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Tips To Play The Sand Trap

By Lee MacRae

A bunker beside the green is a fearsome place to be. Surprisingly, this is one of the easiest shots to perfect and can actually be an enjoyable part of your golf game. Just learn the proper techniques and apply a few tips and your bunker game will flourish.

The longer bunker shot is one of the easiest shots to play and one of the most satisfying in the is entire game. Here are the six fundamentals of the bunker shot:

1. Choke down on the grip of the club to compensate for having to dig your feet into the sand to anchor your body.

2. Do not move the legs during a swing.

3. Take two or sometimes three extra clubs to make up for distance loss by the arms-and-hands-only swing. If you're within reach of the green, take as much club as you'll need for the ball to land near the hole. Because you're hitting down in to the back of the ball, the ball should have enough spin on it to stop quickly.

4. Play the ball in the middle of your stance so you can make contact before the bottom of your swing arc.

5. Always hit the ball first.

6. Don't ground your club. That's a two-stroke penalty.

The worst thing about hitting an uphill sand shot is that your ball probably is plugged in the sand. Balls that aren't plugged usually roll back down to a flat area. Here's how to play the shot: anchor your body by planting your right foot solidly in the sand, and slant your shoulders so that they are parallel with the slope. The swing for the shot isn't pretty. Just pick up the club sharply, keeping your legs still, and whack the sand behind the ball. Don't try to follow through. Remember that in such a perilous position any recovery is a good recovery.

Ask any professional golfer the toughest shot in golf and he'll say the 60 yard sand shot. Even the top players have trouble deciding whether this calls for an explosion shot or a normal wedge shot. Fortunately, we average players don't have to make that decision. The 60 yard explosion just isn't in our bags. So we'll make do with the normal wedge shot. Stand squarely, with the ball in the middle of your stance. As with the long bunker shot, you should make contact with the ball first, to remain as steady as possible for as long as possible. As this requires you to swing with only your hands and arms, you'll want to take a club or two more than usual [but bear in mind that playing the ball farther back than normal will deloft the clubface slightly]. For anything up to 75 yards, the average players to use a pitching wedge hit with a three quarters swing.

Knowing the basic techniques of bunker sand play and understanding the subtleties of the various problems you can encounter will actually lead you to even enjoy the play from a sand bunker. I'm sure these tips will help you to enjoy your next round of golf.

About the author
Lee MacRae runs several online stores where you can find a great golf swing aid or a great golf iron today!

Thoughts On Golf

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Labels: golf putter

posted by The Old Putter @ 11:38 PM