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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.

When your ball is sitting up in sand on a rise that is caused by someone's footprints, don't be fooled into thinking this is an easy shot. Players tend to try to get the ball off the surface of the sand, or take too much sand in an effort not to hit it too far. Do the former and you may blade the ball. Do the latter and you may hit it fat. This is an instance where you want to hit not under the ball, but down and through it. Take your spot, about two inches behind the ball and slightly below it [because of the rise] and swing as you would for a normal chip shot. If you're still worried about getting it too far, move your weight back to your right foot. This will force you to swing more with your arms and will take some power out of the shot.

In general, a sand shot should be hit with a sand wedge, with both the stance and the clubface opened wide. The idea is to hit the sand and let it carry the ball out of the bunker. You should aim to make contact with the sand about two inches behind the ball and hit under and through. An important point here; with few exceptions, you should make a full fall through.

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.

And no matter what the circumstances are, don't allow tension to ruin your techinque. Tension will ruin even the best of golf swings. Keep your body and your mind loose and positive. Always imagine yourself handling the shot with success. What the mind sees, the body will do. You golf game will improve immensly when you add these tips.

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Some Golf Ideas

Many swing faults occur from an improper setup. This can cause unnecessary adjustments during the swing. Taking care to position the ball, feet, hips and shoulders properly ensures building a good swing foundation. Testing has shown golfers with open stances show no more tendency to slice than golfers with closed stances. The open stance may give the golfers a little more opportunity to slice, because it allows a little more freedom in the downswing and follow-though. The square stance is used by most successful golfers. Beginners should start with a square stance. As you advance, you can experiment with the advantages of other stances. Avoid extreme stances. Experiment to find the stance that works best for you. Take care to set up consistently on all normal shots.
...Golf Help

When you want to get some extra distance out of your drives, it�s natural to think that your right or dominant hand (for right-handed golfers) should supply the power. In reality, however, maximum power is a result of a left-hand lead.
...golf news

Hitting the ground before the ball, or "fat shots" is a very common problem that can lead to injury. This is caused by either coming into the ball too steeply, and/or decelerating the club head as you hit the ball. Proper weight shift is important and keeping your right shoulder back on the downswing (opposite for left handers) is crucial. There is a tendency to throw the right shoulder ahead as you come down creating an outside in steep club path. Focus on swinging more around your body to remedy this. A good drill is to strap your upper arms to your body and hit balls. This makes it impossible to throw the shoulder forward. Don't forget to accelerate through the ball. When you slow down at the bottom of your swing, you will hit it fat every time.
...PGA Tour

Fairway Bunkers
It goes without saying that if every course designer simply produced holes that were straight, then the game would quickly lose a great deal of the challenge that makes it such an enduring pastime for players. Hence the positioning of hazards such as water, fairway and greenside bunkers and trees.
...mastering golf UK

Snap It For More Power
The powerful tension built up in the backswing needs to be unleashed into the ball. Before the club finishes at the top, the body must begin moving toward impact with the arms and club lagging behind (the body should drag the arms and club, not vice versa). The unwinding body should stop sharply before contact, whipping the arms and club powerfully into impact.
...Golf Tips magazine

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