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| Beating Bunkers |
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| Consistency comes from keeping things simple. It's a hard enough game anyway, so why add in needless complications? That's why when it comes to sand traps, I set out to alter as little as possible. The trick in sand is to control how far you are hitting the ball - you'll always get the line there or thereabouts. But whereas many players try to dictate the length of shot through altering swing length or swing speed, my preference is to keep the swing the same every time - same rhythm, same force. I like to control distance primarily through changing alignment, of both body and clubface. With a constant speed and length of swing, I find it is straightforward to take yards off the shot by opening the stance and the face, and to hit further by squaring up more. Give this a try and I'm sure you'll feel the same. Bunker play will become much more consistent as a result. |
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1. The longer the shot, the squarer you are
A - Of course, an open stance and face hits the ball higher and shorter. Your swing path, dictated by your body aim, is across the ball-to-hole line, so you are giving the ball only a glancing blow. And that open face is more lofted than a square one, giving increased height but reduced power. By the way, please open the clubface before taking your grip. Otherwise the face will just return to square at impact.
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| B - For longer shots everything gets much squarer, with the stance and face only slightly open. Now the club is hitting more directly up the back of the ball, with the clubface much squarer to that path. This time the clubhead's energy is sending the ball forwards, not up. This set-up sends the ball further, but not through swinging faster or harder. It's the same action, simply with a more powerful impact position. |
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2. Strike 1.5in behind the ball
Here I must let you into a secret; I do, in fact, adjust the amount of sand I take. I'll dig deeper for short shots, shallower for the longer ones. But this needs utter precision which only comes from tons of practice. In all honesty I couldn't recommend it for the average club golfer. Your trap reliability will soar if you learn to take the same amount of sand, around an inch-and-ahalf behind the ball,every time. |
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3. Always follow through
On short trap shots, don't be lulled into thinking you can puff the ball out with no follow-through. You need acceleration to get the club through the sand, so always get the shaft pointing at least to the sky on the way through. If you follow my advice on having a consistent swing for all shots, this becomes second nature. You just need to get very open with stance and club for those short shots. |
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| Golf World - Monty Special |
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