Long Bunker

[ezra76]

OK. I got killed last round with 3 nasty long bunker shots. I should have just hit out sideways because I left all 3 in. I hit a SW then a PW and finally a 1/2 swing 9iron on the last one, still no out. How do I hit a solid 20-30yd. shot out of a bunker with what I have in the bag? Hoping for some suggestions as next time... I'm taking driver in there.... hit like a 100foot putt. :laugh:

 

[BStone]

Depends on how high the lip is, with a normal lip, I will usually splash a 9 iron, set up like you are hitting a flop shot and hit just behind the ball and cut across it keeping the hands from turning over. I usually finish with the club at about waist height and the face pointing straight at the sky. For a higher lip, I will do much the same with a sand wedge/lob wedge. You can actually practice this type of shot if you have a range with a short game area that has some higher grass around. It takes a little getting used to so that you don't end up hitting the ball in the forehead, but it is quite effective as long as you hit fairly close to the back of the ball.

 

[ezra76]

I'm talking more of a shot from 10-20yds. away from the green in a bunker, 10yds just to get out and another 10 to hit the green. Lip doesn't really come into play. It's sort of an odd situation as this course is unique with these bunkers.

 

[BStone]

Same type of shot that I mentioned. With that shot, I can carry the ball between 10 and 40 yards, it should come out with a little spin as well since I have turned the effective loft of the 9 iron into about 58 degrees or so. Just make sure to keep the hands low, or you may end up lifting up and burying the ball in the sand. It is a delicate shot that you need to get some practice with, but I use it for almost all of my bunker shots, no matter how far I need to carry to get to the green, just use more or less club to get it there.

 

[Eracer]

This is one of the few things that I took from Dave Pelz that I like.

He says you add one club for each 10 yards past your sand wedge comfort distance. For example, I can hit a bunker shot with a sand wedge from up to 10 yards. If I'm 30 yards out, I take a nine iron, play the shot with a slightly less open clubface, and slighty less open stance. Otherwise, play it exactly like a standard bunker shot. Once you reach 40 yards out, you need to start hitting the shot more like a full swing.

 

[ezra76]

Same type of shot that I mentioned. With that shot, I can carry the ball between 10 and 40 yards, it should come out with a little spin as well since I have turned the effective loft of the 9 iron into about 58 degrees or so. Just make sure to keep the hands low, or you may end up lifting up and burying the ball in the sand. It is a delicate shot that you need to get some practice with, but I use it for almost all of my bunker shots, no matter how far I need to carry to get to the green, just use more or less club to get it there.

Yeah, I need to practice it because that's pretty well the shot I tried. I call it the "wristy floater" from the rough but it's pretty much my bunker shot, comes off as sort of a "semi flop" from the grass.

Should I have an earlier, more deliberate hinge on the shot?

 

[BStone]

Yeah, I need to practice it because that's pretty well the shot I tried. I call it the "wristy floater" from the rough but it's pretty much my bunker shot, comes off as sort of a "semi flop" from the grass.

Should I have an earlier, more deliberate hinge on the shot?

You made me get a club to try and remember what I do, it just comes naturally to me at this point. I don't actually hinge my wrist much at all with this shot, just take the club back way outside and come straight across the back of the ball and finish with the clubhead below my hands and my left elbow away from my body. It is nowhere near a textbook swing, but it gets the job done for me. If I hing the wrists too much, I end up hitting down into the sand and will not get the ball up and out of the sand.

 

[BStone]

P.S. I would not recommend this to average golfers, but you seem to be able to control your swing better than most players, so this could be an effective shot for your game with some practice.

 

[ezra76]

So hit my punch fade it sounds like. Weight forward? Break wrists of holdoff?

 

[BStone]

That is pretty close, just make sure to keep the club face pointing straight up throughout the swing, almost like you are trying to cut right under the ball, the key is to hit an inch or less behind it in the sand, this is what allows you to get some decent spin on the ball and height on the shot.

 

[15andlife]

Honestly look on Global Golf for a used Slingshot OSS individual club, these are so easy to hit out of the bunker because of the wide sole you can hit it like you do out of the fairway.

 

[Eracer]

Honestly look on Global Golf for a used Slingshot OSS individual club, these are so easy to hit out of the bunker because of the wide sole you can hit it like you do out of the fairway.

Funny thing - I had a set of Cleveland TA7's, which have a pretty wide sole, and couldn't hit them out of a bunker well at all. My current set of V-25's has really narrow soles, and I hit them out of fairways bunkers exceedingly well. I mean, 165-yard fairway bunker shot doesn't scare me at all. It did with the TA7's.

Go figure...

 

[Sandy]

You need a Cleveland 588RS, Eracer - and you KNOW you do...

 

[MGP]

Nah, he need's ezra to whip him up a 56* SQ with a Blueboard... :laugh:

 

[JEFF4i]

Hmmm. I usually take the sandwedge and just try and "pop" it out. Stronger swing, but also force it higher.