The bunkers from hell

[Bravo]

Yesterday, I was hitting the ball pretty decently. Got off to a great start with a birdie on the first...here is what happened to me on the par 3's.

#4) Hit the ball into the back of a bunker. Ball lying 3 inches from a steep face. To access the ball, I had to have the right leg in the bunker and the left leg about three feet above on the ground. Opened the blade to almost facing the sky and hit it. Ball hits bunker face and goes backward. Double bogey.

#7) Same thing. Almost pulled a hamstring just getting my feet set much less getting a decent swing onto the ball. Ball ended up ten feet behind my original position.

#10) Hit the ball short of the green and fail to get up and down.

#14) Same as 4 and 7....worse elevation difference between sand and ground though. Ended up having to stand in the bunker with my feet together....almost fell over after the followthrough....ball ended up back in the bunker again after hitting the face.

I had three impossible bunker shots....I'd like to see a touring pro get out of those bunkers, much less get it close to the flag. On every shot, my wedge slammed into a vertical wall and the ball went backward.

So I shot an 83 with two birdies and was +7 on the Par 3's....

Rub of the Green.

[Adam Pettman]

Originally Posted by Bravo

+7 on the Par 3's....

Ouch. I hate deep bunkers that you have to hit a lob wedge to get out of especially if its 200yrds from the green.

[SiberianDVM]

I had bunker trouble as well, but mine was fairway bunkers. I played a tourney at an unfamiliar course and managed to put 2 beautiful, long drives straight into fairway bunkers.

Naturally, I chunked both times I tried to hit out of them using a 5 hybrid; got the ball out but only about 30 yards. I should have used a 7 iron. Duh.

[artfulgolfer]

I have to share the bunker story of a golfer playing in our club championship a couple years ago - good golfer, about a 2 handicap. He got into the deep and dreadful bunker guarding #12 at our local club (I've been in 5 times and never gotten out in 1). It took him so many swings to get out that he ended up scoring a 19 on this par 4 hole. Turns out that if he had scored a 10 on the hole, he would have won the championship!

[warbirdlover]

I feel your pain!! I had a downhill lie on the back side of a bunker too this weekend. Didn't get it out either. Also had a couple of steep downhill lies on mounds behind the green and the green sloped down from the back to the front. Another shot from hell.

[Eracer]

Practice greenside bunker shots in which the ball is up against a steep face (even semi-buried). Instead of opening the clubface, close it severely, such that you are driving the toe of the wedge into the sand behind the ball. Hit down hard and steep with no follow-through. It works.

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by Eracer

Practice greenside bunker shots in which the ball is up against a steep face (even semi-buried). Instead of opening the clubface, close it severely, such that you are driving the toe of the wedge into the sand behind the ball. Hit down hard and steep with no follow-through. It works.

One additional tip, do not use your SW or LW. For every degree steeper than level the lie is, add that you your loft on your club. On an extreme slope (say 35-40*), a 60 degree wedge may well end up putting you past 90* and your ball will go backwards. On most slopes I prefer to use my 52*, but have used my PW or even and 8 iron for extreme slopes. Same theory applies in chipping/pitching up to an elevated green. Decrease the loft of you club for steep slopes to get the same effective loft for the shot as you higher lofted clubs.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by ualtim

One additional tip, do not use your SW or LW. For every degree steeper than level the lie is, add that you your loft on your club. On an extreme slope (say 35-40*), a 60 degree wedge may well end up putting you past 90* and your ball will go backwards. On most slopes I prefer to use my 52*, but have used my PW or even and 8 iron for extreme slopes. Same theory applies in chipping/pitching up to an elevated green. Decrease the loft of you club for steep slopes to get the same effective loft for the shot as you higher lofted clubs.

Good point. I forgot to mention that I usually use a PW for that shot.

[VtDivot]

Don't put it in there.

Just Kidding B - that's a damn fine score considering your bad luck.

[SiberianDVM]

My bunker play the last 2 rounds has been atrocious. And before that it was great! WTF? I am now going completely under the ball and leaving it in the bunker.

A sand lesson is in my future.

[Pa Jayhawk]

The biggest, and possibly very few complaints you ever hear about our home course is the condition of the traps. Very shallow packed sand. They were also the main reason I customized my wedges last year to be able to better deal with them. They get complaints on them, but it is a matter of the cost of $360k to replace the sand in all of them. Personally I never really complained as I think people really lose site of the fact that it is a hazard, and like a pond, I am not going to complain that there is too much water in the pond so I can't hit my ball. Certainly changed my perspective of the game though, and made me appreciate the comments that are commonly made by guys like Jack Nicklaus.

My only complaint was that they also have their share of small pebbles and rocks that come up. Although I just recently found out in the same meeting where the cost was brought up that Locally in this area at many courses and on this one, you are permitted to remove loose impediments from the bunker.

[SCGolfer]

my home course has terrible bunkers. most have no sand at all in them.....the upside is they are all pretty shallow so you can "chip" out with a 51 or pw. the downside is when I play courses with good bunkers I can't get out. I need to practice but I don't really have anywhere that I can.



Jason