Getting out of the Sand

[antney79]

I am looking for some help getting out of the sand.

I beleive I have the right set up with my hands behind the ball with the face open, legs quiet through the swing, but for some reason I either scull the shot or hit it nice but not long enough to get out of the sand. I have problems following through, it is like a mental block that I do not want to kill the ball. I also try to swing with more hands and wrist on this as well.

I am referencing greenside bunkers.

[geezer]

First off, I will state that I am a terrible bunker player. But two things I always do is;
1) take more club, I used to use my sand wedge, but now I'm more likley to use a pitching wedge or 9 iron and take a smoothly accelerating swing. I realise, however, that this may not be an option if your course has deep bunkering...
2) focus on the point in the sand where you want your club to enter. I used to focus on the ball, even though I wanted the club to enter the sand an inch or two behind the ball.

You could also try out Stan Utley's method of playing bunkers. I'm not personally farmiliar with it, but I've heard many good things.

[dave s]

Most valuable tips I've heard and use for greenside bunker play:

1) Place thumb of left hand straight down the grip to keep the clubface open at impact - Lee Trevino

2) Place the ball moderately forward in your stance, (not quite as far fwd as a driver but definitely ahead of center) and hit behind the ball - Golf Channel

3) Keep the club MOVING through the shot with a full follow-through. - Dad

Those are my 'go-to' tips for getting out of a greenside bunker virtually every time. My next goal is to be able to regulate swing speed to better control distance. I keep 'wimping out' on the swing speed and leaving it short!

dave

[Anand]

I just had an hour lesson of sand play with my teaching pro. I've had a horrible time in the sand these past few weeks - so much so that I feel like a total newbie. So anyway after today's lesson - I'm much more confident, and really look forward to practicing what I've learned. The main things we worked on today.

1. For starters, think of a bunker shot as a 3/4 length and 2/3 pace full swing. Not some fancy shot which is totally different from your normal 7 or 8 iron. We built a 3 inch square of sand about 1/2 inch high and practiced the 1/2 speed full swing, hitting the little square for a while.

2. Set-up
- Ball played at about the left heel (for righties) - so well forward in the stance.
- Weight 70% on the front leg - really feel the weight on your thigh there
- clubface open - you will need to decide how much - depending on where in the trap you are, distance to pin, etc.

3. Backswing is pretty-much like a regular iron shot - just slower, more controlled and as far back for the distance you require.

4. **The most important thing I learned today** -- on the downswing, feel as though you're releasing the clubhead ahead of your hands - EARLY in your downswing .. like the clubhead is sliding under the ball.

5. Rotate / turn to a high finish -- just like you're playing a regular pitch shot -- really important not to decellerate or quit - must rotate left as you go through with the shot and have a nice high finish

I can honestly say, from skulling and chunking at the start of the lesson, with my old 'technique' - I was near-perfect at the end of the lesson, with many shots finishing within 4-5 feet.

HTH.

//Anand

[DynamicDave]

yes, make a slow but full swing.

if its not buried and sitting high on the sand, maybe u can get away with a chip style play.