Hard packed & wet bunkers

These type of bunkers present their own chalenges. If you play a regular bunker shot as decribed in the forum. A skull or top can easily occur when the club head bounces off the ground and into the ball.

I offer 2 suggestions:

The first is to use a low bounce (4* or less) lob wedge an play it as a flop shot. Pinch the ball off the sand. Commit to the shot and swing through.

The second is a wristy flip shot that works well and can also be played off hardpan. Setup in an upright position. Hold the shaft vertical and hit the ball off the toe with a flip of the wrist. It won't go a great distance but will go high enough to clear a bunker lip.

Bonus shot: If you get caught next to the lip in semi-soft sand, use the same shot as above with the top edge of a 5 iron and create a mini explosion. Pops the ball straight up and on the green.

Something to try when nothing else seems to work,

GolfBald

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The guy in the white hat!

Doing some experimenting "in the beach" yesterday. I was working with wet hard sand bunkers that resembled a hard pack sand like your see near the ocean. Water level not beach level.

This shot worked the best, it was posted in another thread but bears repeating in this one also:

Opposite hand releases - this shot came from a Jack Nicklaus "Golf MY Way" video from the 1980's, The Golf Machine by Homer Kelly and GolfBald research. I was looking for a way to get a high lofter that stops dead on the pin with absolute minimum roll from a flat lie. I in hard packed wet sand that resembles water front beach sand. Here's how it goes. Grip is important in this shot. Strong right hand, weak left hand. I use a double overlap grip to get more clubhead speed. The stance should be square to the target. Posture more upright than normal, try to get the club swinging about 4 - 6 inches from your toes no more. Do not open the club!!! Play the ball n the middle of your stance. The swing is no weight tranfer, weight in the middle through the swing. Allow your arms to swing in front of your body on the shoulder line. With the crossed grip it will hinge off the ball and snap through at the bottom. Almost a perfect V. Work your practice swing to get the swing speed up. Adjust distance by changing clubs not the swing. The shot will come off very high and stop dead. Try to pick the ball off the sand. The ball will come out high enough to clear a bunker and land soft.

GolfBald

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The guy in the white hat!

Hey some good advice there.

Not too many packed bunkers here in MidFlorida, but there is a nasty one on 15 next to the lake. So I can give some of that a try.... (all i need now is some clubs... LOL )

Fraggle,

Check your local Salvation Army or thrift store. Sometimes they will have a set with a bag for around $20 - 50 dollars. It will get you started without much expense.

GolfBald

Ah!!

Freaking Awsome idea!!!!
I always remeber seeing golf stuff in the second hand stores in England!.

Thanks man.
Ill go find some and see whats what....

Whoohoo!

K, I got a nice 7 Iron from the lost and found on the course today.
Going home, I checked the "Goodwill" store and picked up a nice 1 wood (wilson beth daniel sig) for $3.00. The shaft and handle feel great.

Now I have my lofter, my 7 Iron and a Driver (kinda) I just need my putter and I can start doing rounds..... after some seriouse practice on the Range. ;-)

I was working on a new shot as I ended up in a bad spot. Hit a wayward tee shot, my recovery hit the back fringe and ended up in the back of a wet bunker. Gary Player says it is the most difficult shot in golf. I have to agree.

Playing my standard downhill shot I got disappointing results as the ball plugged in the front of the bunker. Square stance and chasing my hands down to the ball did not give enough explosion to get the ball airborne, the distance would have been good. This one I had to stop and get out the notepad. I took a shot and kept opening the blade playing it farther back until I hit a good combination.

Conclusion: Clubface bladed open until it is flat. Ball position about 1" - 1 1/2" behind the front heel. Slightly open stance and aim left. Hit down very hard and the ball will kick up as high as a normal sand shot. In doing this I skulled 2 balls that went 40 yards out of 10 to figure this out. When learning new shots practice them before you put the m in your bag, you will be able to execute them when you need them most. The last 3 shots were consistant height and distance. I'll work these more this weekend.

GolfBald

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The guy in the white hat!

We have a loverly bunker on the front, right side of the 17 Green.
Its greenside face is a steep sand coverd 4' wall. (a pain in the arse to rake that sand up there though).
This bunker is my favoret, because its the most difficult if you get the ball too far in it.
I do like to spend an extra few minutes raking this bunker and make it really nice and fluffy....
I hate watching balls land in bunkers and see them "roll".

Im going to have to go practice with bunker shots soon I think...

I think the mound of the bunker and your ball position in the sand limits the shot you can play. For me, the idea is to get the ball on the green, if it gets close to the hole there's an element of good luck involved.

If I'm not under the face of the bunker say in the middle, I'll play a forcefull chip with the sand iron and just pick the ball off the surface rather than trying to play a splash. I've never tried to measure the degree of trajectory but it will be around 45* or so.

I won't chance playing the ball forward if I'm up in the face or lieing at the bottom of the bunker face. Getting the ball into play and the chance of an easier shot is more important than risking a shot to the green with the increased possibility of landing back into the bunker.

Paul

hi golfbald

i may have missed it, but how did ya do in the long drive contest you were working toward?

thanks

pat