Understanding the Golf Swing by Carol Mann

Author:Carol Mann
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781510725980
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 2017-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Part IV

Special Shots

Chapter 6

Sand Play

The game of golf has two types of sand shots. One is called the explosion shot, which is played when the golf ball is in a bunker located around the green (a greenside bunker). It is called an explosion shot because the clubhead strikes the sand instead of the ball, forcing the sand where the ball is resting out of the bunker. The second type is a shot from a bunker from which distance is necessary. In this shot you must not strike the sand before the ball—clean contact between clubface and golf ball is necessary.

For this part of the discussion, let us assume that the ball in the bunker is resting on top of the sand on a very level lie.

According to the rules of golf, when taking your stance in a sand bunker, grounding the club on the sand is not allowed. The clubhead must be kept above the sand during address, and the clubhead must not touch the sand at any time in the backswing. Should you inadvertently touch the sand at address or in the backswing, a two-stroke penalty will be incurred. So be careful.

Keep the club above the sand at address by bending your arms, not by standing more erect. By bending your arms, when the club is swung forward, the centrifugal force created will straighten the arms allowing the clubhead to reach the sand. If you keep the club above the sand by standing more erect, your arms are already extended so the clubhead will not be able to reach the sand, causing shots without any sand cushion between the clubface and the ball. This will make the ball go very far and makes it impossible to make the nice high soft shot which is needed from greenside bunkers.

I also recommend that you use your feet to pack the sand under them, so that when you make your swing, the sand does not give way causing you to lose your balance. This work of the feet is not intended to bury your feet in the sand in order to keep them motionless. The heel of your back foot should rise as a response to the forward swing in exactly the same way it does in a regular shot from grass. At the end of the swing the sole of your back foot should be vertical to the ground whether it be grass or sand, and you should finish erect, facing the target.

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