Bunker yips?

[Airlie_Andy]

Is it possible to have bunker yips?

I know the principles behind a bunker shot but im just terrible at doing it. Sometimes my "divot" in a bunker starts a good foot behind the ball position which is nowhere near my intended aim point. This doesn't happen on a normal shot or a pitch/chip shot so why am I so bad In a bunker? Its frankly embarrassing to the point it just ruins my round whenever I end up in one. I was in 3 bunkers yesterday which cost me a combined 9 strokes to get out of them which is pathetic, I really think its become a mental issue now.

 

[Foxholer]

Don't think there's such a thing as Bunker Yips!

However, there's definitely poor technique.

Probably the biggest cause of failing to get out of bunkers that I see is the mistaken concept of 'helping' the ball out. This is definitely the wrong thing to do!

'You have to hit down to get it out' is an excellent quote from a Pro!

 

[delc]

Don't think there's such a thing as Bunker Yips!

However, there's definitely poor technique.

Probably the biggest cause of failing to get out of bunkers that I see is the mistaken concept of 'helping' the ball out. This is definitely the wrong thing to do!

'You have to hit down to get it out' is an excellent quote from a Pro!

I think you can get the yips over just about any aspect of golf, but it is the usually the more delicate skills of putting and chipping that are affected. For bunkers shots I just set up with a slight open club face and stance, pick the club up quite steeply and swing normally through the ball, although aiming to hit the sand about an inch or so behind it. Normal considerations like not swaying and keeping your head still still apply. Personally I much prefer having a bunker shot than a delicate chip.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Mention yips and Delc appears !!

 

[Odvan]

Perhaps I shouldn't say this ahead of a forum meet at a Links course but....

I don't necessarily want to be in them but I love playing bunker shots, certainly green side. Maybe this is why I seem to do reasonably well in getting out of them as I tend to hold no fear in making a full stroke through the sand. I've also holed out twice for birdie from the sand in my fledging 'career' which was extremely satisfying!

To add to Delc's piece, I believe that the closer you are to the hole the more open and wider your stance should be.*

*not an expert....!

 

[davidy233]

Best bit of my game at the moment - out for a hit last thursday, not counting a score, and I was aiming for the deepest bunkers I could find just for the fun of trying to get up and down from them.

Same stance for ever shot - wee bit of Mickelson hinge and hold and the ball pops out lovely from the deepest trap.

 

[wookie]

Is it possible to have bunker yips?
.

I reckon this is what I've got so yeah

I had the same problem as you a while back with hitting the sand way way before the ball but even after a lesson which sorted that I don't seem to be able to commit to going through the shot.

The worrying thing is I seem to be ok in the practice bunker at our place but not on the course.

 

[Foxholer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkMt66M-71c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAZjDJosaL4

Perhaps a bit repetitive, but certainly drums the point in!

 

[London mike 61]

As I have mentioned on previous threads , I am reading a Dave Pelz book at the moment and for bunker shots he says put the ball just on the inside of the leading foot ( much the same as a driver ) and have a open stance, but not too open. And with what he calls a ' finesse ' grip, which is essentially a weak grip that keeps the face open through the shot, be positive with the strke and it will pop out. Now today I went out for the first time in ages and ended up in a couple of bunkers and followed his advice and , bloody great!! , out first time even in wet compacted sand. :thup:

I dont know if there are any videos on you tube but it might be worth a look to see what I mean. It's hard to describe what a finesse grip is on here. Good luck.

 

[the_coach]

Is it possible to have bunker yips?

I know the principles behind a bunker shot but im just terrible at doing it. Sometimes my "divot" in a bunker starts a good foot behind the ball position which is nowhere near my intended aim point. This doesn't happen on a normal shot or a pitch/chip shot so why am I so bad In a bunker? Its frankly embarrassing to the point it just ruins my round whenever I end up in one. I was in 3 bunkers yesterday which cost me a combined 9 strokes to get out of them which is pathetic, I really think its become a mental issue now.

