BETTER BY SATURDAY
Check Your Setup in the Sand
You’ll be a lot more accurate if you get your clubface and body aimed the right way BY JORDAN DEMPSEY
average golfers set up in greenside bunkers in two common ways. Some turn the
clubface wide open and stand open. Others are afraid to open the face, so they set it square and stand closed. Both these setups are problematic. The open player can deliver too much loft, and the closed player can dig too much. Control and consistency suffer. Instead, here’s a better way to get the face and your body ready for a great shot. As you step in, rotate the clubface open about 10 degrees and then take
your grip. Walk up to the ball and set your trail foot down with your body open to the target. On this shot ( right ), my target is the flagstick, but
STAND AND DELIVER
Set up open, but keep the club facing your target.
that’s not always the case. Place your front foot and then aim the clubface di- rectly at your target. Keep in mind that the clubface is still open to your stance because you’ve shifted your alignment ( top photo, right ). That’s it. Set your body slightly open, aim the club at your target, and then swing along your stance line – oh, and enjoy your sand save. – WITH DAVE ALLEN JORDAN DEMPSEY teaches at the PGA Tour Performance Centre at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY J D CUBAN
42 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JULY/AUGUST 2025
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