Golf pro Christian Hafer on using a tee to train yourself to hit a low point in the bunker.
For years I struggled with teaching my students how to hit consistent bunker shots, using both traditional and unorthodox methods.
It wasn’t until talking with a PGA Tour player about sand technique that I realized what was missing from my bunker lesson plan: precision. Great bunker players know how to get the club to bottom out at the same point in their swing, and position that low point precisely under the ball.
To develop a better feel for the location of your bunker swing’s low point, tee up a ball high in the sand. With a wedge, try to clip the tee without hitting the ball or the bunker. It’s harder than it looks, but you’ll quickly get a feel for bottoming out your swing underneath the ball.
After a few tries, push the tee deeper into the sand and try again. Again, clip the tee without touching the ball, but this time let your club enter the sand. Finally, make swings with the tee pressed all the way in and focus on carving out the tee not the ball. With practice, you’ll ingrain a better feel for your low point. Once you get really good, you can experiment with taking varying amounts of sand to dial in the correct spin.
Article originally appeared on: Golf.com
The biggest current problems are unraked hazards (no rakes or efforts to smooth out footprints and divots from previous efforts. Even before the pandemic, the qualities and quantities of sand in traps varied so greatly (private and semiprivate clubs vs Public/semi public courses} that a single practice approach was not successful, or practical. Too many variables .