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Hard sand advice?

White Rhino

White Rhino

SANDBAGGER!!!!!!!
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Yesterday I had real trouble hittingout of a sand trap with hard sand. Of course the lip of the trap was also over my head but besides that can any of you great bunker players out there give me some advice how to do this properly? I know with soft sand you open the face, hit two inches behind and follow through completely. What is the difference for the real hard stuff?
 
Andys Words "First thing to ask is what wedge do you hit out of the sand? Firm sand means you have to go with the wedge with the least amount of bounce. In your case this would be your 60*. Next keep the club head square at setup. DON'T open the face, this adds bounce to your wedge. The swing will be shorter and I want you to drive the leading edge of your wedge into the sand. The force will pop the ball up and land soft. Don't worry if the follow through is short or the club sticks a bit in the sand the goal here is to make sure the leading edge gets into the sand and under the ball." Andy's words
 
I saw on a tour lessons with the pros that you are supposed to not open up the club as much and get steeper into the ball as Thainer said and hit behind the ball with the leading edge and try and pop the ball out.
 
I think for the real hard stuff, I would just play it like you are in the fairway with a tight lie.
 
Hard sand is tough. The problem is your club bounces off the hard pan and actually accellerates. Your theory of hitting and inch or two behind the ball is sound, but only in normal to soft sand, not in the hard stuff. In hard sand, you need to attack the ball steep and clip the ball first with a open face, and just brush the sand. It is a precision shot and not easy, and you will get a ton of spin. But it is doable.
 
Well that is what I did wrong.. I opend the club up.... thanks!
 
We have a lot of that here, especially after the rains turn our sand mixtures into mud and then the sun bakes down on it! If there's no lip or if I think the lip will help pop the ball into the air, I might putt it out, depending on how long the shot is and how much grass you gotta go through to reach the green.
 
Smallville said:
We have a lot of that here, especially after the rains turn our sand mixtures into mud and then the sun bakes down on it! If there's no lip or if I think the lip will help pop the ball into the air, I might putt it out, depending on how long the shot is and how much grass you gotta go through to reach the green.
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Same here in the Pittsburgh area. Sand tends to be on the harder side which resulted in my not getting enough distance with my sand wedge out of a trap. Yesterday in a green side sand trap, I pulled out my Pitching wedge instead of my SW and hit the green close to the pin instead of my usually landing up on the fringe. I think I will look for a sand wedge with more weighting and a slightly thicker sole than the classic Cleveland style sand wedge. Maybe the Ping Tour S? It looks chunkier and might help me get through the harder sand more easily?

Any thoughts on this?
 
Slow your swing down and catch more ball. Pick it if you need to.


And get steeper lol.
 
pick it. pick it real good
 
I hate hard sand! When I played last weekend the sand was SO hard that you couldn't even leave a footprint in it... I ended up hitting a couple bunker shots thin, but lucked out cause they the lip and flew just over the green... could have been disastrous! Hit my third one OK though but I got so nervous standing at the ball after the first two. Oh well.
 
Hard/no sand in the bunkers is the biggest problem for my local course, so more often than not you find yourself with a 20-30 yard pitch out around the green but no sand to get underneath which makes it very difficult.

I've found that using my 60* lob wedge and nicking the ball off the top of the sand is the only real option, you do have to concentrate and make absolutely sure you keep your head down but with a bit of practice it's probably the easiest option.
 
Hard or wet sand is a gift. The consistency of the sand gets closer to that of the rest of the golf course. You can generate some serious spin and generally throw the ball directly at the flag.
Open the club face and use the bounce that was provided for you in the bottom of the club. Let the bounce get into the sand and lift the ball out. Don't help it out, don't try to pick it don't swing slower. Make a steep defending blow as close to the ball as possible with an open club face. This will produce a high, spinner that lands softly. Yes it takes some practice but it's a joy once you have the shot in your bag.
Remember that speed is key to getting out of any bunker.


Kongfrontation
 
gbigoose1 said:
Andys Words "First thing to ask is what wedge do you hit out of the sand? Firm sand means you have to go with the wedge with the least amount of bounce. In your case this would be your 60*. Next keep the club head square at setup. DON'T open the face, this adds bounce to your wedge. The swing will be shorter and I want you to drive the leading edge of your wedge into the sand. The force will pop the ball up and land soft. Don't worry if the follow through is short or the club sticks a bit in the sand the goal here is to make sure the leading edge gets into the sand and under the ball." Andy's words
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I agree. I would just play it alot like a wedge shot from a really tight lie.
 
I'm like a few others when it comes to hard packed sand and this is what works for me. Depending on the distance I have to carry I'll use either my 54 or 58 wedge, opened slightly and swing the wedge harder and downward behind the ball. Almost slapping the club down into the sand and allowing the bounce to guide the club underneath and through the ball. This will generate plenty of spin so don't worry about carrying the ball closer to the hole. It takes practice and I will hit the practice bunker before a round to make sure I've got this move down for the day if it's been raining lately.
 
The course at my high school has incredibly hard sand, and I keep the club square and take a much shallower "divot" (area of sand I hit). I don't pop it out as much but rather it comes out low with obscene amounts of spin. I often even rip it back a bit. I've tried the methods others have mentioned above but I didn't like it as much. The shallow swing gives me much better distance control and I love it.


I wish golf was as easy as Tapatalk.
 
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