What I will say, however, is that putting comes down to confidence. Try a wedge with much less bounce, maybe the 50*. How to Hit the Draw Shot: Golfs Secret Weapon for Mastering Difficult Courses. It also helps the better players get the ball up higher, and is easier . It's hard because it's in between how to play a greenside bunker shot and not long enough to hit like a fairway bunker shot. Keep in mind that grip changes are awkward and take time to get used to. Hackinator, May 24, 2022 in Instruction & Academy. Now, as many of you are probably wondering, how should I apply these principles to my own golf swing? On the eighth hole, another bunker shot from a tough lie didn't quite reach the green, and he holed a 15 . A lot of the time the club will bounce off the top of the sand, and the leading edge will hit the middle of the ball. How do we engage these muscles on the downswing? But any chip, even with a 64 degree wedge, becomes problematic if the face of the bunker is tall. In bunkers, you cannot test the surface, however, you can use your feet to feel the density of the sand. With the driver, were supposed to set up to the golf ball so that its positioned slightly inside our lead heel. Get your weight into your trail foot during the backswing, back into your lead foot on the downswing before striking the ball and ultimately finishing with the clubs shaft wrapped around your shoulders as part of a proper, balanced finish. Alternately you can close down the face to keep the bounce out of a shot where it might interfere. When this clubface opens, it is essential to turn your feet open so that your clubface lines up with the hole again. I get a lot of these at courses I play where the sand is really compacted or almost no-existent. At that same instant, Tiger often delivers the club head to the back of the ball too late and/or with too open (and sometimes, albeit rarely, too shut) of a club face which, in turn, typically leads to the high-and-right, offline miss (and the rarer nasty toe-hook miss to the left). Or, theyll make the above change/changes and still struggle. In this episode of How to Hit Every Shot, instructor Erika Larkin takes us through the basics of blasting it from the bunker. That's why I use the most lofted club I have, and then I pray it's enough to get over the lip! Rotating the trail foot open will help you get your weight where it needs to be in order to deliver a more powerful punch at impact. Continue to use it. 4. The key takeaway is to be open-minded about the golf wedge you use when you hit a bunker shot. How to hit a bunker shot from very soft sand and very hard sand. Honestly, the only way to really know how your game measures up is by putting yourself in those situations. Or is the ball nestled down in soft sand? If it's a longer shot, go with a pitching wedge or 9-iron. Greenside bunker shots often intimidate the average golfer, but they are actually pretty simple. GOLF.com and GOLF Magazine are published by EB GOLF MEDIA LLC, a division of 8AM GOLF. Lots of bunkers like this in Arizona. Besides lessening the bounce and almost squaring up the clubface I still swing as if hitting out of softer sand. Titleist Players 4 StaDry: First Impressions and a Way-Too-Early Review. Now he has a new helpful tip for golfers everywhere: the secrets to, and differences between, playing out of hard and soft sand. So, grab your sand wedge and stick your . Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'H1kROUUnSatKk-wb4PT1Dw',sig:'F2CSJLogw0RG_ib4pQkOEt-h6_azEUDmWPSpRw3LRl4=',w:'338px',h:'507px',items:'852187-001',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); Accept that your two-digit numeric value, which represents your 18-hole score, is nothing more than a product of a process. Secondly your wedge is equipped with an angle called the bounce. The trick to hitting good bunker shots is considering the fluffy, sticky resistance of the sand and hitting your shot twice as hard as you might from that distance but half as fast, so the club . Is all the sand you play in firm? The result is too much sand and a low lofted running shot. Most amateurs swing the club into the sand, and when they feel the resistance, they quit on the shot. While there are no shortcuts in this game, there are ways to practice and play smarter. Dig your feet in and make an extra wide stance. Cafe Locked. Join InsideGOLF for only $20 - includes instant $20 Fairway Jockey credit! https://www.golfspan.com/author/brittany-olizarowicz, Who Makes Adams Golf Clubs? Prior to Augusta, Brooks played really well at the LIV Golf event. THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED, DISTRIBUTED, TRANSMITTED, CACHED OR OTHERWISE USED, EXCEPT WITH THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF DISCOVERY GOLF, INC. 2023 DISCOVERY GOLF, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. At this point, you should have your clubface slightly open yet aimed at the pin, your stance aimed somewhat left of the pin, and your feet slightly dug into the bunker. Rather than opting to hang his head after a gut punch on the first hole of the tournament, Rahm offered us a glimpse into the mind of a champion by making an eagle on his very next hole. Here's a tip I got from our pro. So tight lies, use less bounce and hit the ball crisply? In order to guard against his club head lagging too far behind his body (commonly known as getting stuck), Tiger knows he must mitigate the use of his arms/hands rotation. Top 100 Courses in the U.S.: GOLFs all-new 2022-23 ranking is here! Try these adjustments the next time you encounter firm sand: Its important to understand the right techniques for hard and soft sand, but only one thing is really going to elevate your game in this area practice. ! I get it, the initial wave of depression that hits after we fail to reach one of our goals really sucks. If you find yourself playing well during the week and struggling during your weekend matches, dont go to the club pro for a swing change. You can hit with a square face and shaft lean, effectively "scraping" the surface of the hard sand a la @Nels55. Will take a lot of mulligans. Simple things such as paying attention to the lie you have can help you save shots in the rough. In other words, a bad round can quickly follow a good round and vice versa. At the same time, you should feel your backside/thigh muscles being engaged. Believe me, golf becomes a far more rewarding game after failing/succeeding on the course while we play in pursuit of something. Feel your core stretching or working as you get your upper body more over the ball. How do they differ when hitting from the fairway? By sweeping the ball more, you will naturally hit the ball higher and have a better chance of turning the ball over with a draw. The fish grabbed on to the back of the fly, and kept it in its . You should also dig your feet into the sand to make sure your base is set. If your lead foot isnt open enough, this may discourage you from delivering the clubhead into the ball so that it produces a draw. This makes it hard to clear the lip of the bunker and to get the ball to spin and check up on the green. Don't even think about it. To get out safely, open the clubface so the club can bounce off the sand instead of dig. 2) A 2019 rule change allows you to take a two shot penalty and drop the ball out the back of the bunker. Titleist T200 3i Thump 90-X Depending on the sands condition, your strategy will change. The sand wedge is the most common type of club for a golfer to use out of the bunker. Ball: Ksig 3 piece. If your goal is to break 80, that tee shot on hole 10 that you just pumped OB after shooting 39 on the front is going to seem like hell on earth. Why cant I just be happy with my driver? If this is you, crack that beer and accept that you can birdie the next hole rather than hopping aboard the bogey train. You can't hit a standard bunker shot here. We must hit behind the ball in the bunker and launch some sand up into the air. This reduces the effective bounce on the sole so you can dig into the firmer surface. If the new claw grip helps you putt better, great! The next time you play a bad hole/round, try not to overreact to its existence by making a physical swing change. You want a wide stance when in the sand for better balance. Explaining Akshay Bhatias status, This rising star and long shot is primed for a breakout win: 2023 Wells Fargo Championship odds, 2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta: How to watch, TV schedule, streaming, tee times, Meet the new GOLF Top 100 Teachers of America, These sleek and stylish golf carry bags are just what your game needs. On the golf course, facing expectations is one of the scariest things we face in a competitive environment. I had 3 of these over the weekend, and everyone flew 10 to 20 yards longer than I wanted even though I tried opening the face of sw as much as I possibly could. One of the most critical factors of hitting out of the bunker is to ensure that you take some sand with your golf shot. Most of the time, having 56 degrees of loft or more is a good amount for launching the ball from a sand trap. I treat it like a chip from a really tight lie. Titleist TSi3 10* TPO 1K 60-TX Hitting out of a bunker with a pitching wedge can be very difficult. Lateral movement or weight transfer is an important move during the golf swing thats often applied improperly or excessively, even by the best players in the world. Some golfers prefer the lob and others the sand, but they are both capable of doing what you need them to do. I treat it like a chip from a really tight lie. In a greenside bunker, the swing path should be steeper. But that doesnt mean there isnt a way to successfully navigate bunkers with too much sand. on Instagram: "Here's a great look at Tiger practicing hitting bunker shots before a round in 2020. If the bunker is firm on top and compact beneath, square up the leading edge of your wedge (do not open up the face). If youre a fairly experienced player and your grip is fairly neutral/comfortable, strengthening your grip may be uncomfortable and not in your best interest. Line your feet up left of the target. If the clubface is open like you would normally do for an explosion shot, the bottom of the club will bounce up and hit the middle of the ball giving you a skulled shot over the green. Golfers have access to a ton of useful information on the internet and elsewhere these days. Meanwhile, Koepkas playing partner, Jon Rahm, slipped on his first green jacket after shooting a final round 69 en route to a four-shot victory over Phil Mickelson and Koepka. Driver: Titleist 910 D2 9.75* Diamana Kai'li 65 Mid S In the bunker, try to hit the sand first and slide your club under the ball completely. Keep in mind that the digging in of your feet helps with greenside bunkers, but it is not necessary with fairway bunkers. With that being said, all great players approach a round of golf by taking one shot at a time. In this article, I will focus on one simple and cost-effective way to get faster swingsspeed . You cannot paste images directly. 