Sounds like what you are describing is a very overly steep swing a sway to the right off the ball, and also not completing your body turn through impact into a full through swing, when if the upper body turn done right your chest should be facing well left of target at finish.

Couple of things will help to guarantee getting you out of a bunker, providing you have a practice bunker and you'll spend some time in it.

First off, make sure you are taking your grip 'after' you've opened the face so the face will return through impact open. if you just take your grip as normal then just move your arms or shoulders to open the face at address it will always return square and dig in the sand.

Greenside bunkers: Always have an open stance, not wildly open, just your left foot drawn 2 inches further away from your ball/target line than your right foot. Shoulders hips echo open foot line. Grip as above. Aim the open club face at target. Ball position approximately 1 & a half balls back from your left heel.

You hit the sand well behind the ball currently because the swing is too narrow and too steep and you are more than likely swaying off the ball going back. (a successful bunker player (on all normal shots) like a successful chipper of the ball has a shallow swing into and through.)

You'll need to do this by maintaining your knee flex and posture (spine angle) and vertical height through out the complete swing. Also it must be a body(pivot) turn back and through no sway right, keep your weight on your left leg and foot and turn don't move laterally right.
To be able to get the right depth through the sand you'll need to wriggle your feet an inch into the sand, once that's done you don't need to think about the depth of sand to take as it will all have been taken care of in the step-up.

In the practice bunker, a drill, with no ball first, until you can take 10 swings and successfully achieve the aim of the drill.

Standing in bunker draw a line in the sand at 90 degrees to your target.
Your aim with the drill to make a swing the length of which (swing has a full wrist set but still with width don't collapse your left arm at the elbow) is from your left arm parallel with the ground club shaft at 90 degrees to enter the sand exactly on this line the divot will be shallow and around the length of a bank note and you must complete your body turn (this pivot is in charge of a smooth pace through the sand, arms and hands just go along for the ride) to return in the through swing your hands at shoulder height, in other words 'L' shape to and just through 'L' shape in the through swing.

When you can do this without the ball just put a ball 2 inches target side of the line and aim to do exactly the same thing you just did successfully 10 times without the ball. Just trust and do the same and you'll find you'll be able to get out every time.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Struggled at the weekend. Bit rusty but the sand was compacted and ball just sat on top. Several times I attempted to play a proper shot but the bounce seemed to skid off the hard sand. Ended up trying to pick it clean. Not ideal.

 

[JCW]

Struggled at the weekend. Bit rusty but the sand was compacted and ball just sat on top. Several times I attempted to play a proper shot but the bounce seemed to skid off the hard sand. Ended up trying to pick it clean. Not ideal.

2 ways to play it , like you say pick it clean or as per normal but hitting a bit harder as you got to get the club to dig in , maybe not open it as much so the bounce does not come into play , bit like a long bunker shot greenside , do hit your SW harder or go down to your 52 wedge and a normal swing

 

[London mike 61]

Struggled at the weekend. Bit rusty but the sand was compacted and ball just sat on top. Several times I attempted to play a proper shot but the bounce seemed to skid off the hard sand. Ended up trying to pick it clean. Not ideal.

Thats why I carry 2 sand wedges, the one that came with the set for dry sand and a Tom Watson true grind wedge for wet sand and tight lies. The true grind has a small bounce angle and is a very versatile club.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Struggled at the weekend. Bit rusty but the sand was compacted and ball just sat on top. Several times I attempted to play a proper shot but the bounce seemed to skid off the hard sand. Ended up trying to pick it clean. Not ideal.

