 | Jack Richards has been a PGA professional for more than 25 years. He and his wife, Deb, are the new owners of Clearwater Golf Course. Jack can be reached at (620)
584-2799. |
Golf
2006-06-01 09:41:00
“*.&!@)_!” common from bunkers
ANSWER: There are lots of golfers who feel this way, but once they understand the hows and whys, many end up looking forward to the challenge, as opposed to fearing it. Try this technique with a bucket of practice balls, then let me know what you think.Once your ball has come to rest in a greenside bunker, settle into the sand to give you a nice solid base and feel for the thickness of the sand. Set up with the ball in middle of your stance. Without grounding your club, lay the face open then take hold of the club with your normal grip. This puts the club head in the right position so its wide sole bounces through and off the sand taking your ball with it. Tighten your grip but mainly with your left index and little finger. This keeps the club firm so it does not turn over into the sand but flexible. Because you have opened the clubface, it will now be pointing off to the right if your body is square to the target. To compensate, shuffle your feet and shoulders to the left until the face is square to the target again.Hover your club head behind the ball and pick a mark in the sand behind the ball. Aim to hit this spot. Your weight should be on your left foot not right to encourage a steeper line of attack for your club. Pick the club head up more sharply than normal forcing it outside your normal line.Swing the club head back down hard along the line of the shoulders. Your knees should be more flexed than for a normal shot, so you need to concentrate harder on keeping your head steady and not dipping down towards the ball. As you swing the club back towards the ball you should feel as though you are cutting across the line from outside to in. It may feel as though this will take the ball too far left. But it won't - it'll make up for the fact the open clubface is forcing the ball right. You should always take almost a full swing - the distance can be largely controlled by changing the amount of sand you take.The sand wedge has a wide sole. This means rather than slicing down into the bunker, the club head can 'bounce' through it and lift the sand - and the ball - skywards. It requires considerable club head speed to remove the ball, especially when the face is steep or the sand is wet. Aim to produce a solid-sounding 'thump'.It is extremely important to follow through to the target. Don't allow the club to 'die' into the sand. Imagine smashing the club down onto a pool of water and wanting to watch the droplets scatter all over the green. It is the same action - the sand absorbs some of the blow but bounces the club back out. Use your shoulder and hip turn to help it along.
