Question

ok, i have a question about a certain shot. as i've mentioned, i'm in the wet zone, where it rains all winter, not snows. anyways, playing the ball from a greenside bunker where the sand is "hardened" from days of precipitation. how the heck do you go about playing this shot, especially when there's not much green to work with? :confused2:

NorthVanMike said:

ok, i have a question about a certain shot. as i've mentioned, i'm in the wet zone, where it rains all winter, not snows. anyways, playing the ball from a greenside bunker where the sand is "hardened" from days of precipitation. how the heck do you go about playing this shot, especially when there's not much green to work with? :confused2:

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There are a couple of variables with this type of shot. The first thing I would look at is the type of wedge that you are using for this shot. If you play in these types of conditions often you are going to want to find a wedge with as little bounce on the sole that you can find. Bounce is helpful but only when the sand is lighter and "fluffy" When you are playing shots from firm (tight) lies you want less bounce. Please let me know about your wedge when you can. To play the shot.....Move the ball a touch forward in your stance (right hand players closer to the left foot). This will help your angle of attack. With firm sand you are going to be aiming at a spot closer to the ball than a normal explosion type of shot. I want you to enter the sand behind the ball as close to the ball as you can get. MAKE SURE TO HIT THE SAND FIRST! Slow down your swing tempo and make sure to follow through. This should produce a high soft spinning shot.

chrome Mizuno MP-T 58 degree, 10 degree bounce. do i open it too up or approach it straight on?


can you name a few types of wedges that would be good for this shot?

There is no specific brand of wedge that I would recommend. I play vokeys myself. The concern that I have is with this type of shot you have way too much bounce on your wedge. If you play a 58 from the sand I would recommend finding a wedge with about 4 degrees of bounce. The reason is bounce is designed to do just that "bounce" the club through the sand without it digging in. With 10 degrees I am guessing that you hit a lot of shots where the wedge skips and you hit thin shots that come out hot. 4 degrees of bounce will allow you to slide the leading edge under the ball allowing it to come out high and soft. To play the shot I want you to open the face and stance like you would a normal sand shot I just want you to change the ball position like I mentioned to make the shot a little easier for you. I hope this helps.

ok, tyvm. i'll give it a try with a wedge that has the specs you recommend.