CAN’T GET OVER THE BUNKER LIP? SKIM YOUR BALL UP AND OUT
When standing in a greenside bunker with a high lip between
you and the green, a com- mon mistake is to try to help the ball out with some body English. To get the ball up quickly, I see players rising up or hitting off their back foot or trying to scoop the ball out of the sand with a flick of the wrists – all sorts of bad moves that are likely to leave the ball anywhere but on the green. If you struggle with bunker play, you need to trust your sand wedge to do the work. A great visual for how your body, hands and club should operate in a bunker swing is to visualise skim- ming a stone across a pond. The way your body rotates and your arm folds and shal- lows towards the ground to get the stone to hop is very similar to how your right arm should control a bunker swing. In fact, next time you’re practising, make some sidearm throws down range with a golf ball and feel how you time the throw- ing motion with your body rotation. Then employ that action in a bunker. Another way to get a feel for this blending action is to make one-arm swings in the bunker, rotating your body towards the hole as your arm skims through the sand. When you go back to hitting bunker shots, remember this skimming action and keep the clubhead moving well past the time it strikes the sand. When you finish, the clubhead should be looking back at you ( bottom, right ).
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 55
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator