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Bunkers And Sand Traps - How To Play Them

By Lee MacRae

Sand play does not have to be life threatening! But that is how many golfers feel when they land a shot into a bunker or sand trap. Follow along as we explain some things you can do to improve in this area of your golf game

When your ball is sitting up in sand on a rise that is caused by someone's footprints, don't be fooled into thinking this is an easy shot. Players tend to try to get the ball off the surface of the sand, or take too much sand in an effort not to hit it too far. Do the former and you may blade the ball. Do the latter and you may hit it fat. This is an instance where you want to hit not under the ball, but down and through it. Take your spot, about two inches behind the ball and slightly below it [because of the rise] and swing as you would for a normal chip shot. If you're still worried about getting it too far, move your weight back to your right foot. This will force you to swing more with your arms and will take some power out of the shot.

Keep in mind that the average sand wedge is designed to hit a ball 40 feet at most. If you have a sand shot that is farther than that, then you will be better off using a pitching wedge to get on the green. A pitching wedge is designed differently, it doesn't have the curve [the bounce] on the bottom of the head. This allows the ball to travel the 10 or 20 extra feet you need on the shot. Just remember to use the right tool for the particular job at hand.

Visual imagery is commom in bunker play. Some instructors tell students to imagine that the face of the club is the palm of their hands, which they "slap" under the ball in the hitting zone. We prefer to think of money. A dollar bill is slightly more than six inches long. That means that if the bill is laid under a golf ball, about two inches of the ball would protrude back from the bill. As the ideal "explosion shot" demands that you hit into the sand roughly two inches behind the ball, you should pretend that you're hitting the dollar ball out of the bunker. This is an especially useful image because in order to hit the ball right out of the bunker, you'll need to complete your follow-through, and that's another important element of just about every sand shot.

The average golfer usually fears the shot from a sand bunker and is defeated before they even attempt one. With practice, keeping in mind the proper technique and a few tips and hints, sand play will be a lot easier than you imagined. And your golf game will be better for it.

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More Thoughts On Golf

Putters



The Tilt. Creating the proper tilt in the shoulders requires two elements: The hips must move closer to the target at the start of the downswing while the head stays slightly back. This drives the left shoulder up and the right side down.
Buy yourself a new set of golf clubs before you hit the links again!

Proper Sequence Is Key
There are many elements of impact that must come together to produce consistency, but the key lies in the sequence. From the top of the backswing, the legs and hips must initiate the downswing by moving toward the target, past their original position at address. This creates the proper tilt in the shoulders that allows the right arm to remain flexed at impact, while the left wrist becomes flat. Basically, a proper impact position is the result of a proper sequence of movements.
...Golf Tips magazine

Yardage Has Been Lost
The downside of this shot-making decision is that yardage has been lost and, therefore, a possible birdie opportunity has been missed because there is still a fair amount of ground to be made up before the putting surface can be reached. The solution is to hit the ball so that it bends around the trees at the right moment and makes a greater distance down the fairway, resulting in an approach shot much nearer the hole. The skill called for here is to draw the ball, hitting it initially on a path to the right before it curves round to the left, avoiding the trees and leaving a more desirable lie.
...mastering golf UK

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Golf Tips Chipping: golf short game tips are the ones that can actually make the biggest difference in your overall score. While they're not the most fun to practice they do make up the majority of our game. Probably the best golf tips on chipping I have received are the ones that taught me to use higher lofted clubs in and around the green. What do I mean by that? Well when we watch the pros play on TV we see them make beautiful chip shots that soar upwards then stick when they hit the green. This has taken them years of practice to achieve, so it's not likely we're able to duplicate it. How ever, if you want consistency around the green consider using an 8 iron for further away chip shots and aim to land your ball 15-20 feet before your target. This is known as a bump and run where the ball spends about 60% of its time in the air and the rest rolling. It's a much easier shot to control, and will give you more confidence in your short game.
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