How to Stop Leaving Golf Shots in the Sand

A mighty swing, the thump of a sand wedge, a cloud of sand and the golf ball barely moves. Anyone who has climbed down into the interior of a sand trap knows this sequence. There is a reason this silicon filled hole is called a trap. Those who call it "the beach" misspeak. If a golfer has a round where he or she has found a large number of traps, it's not been a day at the beach.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Understand that the bounce of your sand wedge must match the conditions of sand. If your club has a bounce of 8 or less and sand is soft, your club will have a tendency to cut right into the sand and bury itself. For soft sand, you need a bounce of 12 or more.

2. Finishing your swing is the most important swing thought for all sand shots. Finishing a shot will lessen many mistakes.

3. Align yourself slightly to the left of your target.

4. Open the face of your sand wedge.

5. Play the ball forward in your stance. Keep your weight forward as well. Align your shoulders with your stance--slightly to the left.

6. Swing down the line. Your point of impact should be about one and a half inches behind the ball. Your swing should be moderately steep. Finish your swing. The ball should pop out at the target, to the right of your alignment.

7. You can increase the distance of your shot by opening the club less. This shot allows you to hit most green side sand shots.

Tips & Warnings

• Bounce has to do with the angle of the leading edge of a wedge. High bounce means the club will "bounce" off the ground or sand. So in hard sand, a club with a high bounce would have a tendency to cause skulled shots.
• You must make sure that you match the club to the sand conditions. If you come across a ball in a trap that has sand that is considerably firmer than the rest of the course, and you have a sand wedge with lots of bounce, you may want to chip from that particular trap. Trying to use a blast shot in those circumstances may produce a 150 yard shot instead of a soft, 15 foot sand shot.

Who Can Help:

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Resources

• Discussion of bounce
• Discussion of a variety of sand shots