fairway bunkers ...

[garyinderry]

Do my head in. Winds me up no end watching the pros clip these shots from 180 yards and in without too much difficultly.


With my bad shot being a fat, it doesn't bode well when I try to play these.

How do you tackle these in terms of set up, ball position and swing thoughts.

 

[Hobbit]

Stance slightly narrower than normal, and feet not dug in quite so far as when in a green side bunker. My thoughts being by not getting as firm a stance as I could I have to swing "quieter," with less lower body movement. Ball slightly further back in the stance to promote a ball before sand contact. Take one extra club, again to promote an easier swing.

Hit our 16th from 180yds out with a hybrid last weekend. Ball was sitting up nicely, and very little lip.

 

[Imurg]

Danny Willett showed us at the first Callaway Kings of Distance
Get your high lofted hybrid
Ball in the middle or slightly back of stance
Weight on the front foot
Swing through.
Works a treat

 

[Lump]

Don’t do anything extra or different than a normal shot. Just try and hit it a little thin.

 

[shortgame]

Do my head in. Winds me up no end watching the pros clip these shots from 180 yards and in without too much difficultly.

Likewise, no penalty whatsoever and normally guarantees a lot of stop when they hit the greens.

With my bad shot being a fat, it doesn't bode well when I try to play these.

How do you tackle these in terms of set up, ball position and swing thoughts.

Ball back a touch and I just concentrate on taking the ball first and trying to eliminate excessive movement (that's what causes me to fat them)

 

[garyinderry]

Thinking more those shots you could hit a shorter iron in and hit the green.


I can smack a hybrid out of real shallow ones with not much issues.


We have one in particular that is about 140 to a green well below. Have to get it up over trees though. sometimes I can pull it off, others I end up fatting into the trees and racking up a number.

 

[bobmac]

As has been mentioned before, ball back in the stance a touch and head still.
Contact is king

 

[garyinderry]

Ok ball back. I will try and hit a pile of these from that bunker the next time I am out on my own.



I have played a ball back driving pitch from bunkers 50 yards out or so.



The ball forward to clip it probably won't work for someone who had a tendency to hang back.

Cheers

 

[bobmac]

Ok ball back. I will try and hit a pile of these from that bunker the next time I am out on my own.



I have played a ball back driving pitch from bunkers 50 yards out or so.



The ball forward to clip it probably won't work for someone who had a tendency to hang back.

Cheers

If you have a tendency to hang back and you move the ball back in your stance, be aware you may subconsciously hang back even more and still hit it fat

 

[garyinderry]

If you have a tendency to hang back and you move the ball back in your stance, be aware you may subconsciously hang back even more and still hit it fat

Yeah just been thinking that. Probably why i make such a mess of these shots.


Certainly something i have never practiced before. Stands to reason its a lottery when i am faced with this shot.

 

[Deleted member 15717]

I remember watching a really crap video about Golf when I first started playing. One of those hints and tips things.
One of the sections was on fairway bunkers, and it has stuck with me. Ball a bit further back of central, grip down a bit lower and then swing. You get the hang of it after a while.

The same video gave the hint of lay an iron on the ground and then stand on the iron face so the shaft comes off the ground....you can then use it to judge the iron you can easily hit out the bunker. Don’t tend to use that tip quite so much!

 

[jusme]

Don’t do anything extra or different than a normal shot. Just try and hit it a little thin.

I tend to find them rather easy, but above is king. I assume the same and as such my only change is to hover the club a little. Don't be greedy. I get to certain bunkers and depending on ball situation and bunker lip I assess as to whether a 5/6/7/8/9 iron can clear that lip.

Once assessed if I can hit a normal shot to the green I hover a little to allow for the fall that happens to a club when swinging in a bunker. It works well for me. Probably a little more arms and less body motion than normal. Always been a strength fairway bunkers

 

[patricks148]

Do my head in. Winds me up no end watching the pros clip these shots from 180 yards and in without too much difficultly.


With my bad shot being a fat, it doesn't bode well when I try to play these.

How do you tackle these in terms of set up, ball position and swing thoughts.

our fairway bunkers are the same as the green side with a couple of exceptions, deep pot bunkers so getting out is the first priority. i think we have 3 you can hit anything more than a SW out and one is on 17 the other two on the right of 18 and that is only if you are at the back

 

[FuzzyDuck]

My course has no fairway bunkers (although there is talk of introducing one on one of the par 5's) and consequently when I visit another course and end up in one I have very little idea what to do! T

 

[ScienceBoy]

Everything normal except choke down a touch and. Aim to hit the ball between halfway and 2/3 up. Back in the stance might help too.

Pretty much trying to catch it as clean as possible with enough loft to clear the lip.

 

[Orikoru]

I tend to find them rather easy, but above is king. I assume the same and as such my only change is to hover the club a little. Don't be greedy. I get to certain bunkers and depending on ball situation and bunker lip I assess as to whether a 5/6/7/8/9 iron can clear that lip.

Once assessed if I can hit a normal shot to the green I hover a little to allow for the fall that happens to a club when swinging in a bunker. It works well for me. Probably a little more arms and less body motion than normal. Always been a strength fairway bunkers

This is the thing though, you can't hit it like a normal shot since you can't ground your club, so that makes contact slightly more tricky. I often tend to hit a slice or a thin when trying this shot, just because hovering the club makes it feel different and I can't get the good contact when coming back through.

 

[patricks148]

Everything normal except choke down a touch and. Aim to hit the ball between halfway and 2/3 up. Back in the stance might help too.

Pretty much trying to catch it as clean as possible with enough loft to clear the lip.

is that your preferred method for hitting 180 yards bunker shots?

 

[garyinderry]

Everything normal except choke down a touch and. Aim to hit the ball between halfway and 2/3 up. Back in the stance might help too.

Pretty much trying to catch it as clean as possible with enough loft to clear the lip.

Would that not blade it clean into the face of the bunker.

 

[jim8flog]

Another vote for a lofted hybrid from me but always take a club with more loft than your eyes are telling you. The broad sole acts in the same way as bounce on a SW.
As already said - contact is king, ball then sand.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Stance slightly narrower than normal, and feet not dug in quite so far as when in a green side bunker. My thoughts being by not getting as firm a stance as I could I have to swing "quieter," with less lower body movement. Ball slightly further back in the stance to promote a ball before sand contact. Take one extra club, again to promote an easier swing.

Hit our 16th from 180yds out with a hybrid last weekend. Ball was sitting up nicely, and very little lip.

+1 on this from me. I was utterly rubbish out of fairway bunkers (my worse shot on the course) until I heard that I should try and keep my lower body 'quiet'. And as Bri suggests - I also take a slightly narrower stance and don't dig in so much. Just last weekend I pinged a hybrid out of a bunker pretty much the distance that Bri did - though I missed the green to the right and long and took another three to get down. Hey ho.

So for me it's - quiet lower body; feeling like standing ON the sand not IN the sand; picking the ball off the surface; and don't be too greedy with loft - being 50yds short of green rather then 35yds is no big deal compared with ball still being in bunker.