Keep Your Left Wrist Cupped for High Bunker Shots

If your goals are to play to single figures than you will need a diverse short game that can cope with the variety of green side challenges that the course presents. Being able to play a high bunker shot will not only enable you to recovery from steep sided bunkers but also give you the tools to stop the ball quickly when the hole is cut close to the bunker.

Use your most lofted sand wedge, ideally a 58-60 degree lob wedge. The set up is the same as for a normal ‘out to in’ bunker shot but with a few adjustments.

 Address

Set up with a wide stance and the ball well forward of middle. My hands are level with the club head so there is maximum loft and no shaft lean

My weight is toward my heels and I’ve got my knees more flexed than normal. This ‘sitting down’ position will lower your hands and promote a shallow approach into the ball. This is necessary to get the ball up quickly.

Backswing

Throughout the swing aim to keep the left wrist cupped. This keeps maximum loft on the club face and utilizes the bounce on the bottom of the lob wedge to slide through the sand and under the ball.

Through the Ball

We are aiming to return to the ball with a shallow approach that just slides under the ball with a sliver of sand. With this in mind and to keep the loft on the club face, my weight is favoring my back foot.

The hands are allowed to unwind fully through the ball. This way the club head will overtake the hands immediately after impact

Use the Bounce to Slide

Through the Sand

Introduction

If you are looking to break 90 on a regular basis then you will need to be able to control the trajectory and distance of your bunker shots. For this to happen we need to have the club sliding through the sand with minimal resistance and that means using the bounce on the bottom of the club and swinging slightly across the ball.

Address

–       Open the club face by turning it to the right and then re-gripping the club. When you place the club down it will be aiming to the right of the target.

–       Now turn your feet and body to the left until the club face is pointing only slightly right of target.

Backswing

–       Swing the club outwards and along the line of your feet

–       Keep you eyes focused on your intended contact point in the sand about 2-3 “ behind the ball.

–       The ‘out to in’ movement across the ball will allow the sole of the club to glide neatly under the ball without digging into the sand and slowing down.

 Through the Ball

–       As you swing down through the ball you will be swinging across your intended target line so be sure to keep the face open so the ball flies in the right direction

–       Keep your body turning through the shot and the club accelerating to a full finish.

Keep it Simple with a ‘Straight

Forward’ Approach

Introduction

A lot of golfers overcomplicate the bunker shot when a straight forward approach can give fantastic results. If your goal is to break 100 then you need to be able to get the ball out of the bunker every time with a consistent strike. This is without doubt the best way. In this method we are not opening the club face so make sure you are using a sand wedge or even your lob wedge.

Address

This method is almost identical to playing a pitch shot and starts with a similar set up position. The big difference is that we are aiming to hit the sand about 2-3” behind the ball and let the club slide under the ball which will lift the ball on a cushion of sand.

• Stand with your body aligned square to where you are aiming and with a square club face.
• Adopt a fairly wide stance with 60% of your weight on the front foot
• Hands just ahead of the ball to create shaft lean
• The ball is positioned 2” in front of the middle of your stance

Backswing

 The backswing is much like pitching.

 My wrists have hinged to 90 degrees and my   arms have swung more upward than normal.

 Try and keep your weight on your front foot and your legs quiet in the backswing. This will help you control where you hit the sand

The key skill with any bunker method is that we can consistently make our first contact in the sand 2-3” behind the ball.

To practice this skill, draw a line in the sand in the middle of your stance and practice the correct contact point and depth of your divot. Remember, the ball is place 2-3” in front of this mark,

Impact

Practicing this drill will help you become familiar with the correct impact with the sand and also give you the confidence that you can  make a committed swing at the ball, safe in the knowledge that you will be striking the sand first.

Finish

As with pitching, be sure to keep your body turning through impact so that you finish with your hips and shoulders facing the target.  Your club should accelerate through the sand to a position at least as high as it was in your backswing.

This is a much overlooked skill with woods. We need to be able to feel where the bottom of our arc is to strike the ball from the middle of the club face (on both a horizontal and vertical plane) and also to create the optimum launch conditions.

Tee Height

We are aiming to hit the ball in the centre of the driver face so as a rule try and tee the ball at such a height that half the ball is above the top of your driver face. Too high and you’ll either swing under neath the ball or be forced to make adjustments in your swing. Too low and you’ll hit the ball from the bottom grooves of the club face imparting too much back spin and costing you distance

Control the Bottom of Your Arc

It is imperative with the driver that we are sweeping the ball cleanly off the tee and launching the ball forward. To steep an attack and you may sky the ball and you’ll certainly get unwanted spin. Place a few tees in the ground about with about 2” above the ground. Take a number of practice swings trying to clip the tee about half way up and not make any contact with the ground.

Awareness

To improve your awareness of the height of the bottom of you swing arc say to your self after each hit where on the tee you struck. Either top, middle or bottom. Once you can achive the middle height consistently you will not only improve your angle of approach but also find the middle of your driver face

Screenshots taken from Everyday Golf Coach Power app

 The Essentials of Pitching

Address Position

The set up for pitching is very similar to chipping. The stance is narrow and we stand closer to the ball than for a full swing. Be sure to get 65% of your weight on to your front foot and the ball positioned just behind the centre of your stance. Notice how the hands are in front of the ball.

Backswing

The back swing length will differ depending on the length of the shot but always aim to create a clear ‘L’ shape between your lead arm and the shaft. Probably the most important aspect of the backswing is that my weight has stayed predominantly on my left foot.

Impact

Our intentions should be on hitting the ball forward. Let the loft on the club create the lift. This way, as we move through the ball, the shaft is leaning forward and the weight is still on the lead foot. This will slightly reduce the loft on the club but will ensure that we get the correct downward contact.

