Hitting successful bunker shots can be rather puzzling part of the game for many golfers, especially high handicap players, due to different set of demands in the technique versus a normal chip or pitch shot. Golfers are required to gauge the density and amount of the sand in a bunker, the height of the lip as well as the point in which the club enters the sand, among many other variables that can cause confusion and frustration when the ball flies into the rough on the other side of the green or fails to get at all.
Getting the strike right, particularly if you have the wrong wedge set-up, can be especially difficult and is crucial to get right in the sand. I have personal experience of how much a poor short game can ruin a game of golf, so if you’re someone who struggles from bunkers, then you’ll be extremely pleased to hear Ping may have just come to your rescue with its new BunkR wedge.
While the Ping ChipR was designed with a mixture of lofts and lies from a variety of clubs to help those with the dreaded ‘yips’, the BunkR takes the best attributes from a forgiving wedge and essentially injects that with steroids. The BunkR mimics the footprint of one of the most forgiving wedges of all-time - the Ping Eye2. It has been designed to be played with a square face, limiting any need for manipulation and helping with consistency in setup. It’s certainly not as aesthetically pleasing as some of the best golf wedges on the market, particularly some bladed wedges such as the Titleist Vokey SM10 or Callaway Opus wedges, but in this case the design is very much function over form.
As someone who is used to opening the face of their lob wedge at address to increase loft and expose bounce a little more, I will say the BunkR took some getting used to. But once I became accustomed to seeing the leading edge set square to my target at address, popping the ball onto the green felt effortless. This wedge has been designed with 64° of loft and 14.5° of bounce to provide optimal launch and a club that simply wants to glide through the sand rather than dig down into it.
The feeling off the face from the Ping BunkR wedge was far more pleasant than I was expecting too. It produced an exceptionally soft feel through impact, generating plenty of spin on the second or third bounce, meaning tight flags could be accessed when the right amount of speed was delivered.
The ability to stand square to my target and just make the same move every time simplified the process of escaping the bunker and will, without doubt, make doing so easier for anyone struggling from the trap. The only time I noticed the excessive bounce not working in my favor was when there was less sand in the bunkers. I did see a few balls fly through the other side of the green, but after gripping down a little on the lengthened grip and moving my hands forward a touch at address, I managed to get the leading edge to dig a little on the firmer surface and let the 64° of loft take over to throw my ball nicely onto the green.
At $195 the BunkR is one of the more expensive wedges on the market. However, I feel the the enjoyment and ease of use of this club as well as the ability to chip with it outside of bunkers render it a worthwhile purchase for anyone suffering from short game woes.
