Callaway Golf Clubs

So you are in a bunker.
Not very good at bunker play you say to yourself.
Perhaps I should have practiced more.
I really must practice my bunker shots.
Not nearly as enjoyable as hitting golf shots on the practice fairway though.

How many times have I thought this in my earlier days?

Any way, here you are.

Let’s get this over and done with you say to yourself..

And here is the first part of the recipe for failure to hit a successful bunker shot and get onto the green in one shot.

No! Slow down!
Remember what you have to do and prepare.
Take a little time so that you are moving in slow motion.
Have a couple of practice swings on the side of the bunker before entering.

Line up carefully and deliberately after planting the feet in the sand.

Think no sideways movement, so you push your knees together to prevent this.

Think that I really must watch the sand where the club must make first contact, one to three inches behind the ball.
One inch is best.

And that I must follow through and so I must hit some sand onto the green to make sure that I do.

Get the picture of your shot firmly fixed in your mind.

Now for the golf shot.
Remember, you do not need much force to get the ball onto the green.

So, swing in slow motion too.
Take your time.
Slow back swing, out to in swing, and then execute your down swing in a nice easy method, letting the club head do the work.
Concentrate on taking a furrow of sand about six inches long that includes the sand under the ball.

Forget about the ball. Just take the sand.

Because you have swung like this, you will achieve a pretty accurate club head delivery and result.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru.
He thought out and developed simple techniques and tips which enabled him to lower his handicap from 25 to 18, then from 18 to 15, and finally from 15 to 12.
He is a passionate golfer, and delights in helping others with their game should they want his help.
Author of GOLF TIPS.
An e-Book that takes you step by step to being the best golfer that you can possibly be.
To learn about his tips and simple techniques
And see his book
visit
Online Golfers Handbook

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Bunker play is a necessary and often frightening aspect of a round of golf.
On your usual golf course what are the bunkers like?

There are those with good fluffy sand that is quite deep and there are those with not so fluffy sand but still sand and those with almost hard pan just deep to a find sprinkling of sand.

On this last bunker type, the sand iron has a tendency to bounce off the hard surface and cause you to duff your shot.
As already stated in a recent article, the object is to get out of the bunker and onto the green taking only one shot.
One can not carry several sand irons to play each type of bunker, so the answer is to compromise.

The thing that makes a sand iron bounce to a greater or lesser degree when it makes contact with the sand is the width and the depth of the flange.

A sand iron with a wide and deep flange will bounce on contact with the sand. The ideal type for that deep fluffy sand because it will stay shallow and not knife under the ball as much.

Conversely, a narrow and shallow flange will not bounce as much and will dig into the sand and tend to stop. Certainly not what you want in fluffy sand but ideal for the hard pan type of bunker.

So, what do you do?

Firstly, you have to know what type of base most of the bunkers have on your home course. If the sand is all fluffy and deep, lucky you.

On my course, there are a lot of hard pan type bunkers.

Then, you go to your professional and ask him to order a sand iron with a medium depth and width of flange.
This will be useful in all types of bunkers.

Don’t forget that the lob wedge is pretty useful out of a bunker.
Practice is needed though to see how it will perform with various swings and ball positions.

Particularly useful for the buried or poached egg lie.

The drill is to hit down onto the edge of the poached egg (the sand ridge around the ball) and do not follow through.
The ball should fly up in the air and out of the bunker. It will not be a very long shot however.

You may like the lob wedge for this, or your pitching wedge. The sand wedge may do too, but the flange could get in the way.
As usual, practice and trial and error is the only way to tell.

However, the shot is played in the way described above.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru.
He thought out and developed simple techniques and tips which enabled him to lower his handicap from 25 to 18, then from 18 to 15, and finally from 15 to 12.
He is a passionate golfer, and delights in helping others with their game should they want his help.
Author of GOLF TIPS.
An e-Book that takes you step by step to being the best golfer that you can possibly be.
To learn about his tips and simple techniques
And see his book
visit
Online Golfers Handbook.

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Do you look forward to your next game of golf during the working week with great anticipation, counting the days until golf day?

At the same time do you think of the shots your will play and think how great these will be on the day?

Then on the day, while travelling to the course, do doubts come into your mind about hitting good shots, straight shots, crisp chip shots around the green?

I suggest you get to the course early enough to allow you to hit some chip shots without lifting your head but remain looking at the place where the ball was.

This is a good drill to make you keep watching the ball until it is time to look up.
If you lift your head on the first or second shot, you will lift your head all day.
If you keep it down, you will do so all day.

Then hit some middle iron shots followed by several drives until you hit two or three on line and with good contact.

Then go to the putting green where you try to get some feel for the day.

Now for the important exercise.

Go somewhere quiet and visualise your game of golf. Meditate.

See yourself hitting a great drive, some wonderful iron shots and great play around the greens.
Take about ten minutes to do this.

You will find you will be more positive, more confident and your game will have improved on the day.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru.
He thought out and developed simple techniques and tips which enabled him to lower his handicap from 25 to 18, then from 18 to 15, and finally from 15 to 12.
He is a passionate golfer, and delights in helping others with their game should they want his help.
To learn about his tips and simple techniques,

visit

http://www.onlinegolfershandbook.com Online Golfers Handbook

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