                                                     Finish

Commitment is the key. It is paramount that you keep your body turning through the ball and make sure that your hands don’t overtake your body action. In this picture we can see how I’ve controlled the club face keeping it square to the target for as long as possible.

Straight left arm
This topic is some what in line with golfers that try to “keep their left arm straight”. However, this is not the best way to think about your arc for a number of reasons.

• Not everyone has the flexibility to keep the lead arm locked out. A really straight left arm would lead most golfers to becoming very tight and stiff in their movement
• From a motor learning perspective, latest research suggests that we are far better off focusing on the affects/ intentions of our movement than focusing on the actual body segments. (see more on this in the research section.)
• The left arm is only straight in the backswing, just after impact the right arm straightens/thrusts as the left folds away in towards the body. You really don’t want to be thinking about all of this at 100mph. Aim to keep your hands as wide as possible and the arms will look after themselves.

This is a video taken from the ‘Everyday Golf Coach’ app that explains the concept and demonstrates a great drill that will help you maintain your radius all the way around your swing while keeping a quiet focus.

Important Caveat

In the downswing the legs are moving left and the hands will be pulled in towards the body somewhat. This has the affect of narrowing the arc in relation to the upswing. This is part of strong dynamics and should be encouraged. Should one try and swing down on an acr that mirrors the upswing then the  movement sequence will be compromised and the arc will be too wide. The result is an out to in swing path and fat shots.

This is a screenshot taken from Everyday Golf Coach Power that indicates the upswing arc and downswing.

And here is Hogan demonstrating the same affect

This level of accuracy and control requires a number of principles falling into place.

1. Dynamic Posture: Holding posture angles throughout the swing
2. Consistent Swing Radius: Keeping your hands stretched away from your body until late in the follow through
3. Centre Point: Keeping your body from moving laterally in the back swing
4. Arm Dynamics: Unwinding the arms,wrists and club head at the correct time and in sync with the body 

This is partly why golf coaching can get a little messy at times. The pupil is normally after a relatively ‘quick fix”but until all these principles are mastered the ball striking will be a little unpredictable and heavily reliant on timing.

Dynamic Posture:
 This is the principle of simply holding your posture angles until well after impact during the swing. This screen grab is taken from the Everyday Golf Coach app where I explain this concept in more detail and demonstrate the ‘x’ drill to create a powerful pivot motion of the body while staying in posture. The images represent a still at address position (top right), back swing and impact (main still). A useful thought is to imagine that your back side is touching a wall and must remain touching until after impact. This would keep you from standing up out of your posture prematurely.

The key factors that influence the bottom of your arc will be discussed in future posts but until then, have a look at this impact in slow motion. The divot starts 2″ after the ball and the arc bottoms out just after that.(You Tube video by knaapjen)

A lot is made of weight transition but the reason why a beginner may stay on their back foot is their intentions to lift the ball up into the air. It is also for this reason that the same novice has a breakdown of the wrist and arm structure coming into the ball. You Tube video from John Dunigan

Not until we understand the correct motion of the club into the ball can we create a solid and reliable movement. So what is the correct striking motion of the club?
The club travels in a circular arc that needs to bottom out in the right place. That equation is the key to quality striking. The club’s arc should bottom out some 2-4″ past the ball. This means of course that the ball is being struck on the downward part of the arc with the divot starting 1-2″ past the ball..

This video I’ve grabbed from You Tube (gyddor) explains it well. I like the drill too. It will condition better intentions into the ball.

1. Correct intentions on how to ‘lift’ the ball
2. A consistent bottom of your arc
3. Dynamic impact alignment
4. The ball position relative to the arc

Expectations

Any beginner lesson always starts with a check on expectations. The golf swing is a very complex motor skill and to develop and repeat a functional movement takes time and many hours of practice on the range. On average it takes a golfer about 12-24 months to become comfortable playing a full size course. Then another year at least to obtain an official golf handicap. More on that later.

Pathway

The priority at the start must be to groove a consistent (ish) contact on the ball so plenty of hours on the range where massed ball bashing can take place are vital. One must commit to at least one session per week to make measurable progress. After a couple of months of this I would urge you to find a small par 3 course to venture out and discover the game. DON’T score, just enjoy.

Now you will see the need for a good short game, that’s chipping and putting, so add this to your practice each week too. With one practice session and one on course session per week you’ll start to get to grips with things.

Aim to venture on to a full size course within your 1st year of playing, again, scoring is not the priority at the start.

Key factors that will keep you improving and prevent you from becoming one of the many ‘drop outs.’

• Continuity: Commit to at lest a practice session every week and put it in the diary
• Support: Having a friend to learn with is ideal to maintain regular practice and moral
• Coaching: Get good coaching from the start and don’t rely on well meaning freinds. “In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king” and no where is this more true than on your local driving range, however, you don’t want to be practicing the same mistakes that others have made
• Range Balls: If you can, commit to a bulk range card. it’s cheaper and commits you for a while.
• Attitude: You will have some great practice session and inevitably some real shockers. Roll with the punches and don’t take it personally.
• Approach to Learning: Celebrate all your victories (good shots) and ignore all your fallings because these are all part of the process.
• Little and Often: It’s far better to hit a few balls at a time and come back the next day than ht 100’s of balls at once. This way you make use of sleep and incubation time. More on this later in the ‘Research’ section of the blog
• Clubs: You don’t need a fancy set right now but you do need something that will help you learn. A 30 year old rusty stick is not going to inspire you. Seek advice on ‘cavity back’ clubs and the right shaft flex.
• Be Excited: At no other time in any game will you improve as fast as at the beginning

Good luck, enjoy every ball!