Bunker Practice

[Smallville]

How does putting it out of the sand work out for you? I can't imagine you have much success with it?

Well I don't do it all the time. But I have yet to leave a ball in the sand when putting it out and I've done it for years (I have lost track of how many second shots I have taken to get out when blasting out). I have actually put it in the bottom of the cup before but that's only happened once! It actually works out pretty well if you get a good read of the green and it doesn't get much air time coming off the slope of the trap. I'll use it most often if I can keep it on the ground most of the shot. You can't have a lip on the bunker or it won't come out! You usually have to give it a good whack which is why I generally only use it on a longer, uphill shot. I'm not real great at long bunker shots (but I'm OK with shorter ones). I don't recommend it for anyone but it suits me pretty well.

[JohnTwing]

I guess in that case it would work, but for myself doing it, I just can't see having any kind of consistency but to each their own, right?

Well it depends a lot on the quality of sand. You can't make this move in Nevada or Arizona or Florida, since the sand is too soft.

It seems to work best on cold days where the sand is tightly packed. Another time you have to beware is when the top level of sand has dried after a previous day's deluge, but the sand underneath is rock-hard. We call it the skeeball shot, you have a nice little ramp to the lip, and an unfettered shot at the green, it's not terrible. Try it sometime!