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Bunkers And Sand Traps - How To Play Them

By Lee MacRae

Are you afraid of sand bunkers on the golf course? Do you panic when you see one near where you need your ball to land? Follow along as we detail some tips and tricks to make sand play much easier for you.

Landing in someone else's footprint in a bunker can be very frustrating. Especially if they are rakes stationed around the sand! But getting worked up about someone else's misdeeds won't help you escape. The trick here is to treat your ball as though it were in a buried lie. Pick up the club sharply and hit sharply down behind the ball to avoid the surrounding barrier of sand. You may also want to adjust your angle of attack depending on how the footprint lies. The only difference between the footprint shot and a buried lie shot is that you use a sand wedge and not a pitching wedge. You want to dig through the sides of the footprint [hence the angle of attack] but beyond that it's a normal sand shot.

When sand is wet or really firm, your sand wedge, with it's wide flange may very easily bounce off the surface and blade the ball. In such circumstances, it's better to use a pitching wedge or, when the flag is a long way off and you want your ball to run more, then use a seven, eight, or nine iron. Play your ball back in an open stance [much as you would do when playing a chip from the fairway] and position your hands just ahead of the ball. Unlike most sand shots, this one requires that you concentrate on hitting the ball first and not the sand. Work out your "landing area" before hitting the shot, and try to hit that area. If you miss it, don't worry. With all sand shots, it's far more important to get out the sand and to leave your ball close to the hole.

One way to prevent dipping and hitting your ball heavy when playing a long bunker shot is to concentrate on keeping the knees "on the same level" throughout the swing. Note that we say he "on the same level" and not just "level". The idea is to stop you from lifting up or bending down. If you lift up, either you hit the ball thin or you run the risk of hitting it fat if you bend down again. If you bend down first, you'll almost definitely hit the ball fat.

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 putting aid or a great clone golf club today!

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posted by The Big Easy @ 9:09 PM