Bunker Mania - Need help from the Sand? Don't Worry

The reality is, tour players get up and down only about 50 percent of the time from greenside bunkers, and they have great technique, practice all the time and play courses in perfect condition.

I point that out not to discourage you, but to get you to look at the big picture when you're faced with a tough sand shot. If you're aiming at the flag and aren't sure if you can carry the lip, or you have a weird stance, you're already fighting the odds. You need to think about the easiest way to get up and down in three, so do a little math. For most players, it means getting out of the bunker successfully -- in any direction -- then taking two putts. Don't be afraid to turn away from the hole and give yourself a lower lip, flatter stance or more green to hit to. You'll have a much better average outcome -- and better chance to hole your next shot -- if you're safely on the green instead of hitting again from the bunker after you crashed one off the lip.

Lean left, set club: Keep your weight forward and hinge your wrists fully.

 

A greenside bunker is the one place where you want to make a very vertical backswing. If you don't, bad things can happen, like hitting too far behind the ball or skulling it over the green.

I often see high-handicappers using the same around-the-body swing in bunkers that they use from the fairway or tee. Rarely are they able to control trajectory or distance, because they don't have a consistent entry point in the sand. This can turn a relatively simple sand shot into a disaster.

Getting the club up quickly on the backswing requires an early wrist hinge and a full shoulder turn. A steep backswing sets up a steep angle coming down and lets you make use of the bounce on the bottom of your sand wedge. Keep more weight on your front foot throughout the swing, and don't forget to accelerate through the sand to a nice, full finish.

Avoid The Fat Bunker Shot!

My impact drill: Set up to a rake and swing, bouncing the club's back edge off the handle. This bouncing action is the key to sand play.

  

1. To stop chunking your bunker shots, you must make the back edge of the clubhead enter the sand before the leading edge. Feel this with my drill. Get in a bunker and set up to a rake (above, left). Open the clubface, which puts the back edge lower than the leading edge, and swing, skimming the club off the rake.
2. You'll quickly sense what it feels like to hit with the back edge of the club. Now transfer that feeling to an actual shot. First, lower your body a few inches so the clubface can slide under the ball. I do this by widening my stance (others twist their feet in). Then, play the ball off your front heel, and remember to open the face.
3. Make a three-quarter swing, accelerating the club past your hands through impact. The back edge should enter the sand two to three inches behind the ball, which will help the clubhead slide and push the ball out. To prevent the club from digging too deep, keep your body turning to a full finish.

How can you not love Seth Raynor?

   In 1908, Long Island civil engineer Seth Raynor was hired by C.B. Macdonald to survey the property that would become The National Golf Links of America. Macdonald was so impressed with Raynor’s engineering knowledge that he hired him to supervise construction of the course. Raynor went on to build all remaining courses designed by Macdonald. He also designed and remodeled over 50 courses of his own, all in the Macdonald style of superimposing versions of famous British golf holes onto a variety of landscapes. His courses included Fishers Island in New York, Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh, Camargo in Cincinnati, Shoreacres and a revised Chicago Golf Club in Chicago, Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Monterey Peninsula in California and Yeaman's Hall in Charleston, S.C. Raynor died at age 51 of pneumonia. His unfinished projects were completed by his assistant Charles Banks. The geometric nature of Seth Raynor’s architecture worked especially well in hilly terrain. 

Shoreacres and Camargo, which also opened in 1921, were Raynor's first great solo design efforts.  Shoreacres is as close to an original Seth Raynor design as exists. Superintendent Tim Davis, in collaboration with Tom Doak's Renaissance Design Firm, has thoughtfully performed restoration work. Many of the Raynor greens have been returned to their initial size, in some cases increasing the green size by more than one third. A direct consequence of such a restoration is that many of the most interesting hole locations are brought back into play along the outer parts of the greens. Though Raynor in general produced broad greens, getting at hole locations in their far reaches is a study in shot making. For instance take the 5th green. A front left location is diabolical as anything in the middle of the green leaves a putt sloping fiercely downhill and off the green. The golfer may be better off to miss the green left with a draw and have a straightforward chip shot into the green slope. Conversely, a back right hole located a top one of the plateaus requires a running cut shot to scamper all the way back. Everybody talks about the stretch from the 10th to 15th and many feel that it represents Raynor's finest work - high praise indeed.

National Golf Links of American Clubhouse - 1920

 



Bluemound C.C. Clubhouse - 1926

Fox Chapel - 1923

Shoreacres - 1919

Yeamans Hall - 1925

Chicago Golf Club - 1894

Waialae Country Club

Fishers Island Club - 1936 

Camargo Club- 1925

Whistling Straits

Whistling Striats - #17

The Sheep

Whistling Straits - #18

5 Shots to help your Game

1.  Swing Long And Lazy

Every golfer wants to be able to hit the lob shot; the smart ones use it only when no other shot will do. The first thing you have to realize is that you need a decent lie--a little cushion under the ball--to have a good chance of pulling it off.

