Bunkered!

[BrizoH71]

Getting out of the sand is far and away the weakest part of my game, and I really need some help. But before I go to see my pro, I wanted to ask the forum for their own thoughts.

Basically my issue is that I never take enough sand, and I almost always take the ball cleanly off the top with a 'divot', almost like I'm playing a short pitch. This is fine from 100yards, but invariably it also means that from most greenside bunkers I either airmail the green, or drill the ball into the face of the bunker. Admittedly, some of our bunkers don't have a great deal of sand in them, which probably doesn't help.

I use my SW out of every bunker, opening the face slightly and placing the ball mid-way between centre and my left heel. My stance is wide and slightly open, and I have my weight 50/50. I address the ball with the shaft leaning slightly back, and my takeaway involves breaking the wrists sharply and making a three-quarter swing (at least this is how it feels!) before starting down and aiming to hit about a ball diameter behind.

Any thoughts as to where am I going wrong? This issue caused me to have a little bunker tennis this evening, going back and from between left and right traps much to the amusement of my playing partners....

 

[garyinderry]

[video=youtube;sYSqGwga-WA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYSqGwga-WA[/video]


Ball middle. Weight left. Open or square it doesn't matter. Stance or clubface. They both work. just do what he says.

 

[the_coach]

need to have the shoes a little ways 'in the sand' not on the sand as you want to enter the sand a couple inches back of the ball

don't set the wrists real sharp there's really no need to (unless it's a super high 'Lefty' flop shot ..... or a real buried lie you looking to hit sand real hard with no real follow through just to get out .... & this ball will run some) more of a hindrance than help as leads to too steep downswing & real inconsistency of strike you talking about - just let the hands set with the turn, & you need to turn back & run right through so chest with the arms is the 'engine'

plus need a little more knee flexbut then you gotta keep the knee flex as your focus is a 'point' couple inches back from the ball in the sand - not the ball itself - looking to keep the turn & motion through till the hands are at least shoulder height chest pointing left of target - so you've turned right through the shot

got to keep that vertical height you started with at set-up you do that by keeping the knee flex

that ways you can can have a shallower approach to the sand & take a $ bill sized sand divot on which the ball flies out on

 

[the_coach]

[video=youtube;gQ9GYMDan1k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ9GYMDan1k[/video]

 

[daverollo]

Brizo, you say you have you weight 50/50, turning point for me was when I went 70/30 or as much as 80/20, favouring the left side (assuming you're right handed). Made a big immediate improvement. Try it and good luck

 

[bobmac]

You're hitting the sand too close to the ball.
Try hitting 3-4 in behind the ball and go 2-3 in deep.
You will need quite a long swing and a high finish.

Note the length of swing

[video=youtube;c11XYrHSEII]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c11XYrHSEII&list=PL7Uf2W3sfvqYBJ3OUldKvQT7ZWYEmPOyW&index=24[/video]

 

[Dan2501]

Personally, I like Phil's method of teaching in the bunkers. Has helped my bunker play a hell of a lot.

[video=youtube;SE2TouisBwg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE2TouisBwg[/video]

 

[Deleted member 18121]

I'm a fan of laying the club as flat as I can and then making sure I take 2-3 inches of sand before the ball making sure I'm accelerating through the shot. With how open the face is you can then afford to be really aggressive without fear.

Works for me anyway.

 

[FairwayDodger]

Weight should be favouring the front foot and a only ball width sounds like you're not taking enough sand. I vary exactly how far behind the ball I hit depending on the shot (and how much sand I think is in the bunker) but as a general start point I'd say 3 inches behind the ball and drive the club face into the sand, still going down when it goes under the ball. You're not hitting the ball at all - just throwing a load of sand out the bunker and the ball will go too.

 

[JustOne]

Most common issue with people that cannot get the ball out of bunkers is that their head isn't behind the ball, it's over it, causing the the club to be too steep with not enough loft.

Position the ball slightly forward of center but FEEL your head is more over your right knee.

 

[BrizoH71]

A practice session in the bunker yesterday with a guy I play with regularly threw up two things...

a) My downswing is too shallow;
b) I swing too much on the target line rather than my foot line.

Working on a slightly steeper AoA on the downswing and swinging more across the line of my stance seemed to help a great deal. Still, more practise required.

Thanks for all the hints, tips and suggestions. :thup:

 

[Duckster]

You could always try the linear method - saw this guy at the Manc Golf Show and he made a lot of sense. I've been using it most of the season and it works very well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xeADahxxrE

 

[garyinderry]

A practice session in the bunker yesterday with a guy I play with regularly threw up two things...

a) My downswing is too shallow;
b) I swing too much on the target line rather than my foot line.

Working on a slightly steeper AoA on the downswing and swinging more across the line of my stance seemed to help a great deal. Still, more practise required.

Thanks for all the hints, tips and suggestions. :thup:

Its not necessary to swing down your feet line. Modern teaching is square. Seen our local pro teaching the kids and questioned him on it. says all the young pros are doing that these days. Says it spins more.

 

[BrizoH71]

Its not necessary to swing down your feet line. Modern teaching is square. Seen our local pro teaching the kids and questioned him on it. says all the young pros are doing that these days. Says it spins more.

That may be the case, but right now I'm just happy to find something that gets me out of the sand first time a lot more consistently.

Modern teaching isn't for everyone, so who am I to argue with results if this works?