50/54/60 Cleveland RTX6 Zipcore DG Spinner. ET. Thats just golf. "You take your spine, [and] it's not comfortable, but you put it . If we dont have goals, its easy to practice without a purpose, to accept mediocrity, and to never feel the satisfaction that accompanies success. 1. In the sand however, the digging edge takes the clubhead down too much and forces the face shut. When chipping near the green Im thinking mostly about how much I want the ball to roll out, but if the lie is really tight Ill go with the lower bounce wedge. If you dont select the correct club from the bunker, youll have no chance. Bunker shots are hard to practice at home because there wont be too much that feels like the sand on the course. Give it your all, no matter what. In many ways, that process for one great player is very different than another great players process. To have a successful chip shot over the bunker, you need to match the bottom of your arc to the lie. Upload or insert images from URL. True, what others mentioned you cannot be using the same amount of bounce because it will "bounce" off the hard sand and blade into the ball. Take our word for it; getting good out of a bunker is something that takes a bit of practice initially, but it will be a worthwhile skill long term. Use this excellent drill: Take your normal setup position with a short iron and then drop your trail foot back excessively (a few feet). On other courses often municipal courses or other facilities with modest budgets there may be very little sand, and the bottom of the trap may look like little more than dirt. In other words, Tigers upper body is too far ahead of his arms/hands and, ultimately, the golf ball at the point of attack. He came to Augusta National riding high from his recent victory and extremely confident in all facets of his game. The lob wedge is a bit more open, to begin with, and can make it easier if the bunker has a high lip in the front of it. For a greenside bunker shot, that's too far back. Ping Glide Forged, 48, 52, 56, 60, DGS300. If the bunker is more of a hardpan type, dont open the face much at all. To do this, turn the toe of the club away from the ball. I always move a ball out of a footprint, rake it and try and drop it as I think it landed in the bunker. I would open the face a lot less, otherwise you will bounce into the ball. Padraig Harrington, a three-time major champion, knows a thing or two about playing out of bunkers. If youve performed all of the above and youre still struggling, you can always strengthen your lead hand on the golf club. But if you have the ball too far back in your stance, you're only going to make contact with the ball. Playing not so well isnt so fun. Round 1 of the Masters did not disappoint! Knowing how to hit out of a bunker is important. 3W: Titleist 910F 16.5 * Diamana Kai'li 75 Mid R To hit a low golf shot, take a shorter backswing and follow through to minimize the height of the shot. Can I cherry pick loft? Step 6: Use plenty of speed and keep your clubface open. If might get stuck in the bunker lip if it is high enough or the rough next to the lip if it hits in there. A shot from the bunker needs a steep angle of attack, and a great way to achieve that is by hinging your wrists aggressively. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Golf Podcast 474: The Most Anticipated Masters Tournament Ever? Have you considered your penalty options? Assuming you have a good bunker technique to begin with, there is not a lot of adjustment for hard packed / think sand. Without the bounce you'd have to be much more precise. I sculled them all. Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'cc8mprJoQQxU04oAD_WiRw',sig:'GIc2IfGpqgkQxHOxik__Ho4nnUFR_4aCAfHG5wY8lkg=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1481062574',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); If you dont do so already, kick off your golf season by outlining a few goals. Tigers drill above, on the other hand, looks to mitigate lateral (side-to-side) movement by replacing it with vertical (up and down) movement. You'll have to adapt to different types of sand. If the sand is pretty hard you may have to hit it harder to really get the club into the sand. If you chunked a chip shot into a bunker from a great lie, why not take a stroke and distance penalty and replay the shot? To be clear draws fly from right to left for righties and left to right for lefties. Here's how you can do it: Set up slightly open to the target. If you only open your clubface and never adjust your stance, you will miss the shot to the right of the pin. Titleist Vokey SM8 Raw 52-08F/56-10S/60-04L PX 6.5/6.0/6.0 Be patient, this will not happen overnight! You can post now and register later. This