Secrets of Hitting it Close out of the Sand Trap

Skull the ball over the Green? Chunk it short still in the sand? Can't get it close?

Well, I hear your pain. After playing and working with dozens of golfers, the sand game is an area where lots of strokes are lost!

SO, I have broken down the secrets to hitting it close out of the sand/bunker below, which will improve your consistency and lower your score immediately:

- Club Face Position: The Club Face should be in an open position (for right-handers this means it will be aimed to the right of your target) as this helps elevate the ball out of the bunker. You should take the same grip as you have on your full-swing.

- Feet & Shoulders: Your feet and shoulders should be in an open position to allow you to swing along your feet line (across and down on the ball). This is a very important factor to having a consistent bunker game - all the great bunker players swing outside to in, along the path of their feet. To ensure proper balance, stabilize yourself in the sand by digging your feet in an inch or two.

- Legs: KEEP YOUR LOWER BODY STILL when hitting from the sand. Having a strong leg drive or weight transfer will create inconsistent contact and result in the problems mentioned at the beginning of this article. Your focus should be on hitting the sand a few inches behind the ball.

- Splash the Sand: Focus on taking a thin divot of sand that starts behind the ball (unlike a shot from the fairway or rough where you hit the golf ball first and the divot follows). You want to imagine "splashing" through the sand with your club.

- Backswing: On a bunker shot, you should take the club back more abruptly than on a full swing. This allows you to generate a steeper angle down through the sand, which will result in the ball flying higher out of the bunker.

- Follow Through: Decelerating and an unfinished swing are the biggest contributors to poor bunker shots. Because you are hitting behind the ball, you need to accelerate through the shot and finish high!

- Practice: There are short-cuts around some parts of the golf game, but bunker play relies on feel and touch. You must practice it to improve, however, it doesn't have to be hours on end. Here's what you should focus on if you have 30 minutes in the practice bunker:

1. Take the time to get the proper setup (mentioned above) and ingrain that into your mind.

2. Draw a line in the sand behind the ball and focus on hitting that line (if it's a shorter bunker shot, open your club face slightly more and hit less sand before the ball – about 1 inch; for longer shots, hit 2-3 inches behind the ball).

3. Accelerate through the shot every time.

4. Practice hitting to different distances so you can get the feel of how hard you need to swing, how much sand you take before the ball, and how big your backswing is.

Now go out there and get to work! You WILL see a difference if you follow the above tips.

Sean Dainty
Quick-Fix Golf
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/the-secrets-of-hitting-it-close-out-of-the-sand-trap-4534173.html

Author: Sean D