do you always open the club way up in a bunker? And other Q's

[rollin]

I finaly after 2 seasons am playing well (relatively speaking) from greenside bunkers again. I was never worried too much about being in one yet for some reason the past 2 seasons its been an absolute nightmare. Mostly due to quitting on my swing in fear of sending one 50 yards. I'm sure many can relate.
However my last several rounds I have gone back to my "better" old ways an been getting out most of the time with a decent successful shot and my fear is gone now. Thankfully.

But There is a couple questions and I don't know if there is a definite right or wrong with any of this so thought to ask opinions. Firstly (as I've done in the past) I will use usually any one of 3 clubs. Either my LW, or SW, or GW depending on the distance and circumstances. Secondly I often change how much I open the club. The cub choice and also how much I open it all depends on what I feel I need to try to do based on distance, height, pin placement etc.

So my questions are. And remember this is greenside.
Do you use the options of multiple clubs or only use one?
Do you open the club different amounts for more or less bounce and loft?
I've been successful with this in the past and am now again but is any of those two things what I should "not" be doing?
Also what about a hard and wet packed bunker? Do you try to pick it clean almost like a chip/pitch? Or still play the sand as usual?
Any comments on this and/or other things about it all is welcome

 

[wadesworld]

I think you're exactly right in your approach rollin. Use the right tool for the job.

As for how much you open the face, in most situations, there's a minimum amount you must open it to expose the bounce and keep it from digging in (typically about 30-degrees), but the rest is dependent upon how high you want to launch the ball and how hard you're willing to swing. If you've got Luke Donald's skills, you open that sucker up completely and swing HARD. But if not, perhaps you open it a bit less and don't swing quite as hard, giving you a little more margin for error if it doesn't come off perfectly.

 

[dhartmann34]

I always use the same club (60*) from greenside bunkers.... except for the occasional plugged ball or abnormal lie.

I tend to open and close the face a little bit depending on the distance...and control the distance of the shot with the length of my swing as well.

In a hard/wet packed bunker, I tend to have the club more square than I normally would, although a tad open. I still hit behind the ball. I'll usually take a shorter swing and concentrate on powering through the sand to make sure the ball gets out of the bunker. Picking it clean has never been something that has worked for me and honestly, there's just too much that can go wrong with that shot out of a bunker in my opinion.

Overall, it's all about practicing with different lies, lengths and conditions. I've gotten good out of the sand, but it's because of a LOT of practice and trial and error. A lot of my time practicing comes later in the day on the course when no one is out there and I can drop 5 balls and hit them and then grab them and repeat. That's the good thing about having a membership.

Good luck!

 

[-CRW-]

I do it like Rickie...

 

[Ndfan301]

Having the ATV's I don't have to worry about bounce as much as everyone else. And quite frankly I love it that way.

I will use any of my wedges from a greenside bunker, but mostly use the 58* and have it pretty close to being fully open. I switch clubs only depending on distance, as my opened 50* will travel farther than an opened 58*.

 

[Maddog701]

60* lob from fluffy and wet sand, open club face and swing outside in and Always follow through not matter how "easy" I swing. I will use a chop/dig type impact for buried lies.

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

How much I open the face depends on the lie and the distance.

 

[The Milk Man]

Lob wedge almost exclusive from green side bunker. If it is a long bunker shot , I will use something with less loft to get it running. Maybe going a far down as PW or 9 iron.

One thing I really work on is squating down and keep the handle low. At the British this year they showed Danny Willett hitting 7 irons out of a bunker using that technique. If you can get it down it really helps at least it has for me

 

[russtopher]

I may be an exception to the norm in that I prefer to pick rather than open the face and hit behind the ball & splash it out. I freely admit that I simply don't have enough practice time in bunkers, the only time I can hit out of them is during practice rounds. But I've found than when greenside, I have far better of a chance picking the ball than hitting behind.

Down the road, that very well may change as I get better, but for me right now, I almost approach a non-buried lie like I would in some fluffy rough and I've had decent success with that.

 

[JB]

Its interesting to me how so many people here are grabbing their highest lofted club without any thought to the bounce. There is a reason that the 56* was labeled a SW and the 60* was labeled a LW years ago. While its not cut and dry depending on the condition of the bunker, more bounce is your friend and typically the 56* (or thereabouts) will have more bounce than the 60 or 58*.

 

[blugold]

Its interesting to me how so many people here are grabbing their highest lofted club without any thought to the bounce. There is a reason that the 56* was labeled a SW and the 60* was labeled a LW years ago. While its not cut and dry depending on the condition of the bunker, more bounce is your friend and typically the 56* (or thereabouts) will have more bounce than the 60 or 58*.

#wedgeucation

 

[lightningbolt44]

54 for me 95% of the time I almost never use my 58 out of the bunker

Posted just for Dev using Tapatalk

 

[The Milk Man]

Its interesting to me how so many people here are grabbing their highest lofted club without any thought to the bounce. There is a reason that the 56* was labeled a SW and the 60* was labeled a LW years ago. While its not cut and dry depending on the condition of the bunker, more bounce is your friend and typically the 56* (or thereabouts) will have more bounce than the 60 or 58*.

