slight cut action and have it land softly. This will give you the sense of keeping the face open and using the bounce of the club correctly. It will also prevent the wrists from being overly active. A feeling to key in on is the sense of swinging to the inside after impact (as pictured below). Be sure to keep the face open or looking up while the club tracks to the inside as this will prevent the leading edge from digging.  This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite drills!

Think of the bounce on a wedge, or any iron, as an insurance policy against digging the leading edge of the golf club into the ground. 

It is very important for any golfer to not only understand what the bounce is, but how to use it to their advantage.  An excellent exercise to do every now and then is to hit a few pitch shots off of a lie board. This is a flat plexiglass board that most club fitters use in determining the correct lie angle a golfers irons should be set at.  If you do not have access to a lie board, use a piece of plywood painted black. Just be sure to not hit any shots where the ball is too close to the edge of the board.

What you should see...

If the markings on the sole of the club are as pictured above you are using the club correctly.  Should they be closer to the leading edge you might be in danger of sticking the club into the ground on your next chip of pitch.  The most important aspect of using the bounce correctly is addressing the ball correctly. Take a look:

The Set Up for a Chip or Pitch

In the above image you will see the ball positioned in the center (watch out for too far back as it reduces the bounce at impact and makes it easier to do some gardening); the feet are fairly close together; and the hands and weight are just slightly in front of the ball, with emphasis on slightly.

As you go through the motion of striking that chip or pitch try to feel that the handle and the clubhead get back to impact at the same time – in other words don’t allow the handle to get too far in front of the clubhead at impact as you are then exposing more of that sharp leading edge to the ground.  And we all know what that can lead to…..

The Bounce Angle

Golf club bounce is the angle between the ground and the sole of the club when the shaft is held in a vertical position.

 

 For example: A club with ten degrees bounce will have a ten degree angle between the sole and the ground (barring any rounding of the sole).  Notice how the back edge of the sole of the wedge rests on my finger, while the leading edge is slightly raised. Thanks to Gene Sarazen, who first invented bounce, irons have been built this way to deter the leading edge from shoveling or digging into the ground.

 The greater the bounce angle of a club, the higher the leading edge will be from the turf at address and vice versa. It is important to note that all modern irons have bounce built into them; it is not something that is strictly reserved for the wedges.

A stock set-up for chipping

There are two things that must be struck with every chip or pitch: the ball and the ground. And preferably in that order! This is where understanding and using club bounce comes in. Most golfers know that a chip or pitch must be struck with a descending blow. The dilemma that most golfers face is how to hit down without getting the sharp leading edge of the club stuck in the ground. For the majority of short game shots, the handle should beat the club head to the ball, similar to the full swing, but to a far lesser degree. If the handle gets too far forward, the bounce is removed and the club will dig too much. I find that golfers struggling with their short game are often alternating between sticking the club in the ground and blading shots over the green. This is where using the bounce correctly becomes vital: Think of it as an insurance policy that, when used correctly, allows for an acceptable result even with the ground being struck before the ball.

Bounce Drill:

Locate a lie board (a flat, sturdy plexiglass board) and pitch a few shots from the board. You will notice that the back edge of the sole of your wedge is marked up from where it made contact with the plexiglass. Should the markings be too close to the leading edge, your hands are too far forward at impact and you are preparing to do some gardening.

Using a lie board

If you do not have access to a lie board, (try plywood with paint on it) you can just make a few small practice swings during which you attempt to brush the ground with the back edge of the bottom of the club. There should be no divots – no matter what the turf conditions.

• The leading edge digs into the ground; the bounce glides along the ground. Use the bounce!
• If your club has ten degrees of bounce and the shaft leans forward more than ten degrees at impact, you effectively have zero — or even a negative — bounce.

Negative Bounce

• There should be no divot when you hit a chip shot. If the leading edge is cutting turf, you are not employing the bounce correctly. Divots with pitching will depend on turf conditions, but there should not be any digging there either.
• Lagging the clubhead into impact will lead to a loss of bounce and inconsistent results. Feel as if the hands and clubhead arrive at the ball at the same time. 
• The ground must be contacted for there to be an acceptable result. Preferably after impact.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to let me know your thoughts!

Basic Blades

So often golfers are tempted into believing their equipment is the reason for the poor results they have been experiencing.  Sometimes they may be correct, yet most times, this leads to the decision to make a change.

Here are a few simple things to keep in mind when considering making a change to your set:

• The latest and greatest is not necessarily all it is hyped to be.  It is more than likely the same old thing with a new and exciting paint job.  Decide what you like and stick with that!  I am currently using a set of irons with the same type of heads (blades), shafts (Dynamic Gold s-400) and grips (rubber with reminders) that I used when I first started to play the game.  (Titleist 690.MB)
• When it comes to irons there are three options: blades; the oversized helper set; and something in between the two.  Get something you know you will be comfortable with.
• As far as fitting for irons we all need to know two numbers: the length and lie angle that we prefer!  Not 2 degrees over standard or plus a half inch on length!  This is because all companies have different standards (don’t we all?) and if you know the length and lie of your clubs you are immune to any problems that might arise.  My 6 iron is 37.50 inches long and has a lie angle of 60.50 degrees.  I will use those numbers for as long as I can swing.
• Get clubs that fit your body and not strictly your impact position on the day of fitting!  Lose the lie boards and tape on the bottom of irons please.
• Find a  shaft that fits your swing and feels good to you and then stay with it for as long as they make it!  Make sure it is not too strong.
• When it comes to putters keep in mind that there are essentially two genres: face-balanced and toe weighted. If you are considering making a putter change try to stay in your genre unless things have just been horrific on the greens.
• There have been very few to no improvements made in the field of fairway woods.  Titanium is very light and thus the heads tends get too big, so find a simple and small stainless steel head that you like the look of and set about developing a long lasting relationship with it.
• When selecting a fairway wood decide whether you would like to use it predominantly off the fairway or more as a tee club.  Select the loft of the club accordingly.
• Limit the number of wedges in your bag to a maximum of three – that means a PW, SW and an LW at most!  If you struggle with the wedges stick to a PW and SW so as to not cloud any decision-making around the greens.  Tour players practice enough, are skilled enough and play the kind of courses that require precise enough shots to justify four wedges being in the bag.
• There should be an even number of degrees between each of your wedges.  Most PW’s are 48 degrees and I have a 54 and a 60.  Other viable options are a PW and a 52 and 56 or a PW and a 53 and 58.
• When selecting your wedges be sure to incorporate enough bounce in each club.  Unless your name is Eldrick, Phil or Vijay you need more than 6 degrees of bounce on any wedge you own.  That’s why manufacterers build clubs with 14 degrees of bounce!
• There are two shapes of grips folks – rounds and reminders!  Find out what shape you like and ask for it by name the next time you refresh your grips. 
• When it comes to grips forget the latest cool colors or which ones your favorite player is using - they are more than likely getting paid to use the ones on their clubs.  Decide which grips are for you and your preference and now you don’t have to worry about the latest fad.
• The driver is the one club in the bag where it pays to stay current.  Find a reputable club fitter in your area that uses a launch monitor and go and get fitted.  Whenever you get the urge to replace your current big stick get back on that launch monitor to compare the latest offering with your trusty old steed!
•  The current fitting carts that most companies have make it very easy to try multiple different heads with various shafts.  Be patient, try them all and then find a club that gives you good numbers and looks great to you!

Chipping Clubs

Enjoy watching the world’s best wade through the quagmire that appears to be the 2009 US open this weekend…..