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This is a nice shot of Rickie Fowler pulling off a difficult pitch from a tight lie to a tucked pin. He needs to land the ball just over a bunker well left of the pin with medium-high trajectory as it will hit firmly and kick hard right. He chooses a leading- edge pitch where he contacts the ball before the ground with a descending blow, which is obvious from the way the wedge hits the ground and the divot that results. We can guess that he felt like he was dealing with very firm ground and grain running against him, thus taking the “use the bounce” option away, which might have been the shot of choice had the lie been fluffier where he could have safely skimmed the club under the ball and had it ride up the face to produce a higher, softer shot. Using the leading edge means that the forward lean of the club is greater than the amount of bounce on the wedge. It is important to remember that using the bounce means that the amount of forward lean is less than the bounce angle of the wedge, but that the technique does not involve “flipping” the clubhead under the ball. Allowing the clubhead to pass the hands through impact is reserved for the “flop” shot, which utilizes more of a bunker shot technique where the player will aim for the grass behind the ball and take a much bigger swing.
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