Forums

Sand Play

• gerryniswonger 1,890 Posts

  Wed, Nov 21 2012 9:21 AM

  I am relatively confident in all aspects of my game except sand play. I'm pretty sure I can get most shots inside of 20 feet, but that isn't sufficiant to increase my skill level. Is there and Legends or Tour Legends out there that are able to consistently get their sand shots within 10 feet? If so, would you mind sharing your technique?

  Thanks in Advance

• LeGeNdCrUsHeR 2,067 Posts

  Wed, Nov 21 2012 9:30 AM

  Hi Jerry, I would love to share some tips.  When I get home, I will look to see if you are available to play and we can torture the beer cart girls... 

• cbbcrazy 488 Posts

  Wed, Nov 21 2012 10:14 AM

  A short helper, this is what I do and you will have to play with it to find your sweet spot. When you have a lie of 10/20 % it will roll much less with full back spin.  If this shot distance was 15yds I would play it for an 18yd. shot but only try to hit it 13 to 14 yds on the fly.  Pay attention to the slope of the green in your landing area.  If you look what I did above I always take the highest number of the % lie and add that to the total yardage.  From there with full back spin it is a feel thing that practice will make you better.  You will need a 64 degree wedge to be accurate around the green with my system.   I hope this helps you out and good luck.

  cbb

• saltiresfan 2,266 Posts

  Wed, Nov 21 2012 10:23 AM

  I tend to just add about 15% to what I was going to hit for 30/40 sand. Seems to work most the time.

• TarheelsRule 5,557 Posts

  Wed, Nov 21 2012 11:02 AM

  I feel that I am a pretty good sand player on the site.   One thing to remember is that the sand plays very differently on some courses.  It's a matter of taking notes and / or have a good memory but I know that the sand play on BPB, STA and Kiawah are very different than on say Oakmont.

  Someone else mentioned that the balls do run out more than what you traditionally see in regular golf, I think this is pretty true, don't see many shots hit and check up quick in WGT from the sand.

  Also the sand at Kiawah can be hard sand which plays pretty much like a regular shot from the fairway less about 5% and they also have sand traps that play as traditional bunkers.

• senec 252 Posts

  Wed, Nov 21 2012 5:05 PM

  I'm not the greatest bunker player but I feel I've improved by using the pitch and punch shots from the sand.Try it out in practice,works for me....sometimes...lol.

• bmwruss 49 Posts

  Thu, Nov 22 2012 3:39 AM

  When I'm in the sand close to the green, I almost always use my 64 degree wedge with a full shot. My 64 says 50 yards. So, I figure length, sand %, green condition and swing accordingly using the meter. I can nail it within a few yards most of the time. 

• HANDBOOK 173 Posts

  Thu, Nov 22 2012 5:24 AM

  Make a note of all bunker shots played ie;  distance /lie /elevation of green then you can work out shots that are within 2 to 3yds of a particular shot that you have jotted down.

• Cleworthy 3,468 Posts

  Thu, Nov 22 2012 7:02 AM

  I mostly use pitch or punch shots out of sand, although flops do work sometimes - like on Bethpage.  I simply double the extra hit amount for the equivalent rough percent.  For example for 30-40 rough, I add 10% extra to the shot but for 30-40 sand, I use 20%.  If I go with full back spin I would add another 5%, so 25% for 30-40 sand.  Then for uphill shots out of sand I add 1 extra yard for each 3' of rise.  Then, if you have enough green in front of you, remember to take off something for the extra roll out you will get out of the sand.  For tourney greens I figure about 2-3 yards of roll out - again if I have enough green in front of the pin.

  There are a lot of factors involved - sand percent, shot type used, amount of spin applied, amount of rise from the bunker to the green, green speed, amount of green in front of you and which course you are playing - as the sand performs differently on some courses.

  For very difficult sand shots like 40-50 from 6-8' below the green don't be afraid to use a half strength full shot with a wedge if need be.   C

• Hullyfan 478 Posts

  Sat, Nov 30 2013 12:26 PM

  I do fairly well on longer sand shots using my 64 degree wedge, full.  However, it dosn't work on the shorter shots.  Anyhing less than 20 feet either doesn't get to the green or rolls way past.  What should I do when there is only 10 feet to the hole, for example?