Getting out of sand

[mariner]

I`m getting fed up of hearing how the greenside bunker shot is the "easiest shot in golf." Give me one out of sand from 150 yards anytime (the "hardest shot in golf")
I stand open to the target line, open the face and regrip the club, swing slow and long across the target line out to in (I`m good at that) and contact the sand 2 inches behind the ball, which is about middle/forward in the stance.

Result?
The club head bounces off the sand and blades the ball into the face of the bunker if I`m lucky, or kneecaps a playing partner and goes 50 yards OOB if I`m not.

I`ve taken to attempting to chip out with a SW and putting stroke, which sometimes works and even gets close, but 1 out of 4 don`t get out at all,
though my playing partners advise to me to stick with this method .

[ph_kingston]

Re: Getting out of sand

I think I'm pretty good out of the greenside bunkers and usually give myself a good chance of a "sand save" by getting the ball close to the pin. I play the bunker shot like a punch shot with the clubface open. I think the key to your problem is that you swing slow; you need to hit through the sand pretty hard for the "bounce" of the club to work for you. Try shortening your swing and punching through the sand. Be careful not just to drive the club into the sand as the sand will go futher than the ball.

[jscerbo]

Re: Getting out of sand

The mistake is made before the club is started back.

Before I can make a diagnosis I need to know where you are placing the ball, what your alignment looks like, and what your grip looks like. There are several causes for blading a ball. One could be that you are manipulating the club your hands. There may be a lack of unison of movement between your arms and your torso. Common causes for blading a ball are faulty balance(weight going towards your heels) Excessive hand manipulation (left wrist is braking down) by this I mean the top of your left hand is folding towards the sky. This is a weak impact position and causes tops, blades, and skulls. Your left arm could be collapsing at impact. The reason for this is you are trying to help the ball into the air.

Try this

Stick a tee in the bunker so just the head of the tee is sticking out, then try to pick the tee out of the sand. You will notice that you will have to swing at a descending angle. However the divot should be shallow(the divot is shallow because of the where the ball is positioned in relation to your sternum)

Another one is draw a line about six feet long that looks like this ------------

Next swing so that the your club takes a divot where the line starts. You will make numerous swings going down the line. This drill is excellent fort grooving a repetitive entry point into the ball.

[TeachingPro]

Re: Getting out of sand

open the face and regrip the club

Your skills sound fine ... it all sounds correct and so forth, BUT what concerns me is the bounce of the SW you use and the bounce when you open the club face up.

In case you don't know what bounce is or the other readers don't know what bounce is, it's the angle created between the sole of the club and the leading edge of the club. As you open the SW up, the bounce increases. Practical demonstration: You can see this by putting the club on the ground and you'll see the leading edge is pretty close to the ground. Now keep it on the ground and open the face up. See how the the leading edge lifts further upwards?

Now put a golf ball in front of the club and do the same excercise. When the face is square - the leading edge is under the golf ball. As you open the face, the leading edge gets higher and higher up the ball.

Now, there is your problem ... when the open clubface hits the sand it 'bounces' to some extent and the leading edge is not under the golf ball but somewhere towards the equator when it hits the ball. The result? A cruise-missle has just been launched from bunker number 1.

The effect of bounce is exaggerated with offset clubs because the angle between the hands and face is larger too! Advice: ditch the offset SW and get a non-offset SW.

My advice is: never open the club face up unless you need to use the bounce in soft sand or you need to add loft to get over a high lip of a bunker.

A SW loft of 54* or 56* is plenty to get out of most bunkers. And I'll prove it to you as well. Go to a bunker with a reasonable lip (I'm talking the Road Hole Bunker here, okay!) and think to yourself whether 56* is enough. Yes / No? Now put the golf club on the sand with the grip end facing the hole. Step on the face so that the grip lifts off the sand. The indication of loft created by the grip is the loft the golf ball would have. If it's enough loft to clear the bunker then why the hell do you need to create more loft?

What are you doing opening the club face???

I love doing that as a practical example in my 1 day short game school!!!!

Now for instructional purposes, let's say you need to get out the Road Hole Bunker or the level of the bunker has dropped significantly since you went in ... your need for loft has become an issue, this is what you gotta do:

You need to take the bounce into consideration. To negate some of the effect of added bounce you need to take a bit more sand and hit a little closer to the golf ball and you HAVE to keep the momentum. Don't ever, ever quit on a bunker shot when you are using the bounce, it's the quickest and surest way to get bounce alright!

Hope this helps you.