Winter Bunker shots

[Yosser]

I mainly play at Parkland courses and tend to play out of bunkers using a sand wedge with an open face hitting a couple of inches behind. However his time of year I am often faced with compacted - I mean rock hard sand and having to clear a lip sometimes 2-3 feet high. I've found a lob wedge with a square face to be pretty successful, but this isn't practical with a steep face nor is Sand wedge an open face (too much bounce). I've found this video which discusses a lob wedge with an open face and hitting an inch behind but I'm not convinced this would work with rock hard sand? Could a 64 deg wedge and a square face be appropriate?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMDRlQRTVYE

I appreciate that each shot needs to be taken on its own merits but what is the preferred shot to reduce the risk of thinning it from solid sand?

Yet another example of the "game within the game" of this great sport!

 

[chris3081]

I had exactly the same problem this year. Traditionally always played these shots with an open face in the summer dry sand but with the compact sand I've just found I was bouncing off the sand and thining it across the green.

I now play it with normal face and seems to work every time . I'm using a 56 degree with no shaft lean nice shallow swing. Hope that helps.

Annoying that only in the best clubs are the bunkers raked before play

I mainly play at Parkland courses and tend to play out of bunkers using a sand wedge with an open face hitting a couple of inches behind. However his time of year I am often faced with compacted - I mean rock hard sand and having to clear a lip sometimes 2-3 feet high. I've found a lob wedge with a square face to be pretty successful, but this isn't practical with a steep face nor is Sand wedge an open face (too much bounce). I've found this video which discusses a lob wedge with an open face and hitting an inch behind but I'm not convinced this would work with rock hard sand? Could a 64 deg wedge and a square face be appropriate?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMDRlQRTVYE

I appreciate that each shot needs to be taken on its own merits but what is the preferred shot to reduce the risk of thinning it from solid sand?

Yet another example of the "game within the game" of this great sport!

 

[Yosser]

That's a good point about the shaft lean.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Linear method with the shaft upright or even pointing right, square face and use the bounce. Works even on wet and compact sand

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

 

[Parsaregood]

You really want about 80% of your weight on your lead foot, face open coming down on the ball quite steeply into the sand. If your shallow bounce has much more effect when the club impacts the sand. I am a member of a links course and often use this method out of compacted wet sand over much higher lips than 2 or 3 feet and all with a 56 degree vokey

 

[chris3081]

Yup meant to say weight forward as well

 

[Yosser]

Linear method with the shaft upright or even pointing right, square face and use the bounce. Works even on wet and compact sand

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

Some good points there, I can see the shaft angle affecting the loft, it wasn't clear what club he was using, I assume it was a sand wedge? I will have a tinker with some of these techniques when I get time. Had two bunker shots yesterday and stuck with the open face method and a more upright shaft with no problems - there was plenty of sand in both of the bunkers though. I didn't think it was an appropriate time to experiment - in the middle of a winter comp round!

 

[Yosser]

You really want about 80% of your weight on your lead foot, face open coming down on the ball quite steeply into the sand. If your shallow bounce has much more effect when the club impacts the sand. I am a member of a links course and often use this method out of compacted wet sand over much higher lips than 2 or 3 feet and all with a 56 degree vokey

I'm with you on that - I play at St Annes Old Links quite a bit and can't imagine not opening the face out of those steep faced pot bunkers.

 

[Tashyboy]

Had a bunker lesson a couple weeks agoas i was rubbish in them. In essence playing with a 56 deg vokey. Weight on front foot as already said with a square face. (Play the shot as if you are hitting a fried egg, yolk the ball white the sand you take behind the ball). If you dont want it to go as far exact same swing with an open face. Further, if lip of bunker allows. 52 or 48. Now that works for me. But ave seen hundreds of different bits of advice and techniques and me head was a shed for using a bit of all if them. When i had me lesson. Oh the taking was perfect coz i had done it. But some of the bunkers were aolid on the course and a simple
chip out as per playing off grass was enough.

 

[Parsaregood]

Bunker shots are really pretty easy once you have decent technique, you should really go into the steepest faced bunker you can find and put balls all over the place, stand on them put them up the face, on downslope and try and get them out. This is the best way to learn. The only bunker shots you shout play with a square clubface are ones that are plugged or on the upslope of the bunker as the lie basically is already giving you all the loft you need. The rest of it is decent technique and feel because you simply can't teach that