New sand technique ?

My home track just renovated all of our bunkers, design and all but the new sand is cheap beach sand. It is almost impossible to hit a clean shot with a good trajectory and spin. You are almost forced to take a gap wedge or pitching wedge and just punch it on the green. Has anyone experienced this and is there a way to combat it? I'm hoping when they get some rain on the sand it will firm up but that is a hope.

Ah the cheap stuff, been hitting out of it all my life :p

It helps that i am strong, because i just lay the clubface wide hope and still chunk it a bit, the ball doesn't come out with any spin, but the bounce really  helps. There are certain lies were i can pick it more and get longer shots and more spin.

I would just practice, that's the best way to learn. Figure out what works for you. Nothing better than developing your own technique, then you really hone it and own it, and your never afraid of sand anymore.

In the most recent Golf Digest, there is an intresting small artical on swinging the club in the sand.

Like I said it is like a beach sand. When you walk in it your feet sink in a little. I'm pretty good out of bunkers and I know it is not my technique because no one can get out of these consistently well. I might try and develop a little bit more of a shallow angle of attack to combat the dense and heavy sand

if the sand is fluffy (what I interpret your comment about your feet sinking in a little) then the proper thing to do is hit a little closer to the ball..essentially making more clean contact instead of splashing the ball out.

you need to read the sand, and imagine how the bounce will interact with the stuff.

if the sand is firm, then you need to use the leading edge to enter the sand 1-2 inches behind the ball.... with a low bounce SW or a LW.

do not open up the face.... you would bounce that blade right into the equator of the ball and mess up the shot.

Yes I know but you have to hit so close to the ball to hit it out that you have a better chance of skulling it than you do hitting it clean. It is not really fluffy sand as much as it is dense and thick sand. I can say it is really close to beach sand.

When another course had new beach sand, it told its members that it took time for the sand to "settle". I have no idea what that means. But perhaps the sand becomes more compacted over time. Until then, you might experiment with more of a wrist cock, coming in shallower, and with more bounce.

well - i don't think it's legit to blame the sand... them guys had to hit out of the sandy area in this year's PGA and I am sure all that stuff is 'beach sand'...

like the post above says - it's all about angle of attack and how much bounce you use... as long as the stuff is CONSISTENT, there should be no problem.... the only problem I ever have in a bunker is when it's poorly maintained, and you may have a 1/4 inch of fluffy stuff on top, covering the rock hard stuff underneath, then you are in for a surprise LOL.

and yes, you do have to be precise, 1 inch behind the ball.... now if you can't do that, then wouldn't you have problem with all the other shots... woods, irons, pitching etc.

Hey dozu, are you swinging the 'human golf club'? How's your tennis game?

dak!!!!!!!!!!

you are right on! I am using the same concept and my golf game has improved greatly.

tennis is getting better also - 1hbh is a beast now... still working on my serves, which has been my weakest link.

Mr desmond: My course said the exact same thing. Give it a chance to settle. And dozu the sand at the pga was a harder firmer sand which is what we used to have. That is easy to get out of as long as your stay down through the shot. I still havent found a technique

Alas, since I joined a CC last year, and our boy is on the HS golf team, my tennis has fallen to maybe 1 outing per month, so I don't have much to say on TW boards. What a tough life this is when you have to choose between tennis or golf!

Someone has got to do it.

Lemme know if you're ever coming to the shore - I have one more free round pass that came with my membership.

And now, back to our regularly shceduled program...

Can't help it but the title "New sand technique" reminds me of this video:

From memory, it was tough for the first year out of that sand. And my technique was not as good as it is now. We didn't have a lot of water, so we had something like 70 bunkers. I suggest you avoid the bunkers at all costs if you can't find your way out of them. I remember the sand being extraordinarily heavy.

yeah. I have adopted this technique for greenside now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2bTkbXhick

I'd probably try his hinge and hold out of a buried lie because that's what it seemed like with the sand so heavy.