How do you get out of the sand?

[KyleAnthony]

So i know a few people have issues with getting out of bunkers. i had a hit or miss time getting out myself. just the other day i got curious and grabbed my 60 degree and tried hitting a flop shot out of the sand and it worked great for me. anyone else try this? what are your tips for getting out of the bunker?

[flopster]

The stance (open) that you use for a flop shot is the first thing, make sure you hit the sand first a couple inches behind the ball and splash it out, probably the most important thing to me is maintain the knee flex throughout that seems to me the biggest factor in getting out of the sand, also try and not get mentally beat before you attempt the shot I see so many people just get totally flustered just because they landed in the sand trap.

[Hammer 4]

You don't need a 60 to do a flop shot out of a bunker. Lay a 56 wide open and swing through..

[KyleAnthony]

for some reason 60 feels so much better for me. plus the bunkers at the local course are like 5-9 feet deep haha

[Hammer 4]

for some reason 60 feels so much better for me. plus the bunkers at the local course are like 5-9 feet deep haha

Never been in a 9' deep bunker, so ya got me there..

[Kelzzy]

This is just my two cents, and experience from working:

The Bounce and Stick:

This certain shot is ideal if your ball is laying atop the grain of sand, meaning it's a perfect lie in the bunker. What you try to do is pinch the ball, but also scoop under it at the same time. You don't want to pinch the ball into the sand, but you do want to catch the very bottom tip of the back of the ball, this will provide the spin. Scooping the ball, but you should never try to "scoop" in your swing, will produce the good ball flight, and more spin. If done right, it should bounce once and stick solid after.

The Roll:

By far the most original way to hit out of the sand, this technique causes the ball to roll a good amount of distance on the green before coming to a stop. To do this, which would be ideal for longer bunker shots, you strike the sand about 3 or so inches behind the ball. Try to make a deep hole with your SW or club, but not too deep. The sand you scoop out with your club will carry the ball.. this technique works great and is the most consistent one I have.

The Bounce and Spin:

This one is my favorite, but by far the most difficult to master or do at all. It's very complicated, but if once you get the hang of it, it's heck of fun, and possibly useful for strange slopes on the green.

To do The Bounce and Spin, you must follow the instructions for The Bounce and Stick, HOWEVER, instead of just pinching and scooping, when you come down on the back side of the ball, you have to tweak your hands either left or right. If you tweak your hands as a pull (left for righties, right for lefties) it will be a hook spin, meaning the ball will bounce on the green, and spin to the LEFT. If you come down on the ball directly and twist your hands the other way, like a push, it will bounce and spin right. It's not consistent, although it's freaking awesome when it works.

The Up and Over

This one is designed for very steep bunkers. If your practically in a ditch, with the wall of the bunker open, place your feet in a strong position with your lead foot pointing towards your target. Straddle in your back foot and bend your knees. Now, open up the club face as much as possible without being ridiculous. (Note: the more you open up, the higher it will go, but less distance you will get.) Here comes the tricky part: When you go to swing, bring your club down about a centimeter behind the ball. Use full force, so when you hit behind the ball, it will bounce fast into and slide under the ball, shooting it upwards and creating a load of spin. This is very hard to do, and gets me to top it a lot.. but I feel I'm almost getting the hang of it. When it works, it's a real bogey saver and awesome / fun shot.

[Hammer 4]

Cents...it my 2 cents...not sense....Do more school work youngun...

[Kelzzy]

Cents...it my 2 cents...not sense....Do more school work youngun...

LOL i'm sorry about that.. hahahaha I wasn't even thinking. I'm not bad at English, I run the third best baseball website in the nation! But thanks for letting me know that :D

[Phil McGleno]

No you don't. [quote name="Kelzzy" url="/t/71375/how-do-you-get-out-of-the-sand#post_926410"]LOL i'm sorry about that.. hahahaha I wasn't even thinking. I'm not bad at English, I run the third best baseball website in the nation! But thanks for letting me know that :D [/quote] TO get out of sand hit a pitch but with a wider stance and lower hands.-Speed is your friend as is taking a very small divot.

[dchoye]

What works for me is to establish a weak top hand grip then go from there. I like the weak grip for my punch shots to but I try to neutralize the top hand more so I can hit it more flush than thick For green side bunkers weak grip is good for me and just adjust the feet and club face after that for the amount of carry and roll

[Tee2Trees]

For me the solution was very simple.  I forgot all about that nonsense of "try to hit 2-3 inches behind the ball", and replaced it with: just try to hit the damn ball! (like I would a regular pitch or flop shot off grass).  I can guarantee if your club is 54 degrees or more and you open the face, a 2/3 swing will not go more than 20 yds out of a soft sand bunker.  This is because you literally cannot contact the ball with the center of the face without catching the sand first, due to the loft and the effective bounce of the club.  So just free your mind, open your stance, and just aim for the ball!

[Mr. Desmond]

Try this, and his grip...

[mvmac]

So i know a few people have issues with getting out of bunkers. i had a hit or miss time getting out myself. just the other day i got curious and grabbed my 60 degree and tried hitting a flop shot out of the sand and it worked great for me. anyone else try this? what are your tips for getting out of the bunker?

[Kelzzy]

Try this, and his grip...

Hahaha, that's crazy! That is EXACTLY what my dad taugh me when I was like 6 or 7.. crazy! Everything he says it what my dad said.

[Mr. Desmond]

Hahaha, that's crazy! That is EXACTLY what my dad taugh me when I was like 6 or 7.. crazy! Everything he says it what my dad said.

Apparently, your dad is a wise man who knows his golf.

[inthehole]

Problem is every course I play is public & sand is packed & hard.    Doesn't even resemble the sand the pro's play on.     All the usual instruction of opening up the club face & using the bounce is useless off hard sand - I've found the best way is to obviously hit behind the ball & really chop down through it - don't have to kill it, just a firm downward strike behind the ball WITH the leading edge, not bounce.

[iacas]

Problem is every course I play is public & sand is packed & hard.    Doesn't even resemble the sand the pro's play on.     All the usual instruction of opening up the club face & using the bounce is useless off hard sand - I've found the best way is to obviously hit behind the ball & really chop down through it - don't have to kill it, just a firm downward strike behind the ball WITH the leading edge, not bounce.

I disagree to some extent. How far behind the ball do you strike the sand?

[inthehole]

I disagree to some extent. How far behind the ball do you strike the sand?

I try to hit an inch or so behind it - depends on the distance of the shot.     It just seems like practically a guaranteed blade shot if the sand is really packed hard & I try to open the clubface to use the bounce ... club just bounces off the sand into the ball - I'm talking almost every time !!   I'm just so sick of losing strokes by blading bunker shots when I lay the club open like you see the guys on TV doing it - I've had much better luck chopping into the sand to get the ball out of hard packed sand bunkers.

Would you suggest I play these packed bunker shots like a tight fairway lie & not a typical "TV" soft sand shot ... meaning using the bounce without trying to power it into the hard sand (as a result of the last thread on this subject, I've been practicing doing this for chipping & shorter pitch shots & I like the using the bounce technique alot) ?