A Surprising Way To Chip Out Of A Greenside Bunker
Posted on May 20, 2008
Filed Under short game, tips |
Have you ever noticed that it sometimes seems that pro golfers actually aim for sand traps? Or, at the very least, don’t seem to mind when their ball hits the beach? If you watch a tour event on television, the pro will get up and down greater than 80% of the time – probably better than they would have if they were just in the rough. It’s one of the things that separates the good golfers from the great ones, and it has very little to do with how well you strike the ball. Hitting out the sand is one of the easier things to do, because your choices are varied, and you don’t even have to be all that perfect.
One of the wrong decisions that many golfers make is to treat every sand shot the same. This is simply not the case. Every sand shot will have a different lie, different slope, and a different strategy for getting out. Sometimes you’ll be blasting it out with the sand wedge, other times, you be trying to pick it with a long iron. Today we are going to talk about something different, using the putter to get your ball out of the sand.
While not often recommended, there are certain scenarios where attempting to putt out of a trap is a good idea. If the bunker is firm (not with fluffy sand, like kids play with on the beach) and the ball is sitting up, you may be able to strike it fairly strongly. Of course, you need to be in a position where you don’t need a lot of loft to get it over the lip of the bunker, or some other hazard.
To play the shot, you line up as if you were putting, but you put the ball somewhat further back in your stance that you normally would if you were on the putting surface. This is to prevent you from catching any sand before you strike the ball. You want to hit the ball in the upper half, and not pick up any sand at all. Because of this, the ball will do two things. First, striking down on the ball may cause it to pop up a little, and it will hop a bit right off the club. Second, this spin will reduce the speed of the ball, and actually allow you to give it a good whack. This means you can probably line up the shot at the hole, and give it a smack like you were playing mini-golf, with not much risk involved. Just be sure to catch the ball cleanly, and your ball will run.
So, the next time you are in a greenside bunker with a good lie, and no lip or other hazard to get over, consider pulling out the putter, and putting your way out. It may just be your best choice.
Comments
Leave a Reply
