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Tips To Play The Sand Trap

By Lee MacRae

Getting out of a bunker or sand trap in one shot can do wonders for your confidence and your golf game. Follow along as we lay out some tips, tricks and hints to help you with your sand play and watch the improvement in your next round of golf.

Sand shots put such fear in the hearts of most golfers that they rush the swing fast and jerkily, thus making the good sand shot a matter more of happenstance than of planning and skill. The simple way to remedy this fault is to swing as slowly as possible. You'll find this lesson useful all over the golf course, but it is most useful in sand. Remember that the whole point of the sand shot is to miss the ball. You hit the sand, and the sand lifts the ball out of the bunker. Swinging faster usually doesn't help. Swinging very slowly will give you a greater feel of hitting the sand behind the ball, take the tension out of the shot, and ultimately give you the confidence needed to play any shot out of sand.

The sand shot hit from a downhill lie is one of the toughest of all. Here's how to hit it; the key is ball position. As with other downhill shots, you should play the ball back in your stance, in this case roughly opposite your right foot. Next, swing the club up abruptly, breaking your wrists. Keeping your legs and torso steady, hit into the sand 2 inches behind the ball. Follow through normally. There is not much margin for error on this shot, so once you've picked a spot where you want the club to make contact with the sand, concentrate on hitting that exact spot and followed through.

When your ball is sitting up in sand on a rise that is caused by someone's footprints, don't be fooled into thinking this is an easy shot. Players tend to try to get the ball off the surface of the sand, or take too much sand in an effort not to hit it too far. Do the former and you may blade the ball. Do the latter and you may hit it fat. This is an instance where you want to hit not under the ball, but down and through it. Take your spot, about two inches behind the ball and slightly below it [because of the rise] and swing as you would for a normal chip shot. If you're still worried about getting it too far, move your weight back to your right foot. This will force you to swing more with your arms and will take some power out of the shot.

Knowing the basic techniques of bunker sand play and understanding the subtleties of the various problems you can encounter will actually lead you to even enjoy the play from a sand bunker. I'm sure these tips will help you to enjoy your next round of golf.

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To check to see if the wrists are in the proper position that was mentioned above, swing the club half-way back about hip-level high with the clubshaft in the position horizontal to the ground. If the left wrist is in this flat position the clubface will be parallel to the target line, or the toe of the club will be pointing vertically towards the sky. Half-way through the forward swing with the shaft horizontal to the ground again the clubface should be parallel to your target line or toe facing upwards towards the sky. In these positions the left wrist has remained in the flat position throughout your entire swing which translates into a solid straight shot on line to your target. Finally, remember that any attempt to hit the ball with your hands will force the wrists out of position, and the cause them to break down which results in wayward shots.
...PGA

Keep Your Hands Low
Limiting the height of the followthrough will effectively reduce the height of your shots. The lower the hands, the lower the ballflight. Moving the ball back in your stance or choosing a stronger club and trying to swing easy are other ways to accomplish the same thing, but they're less reliable and more difficult to execute. Instead, keep your hands low in the finish (compare the two photos at right), and the trajectory of your shots will be lower.
...Golf Tips magazine

Thanks to the popularity of golf, there are many golf gadgets available today. As more people want to play the game, more ways are sought to improve their game. The once steady golf industry has now expanded to a much larger industry. Some companies are built around only one piece of golf equipment. Golf gadgets available range from some incredibly useful golf aids to some slightly more ridiculous items. Here are some of the options.
...PGA of America

Find Your Swing Plane
You can swing on an upright or flat plane and be effective. However, if you want to be neutral, keep your left arm running up through your left shoulder at the top.
...Golf Tips magazine

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