is a good idea as it will help give you some stability and control as you swing through your shot. 4. In an effort to bump and drop on the downswing, they end up sliding with their bodies and throwing the golf club with their arms and hands on the downswing. Take a page out of Koepkas book in how he internalizes a bad day on the course. Jon Rahms surge of birdies This causes the ball to go higher and to stop faster on the green. Lets start by talking about how you should approach a standard bunker shot in soft sand. I used to struggle with these types of bunkers until an old guy I play with told me to keep the face square and let the wedge do the work. Sometimes, these players set up to the ball with their upper bodies too far ahead of the golf ball. You simply must work on these shots for yourself to get a feel for how they are played. Is the sand packed and wet? Lots of bunkers like this in Arizona. Often, Ill witness amateurs spending loads of time on the practice green trying to reinvent their putting stroke after one bad round. Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'VKjSygTIQvdkKaP4wCziMA',sig:'1F9U_yCyztFYqjqS2YzwXVTxtRVd90Krl-ulcwUrdFI=',w:'478px',h:'359px',items:'102285666',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); Rest assured that most golfers arent even willing to go to that level in order to review or take stock of their game in a straightforward, honest, objective manner. Just like a pitcher throwing from the stretch, they are exploding off their trail foot/side before releasing the ball toward home plate. TRAVEL: Giants Ridge (MN) Should Be On Your Golf Trip Short-List! Use a Decent Lofted Wedge. As those bunkers dry out, the conditions will gradually soften. Square face. So it is almost as if the ball is plugged - place a . Golf Podcast 477: Is this the Future of Golf? Swing the club along the line of your feet. Hovlands lucky shirt Aim further left and get the handle higher than usual. Most of the time, golfers overthink bunker shots. Its possible to hit good shots in both situations, but youll need to use the right method to make that happen. However, exaggerating specific moves in an effort to reinforce new feels or ingrain new habits will help you achieve your desired results more effectively and efficiently. Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'3nx5qjsHRYBYRMIsCHNlTg',sig:'TcY-OVpYXOnkjkeDBbcTHqFKb7PLkyPEfyuD42zHOkY=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1481056353',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); Whether youre trying to rebound from that awful four-putt or attempting to identify the cause of your horrible round, do your best to not overreact. The more willing you are to put it all on the line, the more youll accomplish in the long run. The ball will not have enough loft to carry the lip, and as a player, you wont have the control you need to stop the ball on the green. If youre trying to navigate a tough external environment by adding the internal stress of certain swing-related thoughts, youre going to make that round much more difficult than it needs to be in certain situations. Again, this is a point that has more to do with budgets than anything else. For a typical sand shot where the sand is dry and a bit fluffy, the bounce helps the club slide under the ball at a predictable depth in the sand and come out the other side. Like Rahm, Koepka is willing to put the bad golf behind him. His spine angle is closer to 60 degrees than 90 degrees, his backside is sticking out, his knees are bent, and his upper body is hovering over the ground/ball as opposed to over his lower body as if he were sitting in a lazy boy chair. This will ensure that the leading edge will make contact with the ball below the equator of the ball (see picture below). The sand you find in bunkers is more likely to be hard when it is wet. Based on the shot you want to hit, you will focus on hitting the san." Darin de Lelys Golf on Instagram: "Better Out Of The Bunker!! The lob wedge vs. sand wedgebunker debate will probably never come to an end. After hitting my shot out of the bunker on the first try, I might add McLachlin reassured me that the main reason was due to my setup and my . Turn your brain off and fire your arms and hands thru the hitting area. Firstly the leading edge is closer the ground with a more square face. You want a wide stance when in the sand for better balance. Just the degree lofts. Im not saying you should use the ground as if its a trampoline. With an open stance, and an open club face, and a swing that goes under the ball, youll be ready to hit some excellent greenside bunker shots. You can still hit behind the ball like a normal bunker shot and the square face will allow the wedge to dig into the hard sand and pop it out on a nice cushion. If this describes your current relationship with bunker shots, you are in the right place. 11 in the world. Harrington begins by explaining that there are two distinctly different ways to play shots from bunkers with a lot of sand and ones with very little sand. Additionally, keep your hands ahead of the ball at impact to help deloft the clubface and keep the ball low. Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing.

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