Playing out of firm bunker sand.
Playing out of firm bunker sand.
Hi, I’m Mel Sole, Director of Instruction at the Mel Sole Golf School, headquartered at Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club in Pawleys Island, SC. We conduct 1, 2 and 3-day golf schools, hourly golf lessons, and senior golf schools—any type of golf instruction program your heart desires. Give us a call at 800-624-4653 or 843-237-4993. We will be happy to book a commuter school or a package that contains accommodations, golf, and golf school.
Monthly Golf Tips by the Mel Sole Golf School.
This month's golf tip comes from Mike Dunn of Dubbo Golf Club in New South Wales, Australia. He writes: "The bunkers at my course and several nearby courses don't have much sand in the bunkers and are often hard, so I "blade" them often. in Playing from firm sand, how should I play out of such hazards?"
Mike, first of all, do not use a sand wedge but rather a lob wedge with very little bounce. The very nature of a sand wedge is to have quite a bit of bounce to provide enough bounce to help the club "slide" through a good amount of sand. However, when the sand is sparse, that same flange will strike the ground first and cause the sculled shot.
Equipment.
As you can see from the picture above, there is significantly more "bounce" or "flange" on the sand wedge on the right than the lob wedge on the left. Therefore, make sure in hard bunkers to use the lob wedge or a club with very little bounce.
The Technique.
Secondly, there is a slight difference in the technique for playing this shot. First, address the ball as you would a normal bunker shot.
Instead of cocking the wrists early in the swing as you would normally do,
have less wrist cock and a more shallow arc on the backswing, taking just a thin sliver of sand. Still hit about 2" behind the ball and keep the right hand "under" so that the club will not dig.
As you can see from my follow-through position, the clubface is still facing the sky, indicating the correct positions have been achieved.
Mike, I look forward to hearing about your progress. Good golfing "Down Under"!
Source: Mel Sole Golf School.
Thanks for reading - Playing out of firm bunker sand.
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