I would agree with your assessment about bounce that in a bunker bounce is your friend and that bounce maybe more important than loft. For me personally my 60 is a vokey k grind with a wide sole and 11 degree of bounce. Which is nearly the same amount of bounce as my 56.

I would have never played a 60 with that much bounce in the past. After a massive swing change the additional bounce and wide sole fits my swing. The extra bounce allows me to use it comfortably out of most green side bunkers.

 

[Michigan Slice]

Fluffy lie I open it up
Buried lie I close it

 

[Golf Ghost]

95% of the bunkers in our area are hard due to weather conditions and the amount of precipitation we receive, so typically, I'm grabbing my 8 bounce 60*.

 

[Dave Alvarado]

56* exclusively, it's the one with the sand bounce. Open or close depends on the lie. Typically I open it just a little to help activate the bounce. The only time I don't do that is if I'm lying on hard packed sand (common in TX), that is more like hitting off a tight fairway lie.

 

[BIGBALL]

95% of the bunkers in our area are hard due to weather conditions and the amount of precipitation we receive, so typically, I'm grabbing my 8 bounce 60*.

I find this to be the case here as well. I bought a PM grind 14' bounce 56' wedge 3 weeks ago for those shots where more bounce is imperative, and I think I have used it maybe 5 times - and two of those were in Myrtle Beach.

 

[rollin]

Its interesting to me how so many people here are grabbing their highest lofted club without any thought to the bounce. There is a reason that the 56* was labeled a SW and the 60* was labeled a LW years ago. While its not cut and dry depending on the condition of the bunker, more bounce is your friend and typically the 56* (or thereabouts) will have more bounce than the 60 or 58*.

Your interesting thought is interesting in itself lol,
But don't wedges even of the same loft come in different bounce options? As I view the Vokey website it seems a few other different characteristics can be had in wedges of the same loft as well. A bit confusing and perhaps even a tad overwhelming to one with little knowledge of it all. I do understand bounce to some extent and how conditions can call for different bounce (not just from sand) but wedge play in general. But seems to be a lot more to it than just that. A sweeper vs a digger and other things as well. I wonder how many people (I assume a whole lot and probably including muself) are not even using wedges with the characteristics better suiting themselves and their mostly played conditions.

And its not like 99% of people who golf carry an assortment of wedges anyway. I think most carry what their set came with and then add another or two (if even that) and for all they/we know might not be correct.

For me, right, wrong, or indifferent whatever I am doing from the sand currently is working ok for the most part. More knowledge is always a great thing but in another sense with all parts of our golf games there is something to be said for sometimes simply leaving "well enough alone" lol. even if not quite correct. None the less, your post in itself is informative.

 

[McLovin]

i'm in a funk in the bunkers right now, with no real expectation of hitting a good shot. i always grab my 56, and usually play a pretty open face.

 

[Den60]

If the sand is soft I use my 55[SUP]o[/SUP] sand wedge and go for a standard let the sand carry the ball out approach with the face open. If the sand is wet and dense (or hard packed) I will usually use my 60[SUP]o[/SUP] and go with a sweeping pitch or chip technique. I haven't really spent a lot of time practicing bunker shots though the last time I played I had at least a half dozen of them. If it is plugged I swing more vertical and try to hit the hell outta it.

 

[TheWoo]

Its interesting to me how so many people here are grabbing their highest lofted club without any thought to the bounce. There is a reason that the 56* was labeled a SW and the 60* was labeled a LW years ago. While its not cut and dry depending on the condition of the bunker, more bounce is your friend and typically the 56* (or thereabouts) will have more bounce than the 60 or 58*.

I use my 54 out of "fluffy" sand, my 60 out of firm sand (which we tend to have a lot of at my course). Firm sand with the 60, I don't tend to open the face much at all, unless I need to get it straight up and down. I just swapped my 58 SCOR for a 60 MD2 with the PM Grind and am finding that I like it out of our sand.

I admittedly don't spend enough time practicing bunker shots. My goal is to give myself a reasonable putt afterwards. My expectations aren't high - which is part of my problem.

 

[rollin]

If the sand is soft I use my 55[SUP]o[/SUP] sand wedge and go for a standard let the sand carry the ball out approach with the face open. If the sand is wet and dense (or hard packed) I will usually use my 60[SUP]o[/SUP] and go with a sweeping pitch or chip technique. I haven't really spent a lot of time practicing bunker shots though the last time I played I had at least a half dozen of them. If it is plugged I swing more vertical and try to hit the hell outta it.

This imo fwiw is a great vid. Doesn't really go over loft and openness an answer my specific questions of club choice so much as it does tell you how to swing for different bunker scenarios but its great and helped me a ton

 

[rallo]

the 'chunk n' run' (or whatever you guys call it) is a good shot to have in the bag when playing from a weird lie, or if you have enough room to let the ball run out... for this you keep the club square

 

[Den60]

This imo fwiw is a great vid. Doesn't really go over loft and openness an answer my specific questions of club choice so much as it does tell you how to swing for different bunker scenarios but its great and helped me a ton

Yep, I've watched this video a few times.

 

[sabig27]

I just use my smart sole and let it fly. I dont open this club up at all.