Here’s some interesting stats on sand play: Players with high golf handicaps are five times more likely to miss the green from the sand (44 percent of the time) than hit the green and one putt (9 percent). What’s the lesson here? Forget the flag on approach shots. Aim for the center of the green. Try to get in position for a two-putt and you’ll save a ton of strokes. It’s a proven strategy.
Results are why we emphasize this strategy in our golf lessons and group golf instruction sessions. Good results build confidence. And confidence is big in golf. But even if you perfect this strategy, you’ll still hit into bunkers. Mis-hitting sand shots can pack strokes onto your scores. So if you want to break 80, you must master sand shots. Below are five golf tips to help you escape the sand.
• Start Left, Stay Left
You need a lot of clubhead speed to hit good sand shots. But many golfers lean away from their targets when hitting these shots. This slows clubhead speed. Instead, try this: Play the ball forward of center. Open your stance slightly. Flex your knees a bit. And bend a bit more toward the ball from your hips. Also, keep your sternum over your left foot. Staying left generates high clubhead speed.
• Play Away from the Hole
Players with high golf handicaps often panic when facing bunkers with high lips. If high lips throw you, try a side of the bunker with a lower lip—even if you’re playing away from the hole. Look for a shot where even if you fail to execute it well, you can still get out. It’s okay if the shot leaves you with a pitch or chip shot. It’s better than getting frustrated hitting bunker shot after bunker shot after bunker shot.
• Set the Bottom of Your Swing
We work hard with students in golf lessons to bottom out their swings in the right place. It’s a key to consistency. To ingrain this golf tip, draw a line through the middle of your stance when practicing. Then take a normal bunker swing. Focus on getting your club to enter the sand on the line. If you hit behind the line, your sternum is too far left. After working on these line shots, drop a ball about an inch in front of the line. Then, hit a shot. Keep doing this until you master the shot.
• Minimize Your Out-to-in Swing Path
This is another golf tip we work hard on in golf instruction sessions. Use an out-to-in swing path when in a bunker. But be careful. You don’t want to use too much of an out-to-in path. When you do, it puts too much spin on the ball, making it hard to control once it lands. Instead, set your stance slightly left of target. Open your clubface a bit. And swing your club along the line of your feet. Also, if you swing too far left, you’ll hit the ball with a glancing blow. This will dissipate the energy you deliver to the ball and leave you still in the bunker. So minimize your out-to-in on bunker shots.
• Flatten the Shaft for More Loft
To hit a good sand shot, you must access both the bounce and the belly of your clubface correctly. Flattening your swing a bit does help. It promotes a shallow approach to the ball, which elevates the shot. To flatten your swing, bend a bit more in the knees than usual and lower your hands slightly. Now swing through the angle you just created. The lower your hands at impact, the higher the shot’s trajectory.
No matter what your golf handicap, you’ll still find your share of bunkers when playing. Poor bunker play can prevent you from breaking 80. It’s why we have students in our golf lessons practice bunker shots again and again and again. Ingrain our golf tips in your bunker shots and you’ll escape in one.