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Tips For Sand Trap Play

By Lee MacRae

Getting a good golf shot out of bunker or a sand trap can go along way to salvaging a golf hole. Here are a few tips that you can use to make your golf game better.

The worst thing about hitting an uphill sand shot is that your ball probably is plugged in the sand. Balls that aren't plugged usually roll back down to a flat area. Here's how to play the shot: anchor your body by planting your right foot solidly in the sand, and slant your shoulders so that they are parallel with the slope. The swing for the shot isn't pretty. Just pick up the club sharply, keeping your legs still, and whack the sand behind the ball. Don't try to follow through. Remember that in such a perilous position any recovery is a good recovery.

Visual imagery is commom in bunker play. Some instructors tell students to imagine that the face of the club is the palm of their hands, which they "slap" under the ball in the hitting zone. We prefer to think of money. A dollar bill is slightly more than six inches long. That means that if the bill is laid under a golf ball, about two inches of the ball would protrude back from the bill. As the ideal "explosion shot" demands that you hit into the sand roughly two inches behind the ball, you should pretend that you're hitting the dollar ball out of the bunker. This is an especially useful image because in order to hit the ball right out of the bunker, you'll need to complete your follow-through, and that's another important element of just about every sand shot.

Here is a simple way of remembering how much to open a blade of your sand wedge. Taken an open stance, with your feet aiming to the left of the hole. Then simply open the clubface until it is aiming directly act of the hole. Now, swing outside-to-in across the ball, and your ball will pop out and bounce and roll slightly to the right, toward the hole.

Once you have a feel for the basics of playing from sand, you can easily understand some of the finer points of bunker play, and you will find it easy to adapt your technique to different types of sand challenges and lies. Make your golf game more enjoyable with good sand play.

About the author

Lee MacRae runs several online stores where you can find a great golf training aids or a great golf club today!

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