Tip #19: Learn the Basics of Sand Play

Sand play is elementary physics. I was never a science whiz in school, but I learned enough to know that if you push the sand in the correct manner, it will transfer your energy and lift the ball in the way you want it to fly. It's basic earthmoving.

Norman's four basics to solid bunker play: good footing, a shortened grip, an open stance and an eye on the sand.

Let me give an example using an area where I am comfortable -- in the water. Think about splashing around in a pool. When you want to splash someone way on the other side of the pool, you whisk your palm across the top of the water with a flat, skimming motion, creating a long, low splash. When you want to douse someone right next to you, you slap downward on a sharp angle into the water, for a high, cresting splash.

Picture a golf ball riding the tops of those splashes, and you'll have a good idea of the basic forces at work in bunker play. Instead of water, your ball rides out on sand. Instead of using your hand, you use the club.

The Right Sand Wedge

The type of club you use is important. I'm constantly surprised at the number of amateurs I encounter who carry no sand wedge at all -- they simply play bunker shots with a pitching wedge. Unless you're a very talented golfer, this is like trying to eat soup with a fork.

The pitching wedge, like all the other irons, has a thin leading edge that digs down into the sand. The sand wedge looks sort of like a pregnant pitching wedge because the back-bottom of the blade bulges out in the form of a flange. This flange is often referred to as "bounce," because that is what it makes the club do on impact with the sand.

Just as the hull of a speedboat bounces along the top of the water, so the flange of the sand wedge bounces off the undersurface of a bunker. As it does, it creates that wave of sand which lifts the ball out of the trap. So be sure that you get a sand wedge that has adequate bounce. You don't want a huge flange that could cause you to bounce up so quickly that you belly into the side of the ball. On the other hand, you don't want a thin-flanged wedge because it will dig in just as surely as a pitching wedge. If you're in doubt as to the precise amount of bounce you should have, talk to your PGA professional.

Four "Musts" on Bunker Shots

Once you're adequately armed with a sand wedge, be aware of a few things that need to be done when you address virtually any bunker shot.

1) Get good footing: Grind your feet firmly into the sand. This will help promote a solid stance and good balance. It's also a way of doing some detective work, to determine the texture and consistency of the sand. Since the Rules prohibit you from grounding your club in a bunker, you should try to learn as much as possible about the lie as you take your stance.

2) Choke up about an inch on the club: When you grind your feet down into the bunker, you bring your hands closer to the ball, so you need to slide them down the grip. Otherwise, you'll tend to hit well behind the ball and dig too deeply into the sand.

3) Open your stance: Most bunker shots require a steep downward attack on the ball; an open alignment, with the feet, knees, hips, and shoulders pointed well left of the target, will facilitate this type of impact. You'll need to open up various degrees for the different shots, but it's safe to say that 90 percent of bunker shots are played from the open stance.

4) Don't keep your eye on the ball: Instead, watch a spot about an inch to an inch and a half behind the ball, because that's where your impact should be. Since you don't need to hit the ball on this shot, there's no reason to look at it. Again, the precise spot will vary, but suffice it to say that the spot is never on the top of the ball.

With those four basics -- good footing, a shortened grip, an opened stance, and your eye on the sand -- you'll have a tremendous start at solid bunker play. The rest comes with practice.

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