Sand wedge

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As the name implies, a golfer uses a sand wedge to stroke a golf ball from a sand bunker, also known as a sand trap, bunker or hazard. Designed in 1930 by Gene Sarazen the short-shafted sand wedge is often the heaviest of the 14 clubs, weighing nearly 40 ounces (1150 grams) with a typical loft angle of 54 to 56 degrees.

Because Gene Sarazen began winning tournaments in the 1930s with a new club he'd invented, he was hailed as the inventor of the sand wedge. However, history goes further back than that. In the nineteenth century, players used a variety of clubs designed to get them out of trouble. "Spoon" clubs offered varying degrees of loft and allowed players to scoop their ball out of sand traps and deep rough. As manufacturers became more and more innovative with club design, new types of wedges appeared. Some had concave faces, others featured deeply grooved faces, but not all of these designs conformed to USGA and R&A regulations, and many were banned. With the concave-faced wedge having been outlawed in 1931, Sarazen designed his sand wedge with a straight face. Another modification that he made was to add extra lead to the front edge of the club face, allowing it to cut through the sand more smoothly. After he won the 1932 British and U.S. Opens with the help of his new club, its popularity quickly grew.

Though its name and primary function is to skim and bounce through sand particles, it's also used from grass lies for short or high-trajectory shots. The professional golfer can typically hit a sand wedge some 120 yards (110 meters).