Take your most lofted wedge, play the ball just forward of center and open the clubface. (For extra loft, weaken your left-hand grip by setting your left thumb on top of the handle instead of down the right side.) The open face will let you slide the club under the ball without the toe turning over through impact.

Swing back about three-quarters, and make a gradually accelerating pass through the ball. The open face will send the ball high, so commit to accelerating. Don't think about hitting the ball: Make a long, smooth swing, and turn your body to the target.

• KEY MOVE
Swing to a full finish, with your weight on your front foot. When the clubface is open, you need a long swing to apply enough power to get the ball to the hole.

• COMMON FAULT
Trying to lift the ball, many golfers fall back and flip the club up. This leads to chunks or skulls. Shift to your left, and turn through, trusting the loft on the clubface.

2. PITCH-AND-RUN

Hit It With Firm Wrists

With a fairway lie and plenty of green to work with, the pitch-and-run is the best shot to play. There's no reason to fly the ball all the way to the hole--even if you do see the pros doing it on TV.

Using your 9-iron or wedge, play the ball middle to slightly back in your stance and push your hands and weight forward. Get a clear focus on where you want to land the ball to run it to the hole. (It's a good idea to carry it onto the green for a predictable bounce.) Swing the club straight back about halfway, and accelerate into the back of the ball, finishing with your arms and club pointing at the hole.

Think of this as an arms-and-body swing: Turn your body and swing your arms through together. Resist the urge to help the shot at impact with your hands.

• KEY MOVE
Use minimal wrist hinge on the backswing. Unhinging adds swing speed, making it tougher to judge the distance of the shot.

• COMMON FAULT
Even from 30 or 40 yards, I see some players making a full backswing. Then they realize they've created too much swing, so they ease off on the way down and usually mis-hit the shot.

3. SHORT-SIDED POP



Hold The Clubface Open

When you miss a green on the same side as the hole, you're left with a touchy little shot that's easy to leave in the grass or chip too far. The secret is making solid contact and controlling the amount of hit you put on the ball.

Pick your most lofted wedge, and play the ball back in your stance with the clubface square or slightly open. Take a narrow stance with your weight forward and your hands well ahead of the clubhead.

From there, make a firm little swing, dropping the clubhead behind the ball. You're trying to just pop it forward, so don't worry about swinging through. And don't let the clubface close through impact; that takes the loft--and softness--out of the shot. The correct feel is, you're hitting it with the back of your left hand.

• KEY MOVE
At address, lean on your front foot and angle the shaft forward. Your priority is to hit the ball solid, and because the swing is so short, these setup positions will do it.

• COMMON FAULT
Amateurs tend to play the ball forward and set their weight back. They think they can hit a softer shot this way, but they usually catch it fat or thin.

4. DEEP-ROUGH CHIP



Make A Steep Swing

Digging the ball out of a buried lie and hitting it with touch might seem like an impossible combination, but it's not. You have to understand that you're going to trap some grass between the clubface and the ball at impact. The trick is catching the ball as cleanly as you can.

Your sand wedge is the best choice here because you can use the extra weight in the sole to slide the clubface under the ball. With your weight forward, play the ball in the middle of your stance, and make a steep backswing by hinging your wrists right off the ball.

• KEY MOVE
To create the correct motion, picture the letter V: The steeper you swing the club back and down, the higher the ball will pop out on the other side.

• COMMON FAULT
If you don't hinge your wrists going back, you'll make a shallow swing into the ball. As a result, the clubhead will catch too much grass before impact.

On the downswing, throw the clubhead into the grass behind the ball. Don't think about making a follow-through--the resistance of the heavy grass will slow the momentum of the club.

5. BUNKER SHOTS

Slap It With The Right Hand

With a bunker lip to get over, you need clubface loft and swing speed to create height. Your first priority is putting the ball on the green; second is getting it close.

Use your lob or sand wedge, and play the ball forward, opposite your front instep, so the club can enter the sand a couple of inches behind the ball. Swing back about three-quarters, and accelerate the club into and through the sand.

Don't cut across the ball, as you've probably been told; that only adds sidespin. Swing out to the flag. It's a very right-handed swing: Feel as if you're slapping the sand with your right hand.

• KEY MOVE
For more loft, angle the shaft away from the target at address. To do this, move the ball forward but keep your hands in line with the inside of your front leg.

• COMMON FAULT
Many players try to open the face by pushing the grip toward the target and turning the right hand under. This exposes the hosel, leading to thin shots or shanks.

Read more at:

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2010-12/photos-butch-harmon-5-shots#slide=1