A Fresh Mental Approach is All You Need to Get Your Sand Game
On Track (Part 3)

Continued from blog entry – “A LINE IN THE SAND (Part 2)”

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DON’T “HANDCUFF” YOURSELF :

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When someone asks me for help with bunker shots, I’ll ask the player what he or she is trying
to accomplish. Invariably I hear a laundry list of technical de­tails—open the blade wide, aim 30
de­grees left of target, pick the clubhead up immediately, cock the wrists, and so on. Whoa! Playing a sand shot is not all that different from
a pitch shot—you don’t have to turn it into a two-headed dragon. Yes, you should open the blade slightly for most sand shots and yes, you need to contact a spot behind the ball rather than the ball itself. But remem­ber, there’s a lot less resistance from sand than from normal fairway turf. As long as you contact the sand reasonably close to where you want to keep the clubhead moving through the sand rather than flinching, you’ll get the ball out every time.

Often I’ll demonstrate for a student how easy the shot is by deliberately “missing” it a bit. That is, I’ll draw a line a couple of inches behind the ball and try to hit the spot perfectly. Then I’ll de­liberately make contact one inch behind the line on the next shot. Yet the carry and roll of the shot is not much differ­ent. Try this in a practice bunker and see for yourself. It’ll help your confidence.