How would you have played this shot?

[Pyranha]

Situation: 18 hole club tournament. I'm on #6 which was playing 177 (par 3 obviously) and sitting at 3 under par through 5. Tee shot lands in a bunker right of the green. After hard rains the night before the bunker is packed like wet cement. I've got about 7 yards of bunker to carry and maybe 12 yards of green (straight uphill) before the pin. The lie is perfect...ball is sitting up on top of the sand.

The shot: I elected to play an explosion since the sand was extremely wet and compacted. Set w/ a slightly open stance, ball well back and club face square (54/08 sand wedge). Hit about 2 inches behind the ball and the club dug through about 1/2" of wet sand and then bounced hard off of what felt like actual cement underneath.

The result: Need less to say the club rebounded into the ball and I ended up in the trees 20 yards over the green. Took three shots to extricate from the trees and had to hit a 20 foot put to 'save' a 6. Three under to even on a 177 yard par three.....yuck.

So....because of just how wet and hard the sand was I seriously considered playing a pitch shot with the sand wedge and picking the ball clean off the top of the sand. In retrospect I really wish I had, because I may well have ended up with my first sub par round ever. How would you have handled the shot in that situation?

I did end up taking the low gross prize anyway with a 3 over 76, but man I wanted that 18 hole red number.

-C

[Dent]

I would have picked it right off, and played it like it was on the fairway, much easier.

[klaymon]

I would have played it like a chip/pitch from the grass. I was actually in a similar situation this weekend. Rain made the bunkers packed/hard. I played a chip with regular stance and club/ball position and got it out without problem.

[DJYoshi]

our bunkers are ALWAYS like that at the county courses I play at. I've learned for something like that...EXTREMELY open face about 1/2 a club length open stance with a 56 works really well. I play the shot to aim about 1 - 1.5" behind the ball...full swing like a flop shot if i'm going uphill...
but the club rebound SUCKS when it's in the sand...especially when it's that wet cement stuff!

[Harold]

Don't mistake my handicap for playing ability in bunkers w/ soft sand. If there is one thing in golf I have confidence in it's bunker play. Had two yesterday that I got to 8' and 15' from the pin. Unfortunately on both I three putted for the only three putts on the day. . Back to your question. Pacific NW golfers see this quite often and I believe the best thing to do is to treat it as hardpan and pick it off. The problem is you have to be precise. Catch it a tad fat and you may get a good shot or you might bounce or you might dig. Catch it thin and you probably skull it. It's really a guessing game though. You did what you thought was right at the time and it might be the next time you face it. Let your feet help decide too.

[iacas]

The shot: I elected to play an explosion since the sand was extremely wet and compacted.

A chip shot from that sort of situation is extremely dangerous if you've not tried it or practiced it much. Too many people will end up blading the ball (into the face of the bunker or across the green), and since you're taking such a small swing, any heavy contact will result in a ball well short that may not make it out of the bunker.

I'd have played an explosion shot, but with my 60° wedge. It has less bounce. I'd play very square (though I'm doing that more now with the Stan Utley style), and just made sure the clubhead had no chance of coming up into the back of the ball. I'd have just jammed it down into the sand behind the ball. You can't control the distance as finely as you can before, but you should be putting and probably from inside 10, maybe 15 feet. Almost like a fried egg, basically.

[Mr Eagle]

How high is the lip of the bunker ? that would be the main factor in making a decision on this. For me ,The main thing when faced with bad ground conditions in bunkers is to make sure im not taking my next shot from the same place

[bigphil]

Almost like a fried egg, basically.

i agree is iacas on this one. additionally, i think you chose the wrong club. i would have used a higher lofted club with less bounce so you can dig into the sand because it was not playing "fluffy". i still would have opened my stance slightly like a flop shot so i could take a fuller swing. 1" behind the ball and allow the club to dig with the leading edge, and not the bounce.

[CG031]

When the sand is wet and hard I play the ball in my middle of my stance with my 60 degree, and open up the face and just swing like a normal bunker shot...there's many different ways to play it really, it's whatever you practice and feel most comfortable in trying to execute.

[kc8kir]

Very dangerous situation. Depending on the lip of the bunker (how much you need to clear it) a low lofted hybrid could be a real life saver here. I have chipped / punched with hybrids out of hard sand. Works great because of the mass of the club head. Probably would work with a fairway wood as well. Gotta watch the lip though.

Not really that radical of an idea. Shoot, if the bunker is level and no lip, just putt it out and hop the fringe. Nicklaus frequently putted from bunkers when the lie was right and the path clear.

Oh this is why we love the short game.....

[Mr Eagle]

A chip shot from that sort of situation is extremely dangerous if you've not tried it or practiced it much. Too many people will end up blading the ball (into the face of the bunker or across the green), and since you're taking such a small swing, any heavy contact will result in a ball well short that may not make it out of the bunker.

Ive tried this iacas but always seem to just go straight under the ball,maybe Im not attacking it steep enough or is it just me being rubbish ? (dont say Im rubbish........please!)

[gsu_paintballer]

A chip shot from that sort of situation is extremely dangerous if you've not tried it or practiced it much. Too many people will end up blading the ball (into the face of the bunker or across the green)

I cant even count the number of times this has happened to me.

[Pyranha]

Very dangerous situation. Depending on the lip of the bunker (how much you need to clear it) a low lofted hybrid could be a real life saver here.

I've played this shot a number of times, and it was my first thought here as well before I got to the bunker and saw the conditions. The lip wasn't particularly high, but because of the rains there were lots of large runnels carved into the face of the bunker from running water. The only way to play that shot and to avoid those runnels would been to have played for the front of the green (and be left with a 35+ ft severely breaking putt).

-C

[iacas]

Ive tried this iacas but always seem to just go straight under the ball,maybe Im not attacking it steep enough or is it just me being rubbish?

Without seeing it, I really don't know. I don't know how you could go "straight under the ball" from such firm sand. If the sand gets out of the bunker, the ball has to as well.

Perhaps you need(ed) to hit closer to the ball. I don't know - can't say without seeing it.

[golfunit]

For sitting in very wet sand, the club will dig faster, so you need to play it with a square face and hit closer to the ball than usual, maybe an inch

[Guest]

Situation: 18 hole club tournament. I'm on #6 which was playing 177 (par 3 obviously) and sitting at 3 under par through 5. Tee shot lands in a bunker right of the green. After hard rains the night before the bunker is packed like wet cement. I've got about 7 yards of bunker to carry and maybe 12 yards of green (straight uphill) before the pin. The lie is perfect...ball is sitting up on top of the sand.

I would have yelled LOOK BIGFOOT then picked the ball up and tossed it to the pin

[Stacey_E]

I would have picked it with my 64*. But that's easy to say, becasue it wasn't my score on the line. Hindsight is 20/20.