bunker blues

[darian]

No consistency, I fly greens,or leave in bunker, I just want a fail proof escape from greenside bunkers , can someone help just get me onto the green , please.

[Ian Hancock]

Re: bunker blues

Hi Darian,

Seems to me you are suffering somewhat...!!!

Practice is the only real answer, and of course technic..............

.................¬ FLAG.

follow this: \ ' \


Above is a set-up diagram: Aim the club (EDGE) at the flag, top do this the face must be open. The other two lines \ the first is your feet and the second is your swing path...............yes you swing the club along your feet line effectivly skimming the club to the left, the ball will fly where the leading edge of the club is.


Standing 'open' to the target alows the face to open more and glide through the sand, a light grip and swing about twice as fast as you think you need for the distance, trust it or you will fluff it

Just found this for you note the stance and where he is aiming.


Hope this helps

Ian.

[Started2k3]

Re: bunker blues

Like Ian said ... practice is key.

One drill that I like is:
-Draw a line in the sand about 1-2 inches behind the ball - perpendicular to target path.
-The part of the line behind the ball is now your impact spot.
-With a long line you can tell if you have hit it thin or fat and adjust your stance accordingly.

[bill reed]

Re: bunker blues

hi
i went to my pro for lessons out of the bunker and it was the best 2 hour of lessons i have ever had. even with my strange swing he did not try to change my swing but more he tried to get me to understand the right way to control a ball out a bunker, we have very deep bunkers on the links here so it almost always costs you shots if in them and he has helps so much at judging what i can and cant go for saving me shots.
if you have a good pro near you then ask him about bunker lessons, should only take an hour or two at most so not that expensive.
cheers
bill

[LowPost42]

Re: bunker blues

The one thing no-one has touched on yet is that all the technique in the world won't necessarily help you if you've got the wrong wedge for the sand you're playing in.

I spent some time in Florida, playing out of soft, fluffy bunkers with my gamer wedges (Wishon PCF Tours). Hitting these wonderful sand shots with the face laid wide open, a nice 'thump' and a high, soft shot.

I bring this technique home where my bunkers are more like dirt than sand... blade, blade, blade. OK. Move the ball up (thinking I'm playing it too far back). Blade, blade, blade. Now I'm really frustrated. So I can either change my wedges to low-bounce butterknives (narrow sole) and use the same technique, or I can employ the 'chunk and run'. So for my home course, gamer wedges, I only open the faice a little, and employ the same technique. I don't get high, soft shots (they run about as far as they fly) but it seems to be the answer for heavy, dense sand if you're not going to buy new wedges.

[bill reed]

Re: bunker blues

hi lowpost
i agree with what you say and i was shown by the pro that using a sand wedge with a good bounce was great for getting out the fluffy lies you get on links courses but for gritty sand like we have in some of the inland courses the bounce makes the club ski into the middle of the ball and using my 56 degree wedge is much better for getting out gritty sand but digs in to deep on fluffy links sand so using the right club for the jobs the key.
cheers
bill

[BrianW]

Re: bunker blues

I agree with all the advice given here.

If you want a band aid until you have learned the correct method then try this, it is not a fix all though.

Rotate the clubface so that it is very closed in your grip (turn the club anticlockwise, not your wrists) the face of the club should be pointing down towards the ground. Stand fairly square or even a little right of target, ball a little forward of centre. Take the club back with an early wrist cock then bring the club back down hard into the sand behind the ball and follow through fairly high. This will get the ball out fairly well but be careful as it will roll further than normal, use a range of clubs for different distances.

This works well with buried (fried egg) lies. Again, get a lesson from a good pro though.