Surely that's common sense

Unless the bunkers have been raked and they have compacted then the only way to play it is picking it clean - it's near impossible to knife through the compact sand

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Was trying to hit my 58 and play a nice controlled splash shot to a pin some 15 feet away. Just skulled it into the face. In another one got it too clean and stuck it over the green. Just need some practice but like the idea of a firmer strike

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Was trying to hit my 58 and play a nice controlled splash shot to a pin some 15 feet away. Just skulled it into the face. In another one got it too clean and stuck it over the green. Just need some practice but like the idea of a firmer strike

Hitting it harder on compact sand will just make the club bounce even quicker and result in a thin straight into the face

 

[the_coach]

Struggled at the weekend. Bit rusty but the sand was compacted and ball just sat on top. Several times I attempted to play a proper shot but the bounce seemed to skid off the hard sand. Ended up trying to pick it clean. Not ideal.

It's the old problem of golf being counterintuitive.
You can and will get good results from trying to pick if clean, occasionally, it will succeed, but most likely it won't. So that leaves you with, too clean and too far out, or out and out thins, or you'll catch a little bit of the sand and leave it in the sand.

The most consistent way to get out of wet or dry compacted sand, is to present a squarer leading edge a couple of inches behind the ball into the sand this will enter the sand and not skid/bounce, so not an open face with the bounce presented to the sand.

Sometimes it will even pay to use a wedge with less bounce and not use your sand/lob wedge at all, especially if your lob wedge has a lot of bounce, if you have a lob wedge with little bounce just square the leading edge up.
You'll get out virtually every time you'll just have to factor in a bit more roll on landing, but a 25 foot put is better than another shot from the same bunker or worse the bunker the other side of the green if you've thinned it clean across the green.

It feels as if it's the wrong shot if you're not used to it (counterintuitive) but some practice (just stamp down the sand and compact it in the practice bunker) will soon show you it's a pretty easy shot, once you have the technique and the confidence from the practice.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

There's no such thing as chipping yips or bunker yips and very few cases of putting yips. It's just poor technique leading to lack of confidence, the answer is practice (that goes for putting as well, I am aware putting yips is a real thing (although have never witnessed it) but most people who say they have the yips don't, they just need advice and practice.

 

[delc]

There's no such thing as chipping yips or bunker yips and very few cases of putting yips. It's just poor technique leading to lack of confidence, the answer is practice (that goes for putting as well, I am aware putting yips is a real thing (although have never witnessed it) but most people who say they have the yips don't, they just need advice and practice.

Oh Dear! Another person who doesn't understand the problem! A yip is an involuntary muscle twitch which the golfer has no control over. Practising if anything makes the problem worse, and even if you can manage to make a smooth stroke on a practice green, the yip will re-appear when you are under pressure out on the course. The only cure apparently is a change of technique, such as the claw grip, or putting left-handed if you're normally right handed.

 

[delc]

It's the old problem of golf being counterintuitive.
You can and will get good results from trying to pick if clean, occasionally, it will succeed, but most likely it won't. So that leaves you with, too clean and too far out, or out and out thins, or you'll catch a little bit of the sand and leave it in the sand.

The most consistent way to get out of wet or dry compacted sand, is to present a squarer leading edge a couple of inches behind the ball into the sand this will enter the sand and not skid/bounce, so not an open face with the bounce presented to the sand.

Sometimes it will even pay to use a wedge with less bounce and not use your sand/lob wedge at all, especially if your lob wedge has a lot of bounce, if you have a lob wedge with little bounce just square the leading edge up.
You'll get out virtually every time you'll just have to factor in a bit more roll on landing, but a 25 foot put is better than another shot from the same bunker or worse the bunker the other side of the green if you've thinned it clean across the green.

It feels as if it's the wrong shot if you're not used to it (counterintuitive) but some practice (just stamp down the sand and compact it in the practice bunker) will soon show you it's a pretty easy shot, once you have the technique and the confidence from the practice.

Yes I agree. Out of hard wet sand I just square the blade up and aim a bit closer to the ball. I keep the swing the same. The normal open faced technique just causes the club to bounce off the sand and you will thin it every time.