Golf Sand Play Tips: How to Improve Your Swing
We all hate to admit it, but sooner or later a golf ball will end up in a bunker. Knowing how to escape the dreaded bunker is a skill that should be explored as much as any other golf skill. Here are some pointers to help your swing.
One of the least practiced drills in golf
Before we look at what factors you should work on in your swing, it should be mentioned that to become adept at hitting the ball out of the sand, one must practice doing so as much as other drills. This is one area many golfers neglect, and so when the time comes where they need this skill, they are found wanting and their game score ultimately suffers.
Follow through is everything
In order to effectively pull off a swing that gets the ball out of the sand and onto the green, you must learn to follow through with your shot. Professional golfers always end their stroke with the clubface high up, indicating their ability to follow through with bunker shots.
Place your weight forward
The key to getting power behind a bunker shot is to distribute the majority of your weight forward. This forward force combined with a good follow through will propel your ball forward and up, ensuring a solid escape from the sand.
Wrists stay straight
Your wrists will also play a big part in determining how far your ball travels. If your wrists flex during the stroke, you’re likely to hit the ball up, but not very far out. Keeping your wrists nice and firm however, will add a decent amount of bounce behind the shot which will send it soaring up and away.
Buried lies in uphill bunkers
One of the hardest shots in sand play is getting the ball out of a buried state and trying to drive it uphill and out. The secret to making this shot is again to place as much weight forward as you can. In this instance, you will not attempt to scoop the ball out with the clubface, but rather you will dig your club into the sand and use the trailing sand to almost propel the ball up and out. Make sure you also maintain your follow through stroke when doing this, as discussed above.