How do you play from powdery sand?

[Jono]

Usually, I don't have much trouble out of bunkers, but the white powdery sand at the Cool-Tweed course gave me a bit of a headache ... a splitting headache, in fact ... :lol: Great sand ... for the beach that is. Can be a b$#%@ in the bunker though. Usually, I just "thump it" with an open face about 2 inches behind the ball, and it pops out. With the powder sand, the club seem to dig too much and the ball didn't get much air. So I tried taking less sand and sculled a couple. :?

Any advice? Use a SW with more bounce, perhaps? I usually use a LW, don't carry a SW, just a GW bent 2 degrees weak.

[drunken]

I think more bounce would be part of the solution. I play a 14* bounce & I love it especially out of soft sand. Maybe your angle of attack is fairly steep too?? Maybe a shallower angle of attack would help.

[markTHEblake]

Then you will be glad you didnt play Emerald Lakes then, the bunkers there are crap.6 inches thick in spots,like near the lip.

Its not the texture of the sand that is the problem you are experiencing, its the depth, it offers no or little resistance so that there is no 'bounce'. When you find perfect bunkers, like in the Sand Belt in that state starting with V, all the sand has a constant depth, and its only about an inch.

This means that the sand iron will bounce consistently every time allowing you to get that perfect explosion shot. That is why the pro's are so good out of bunkers, whilst they have skill, the bunkers that they play from are perfect. Even i am a great bunker player from sand like that.

I am at a loss to know what to do when sand is so thick like that, these days i just close my eyes and hope. But really the emphasis must be on a full follow through, as the tendency in deep sand is to dig in and decelerate. Unfortunatly there you cant get much spin or finesse though.

Like he said, maybe get a sand iron with more bounce - especially these days when a lot of people are opting for a Lob which has less bounce. But i am not sure if that will help on very deep sand if there is no resistance from below.

[goughy]

I've been playing much better out of bunkers lately by making sure I have a full finish. I can't speak about the sand condition but it may help.

[davidp]

Having coming from the state starting with V, it took a while to get used to the dune in a pit, they call bunkers in Qld.

I found that a LW helps, but when it comes to playing long bunker shots, I nearly always come up short, even when I play a bunker shot with no spin.

[Jarro]

sounds like it was the lobby digging in Jono. from what you've told us about your technique ... you seem to be doing all the right things. Using a lob wedge in the bunker is great for when you need to get the ball up over a steep lip, but when you are faced with a more conventional shot.. you really need to use the 56* :wink:

[Fishman Dan]

Is this a raked, or unraked bunker? We all now how easy to play the raked bunkers are ;) :roll:

[BrisVegas]

Jono,

I'd agree with what blakey says above. There are some bunkers you'll encounter up here that are nearly impossible to get out of. Pacific at times has bunkers like quicksand, where the mere weight of the ball is enough to sink under the surface.

Rule of thumb for me is to use the 56 SW when it's really soupy, as it has the most bounce. When the sand is nice and tight, I always use 60 LW.

[davidp]

Jono,

I'd agree with what blakey says above. There are some bunkers you'll encounter up here that are nearly impossible to get out of. Pacific at times has bunkers like quicksand, where the mere weight of the ball is enough to sink under the surface.

Rule of thumb for me is to use the 56 SW when it's really soupy, as it has the most bounce. When the sand is nice and tight, I always use 60 LW.

Pacific redid most of their bunkers 9 - 12 months ago. That's why the sand is so soft. It takes a while for them to settle down.

I had a whinge to my brother-in-law, who is head greenkeeper there. He told me to hit it on the green in the first place. :evil: Ahh, what evil lurks inside the mind of the greenkeeper...

[Jono]

Thanks for the tips, guys. It probably is the depth of sand that makes it hard as opposed to the texture. I seem to play my best bunker shots when the sand is slightly wet or packed in. I can really thump the club a couple of inches behind the ball and it comes out nice and high with plenty of spin. when I do that in bunkers with lots of sand with little resistence, the club just digs in and the ball goes nowhere. I'll try to come in a bit shallower next time I encounter this situation. I agree that a full followthrough is a must.

As to getting a SW with more bounce ... I like the wedge system I have now. 48 degree PW, 52 degree bent to 54, 60 degree LW ... nice 6 degree spread. I just can't fit the 56 degree SW in there ... :lol:

[McMw]

if you're ever unsure....always make it a habit to just get the ball on the green....anywhere on the green...don't be too cute with the shot...

[drunken]

When you take your stance you shuffle your feet from side to side. You'll actually slip into the sand so you can get an idea on what the depth of the sand is like. Because your're taking your stance it's not classified as testing the surface 8)

[Jarro]

.. be careful not too dig your feet into the sand TOO much.

this will make your feet a lot lower than the ball, leading to you probably hitting the ball "fat' ... and leaving the ball in the bunker #-o

[markTHEblake]

The problem here is hitting out of the deep sand, dont have to be an archeologist to work out that its deep...... http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/rolleye/rolleye17.gif