Bouncing a golf ball on the face of a wedge is one of golf's classic feel-good tricks. Beyond just being a fun way to pass the time or impress your friends on the range, mastering this skill has real benefits for your game, like improving your hand-eye coordination and developing a better feel for the clubface. This guide will walk you through everything, from the correct club to use and the proper technique, to common mistakes and how to fix them, so you can start juggling a golf ball like a pro.
You’ve probably seen tour pros do it effortlessly waiting for the green to clear. It looks cool, no doubt, but there's a practical purpose behind this simple drill. Many players use it as part of their pre-shot routine to dial in their focus and calm their nerves. The act of repetitively bouncing the ball on the sweet spot is a form of active meditation, it forces you to quiet your mind and concentrate on the one simple task at hand.
From a technical standpoint, this drill is an outstanding teacher of "feel." Feel is that intangible quality all good golfers possess - an intuitive understanding of how the club and ball interact. To keep the ball bouncing, you must make constant, tiny adjustments with your hands and wrists, refining your control over the clubface. You’ll quickly learn what a center-strike feels like compared to a hit on the toe or heel. This heightened awareness translates directly to your short game, where delicate touch and precise contact are everything. Think of it as a fun, low-stakes way to build the muscle memory needed for crisp chips and soft pitches.
While you can technically bounce a ball on any club, learning the skill is far easier with the right tool. Grab your most lofted wedge - a Sand Wedge (SW) or a Lob Wedge (LW) is ideal. Here’s why:
Trying to learn on a 7-iron is much harder because the less-lofted face will want to send the ball flying away from you. A driver or a putter? Forget about it for now. Stick with the wedge, it’s designed to make your life easier for this drill.
Your posture and grip are foundational to success. If you're tense or holding the club incorrectly, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle. Here’s how to set yourself up correctly.
Forget your normal full-swing golf grip. You need to hold the club with a very light touch, primarily with your fingertips. A tight, vice-like grip will engage your large arm muscles, but this movement is all about the small, precise muscles in your wrists and forearms. Hold the club down the grip, closer to the shaft, for maximum control. Think of how you’d hold a hammer lightly before tapping in a small nail - it’s about dexterity, not power.
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, with a slight bend in your knees. You should feel balanced and stable, but not rigid. Your arms should hang down comfortably in front of your body. The goal is to create a relaxed base that allows your hands and wrists to move freely without being stiff.
Hold the club out in front of you so the shaft is roughly parallel to the ground. The most important part here is the clubface orientation. You need to rotate the club in your hands so the clubface an open, flat platform facing directly up at the sky. This horizontal "trampoline" is what will allow the ball to bounce straight up. If the face is slightly closed or too open, the ball will shoot off sideways.
Don't try to flip the ball up from the ground right away. That’s an advanced move. We'll start with the "drop and pop" method to get the feel for it first.
Get into your setup position with the clubface flat. Hold a golf ball in your other hand at about waist height, directly above the center of the club. Now, simply let it drop. Your only job is to cushion its landing and give it one small, soft pop straight back up into the air. Let it bounce once and catch it. Don't try for two or three bounces yet. Just… drop, pop, catch. Repeat this 10, 20, 50 times. The goal is to build a feeling for the initial impact.
As you do the "drop and pop," pay close attention to the feedback. A ball that lands truly on the sweet spot will make a crisp, satisfying "click" and feel solid through the shaft. It will rebound straight up effortlessly. A strike on the toe or heel will feel dull, sound dead, and the ball will fly off at an unpredictable angle. This is the feel-building we talked about. Hunt for that sweet spot contact on every single drop.
The bounce isn't created by a big arm swing. It’s a very subtle motion. To keep the ball going, you need to move the clubhead up slightly to meet the ball as it comes down. Think of a trampoline. When a person lands on it, the surface gives way and then propels them back up. Your clubface is the trampoline. As the ball descends, let the club drop just a fraction of an inch to absorb the impact, then give it a gentle flick upwards with your wrists. A smoother action results in a lower, more controlled bounce. A sharper, quicker pop sends it higher.
Now you're ready to string them together. Start with the "drop and pop" but this time, try for two bounces before you catch it. Then go for three. Then four. The key here is rhythm. Find a steady tempo, like dribbling a basketball. Try to make each bounce identical in height. Start with small, manageable bounces (just a few inches high). As you get more comfortable, you can start experimenting with bouncing it higher. If you lose control, just stop, reset, and start again with the simple 'drop and pop'. Patience is everything.
Once you can reliably bounce the ball after dropping it, you're ready for the classic opening act: getting the ball off the turf and onto the face.
This is the most straightforward method. Place the ball on the grass. Position the leading edge of your wedge right up against the side of the ball, slightly pinning it against the ground. The club shaft should be leaning forward a bit. From here, simply pull the club handle back towards you sharply. This quick motion will cause the leading edge to dig under the ball slightly, popping it straight up into the air a few inches. Be ready with your flat clubface to catch it and start your bounces.
This looks smoother but takes more practice. Place the ball on the ground and position the toe of your wedge just behind and to the side of it. Using a very quick wrist movement, you're going to "scoop" the club under the ball, rolling it up the clubface. It's a deft, fluid motion that both lifts and deadens the ball at the same time so it comes to rest on the clubface, ready to be tossed up for the first bounce. Don't get frustrated if this one takes some time to get, it's a tricky-feely move.
Learning how to bounce a golf ball on a club is a rite of passage for any golfer dedicated to improving their touch. It’s a challenge that teaches patience, focus, and a precise feel for the clubface - skills that will absolutely pay off in your short game. Take your time, enjoy the process, and focus on those small victories.
That immediate feedback you get from finding the sweet spot is something we believe should exist for your whole game. That's why with Caddie AI, you can get that same kind of clarity for more complex on-course situations. When you're facing a tough lie in the rough or you're stuck between clubs on an approach shot, you can get instant, expert advice right from your phone, helping you make smarter, more confident decisions without the guesswork.
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