Instruction

How to hit bunker shots different distances

Published

6 years ago

Jun 27, 2018

I have a student named Trisha, who is a junior in high school. She is an excellent ball-striker, but her bunker play is below par… that was until her last lesson. I took her down to the short-game area where we talked for a while before getting started.

“You said you were having trouble getting out of a bunker,” I asked.

“Yes, in my last round I bladed the ball over the green and into the water,” she said. “I had to take a drop behind the hazard, and then I chunked my wedge shot into the water. I ended up taking a nine, and worse, at the time I was only 2-over par for the day.

“Why do you think you bladed the shot,” I asked?

“I’m not sure, but since then I’ve been afraid to really swing at the ball,” she said. “Now, I’m leaving every shot in the bunker.”

“I’m guessing that you moved forward on the downswing,” I said. “In playing these shots, you have to stay absolutely centered.”

I went on to tell Trisha that in bunker play, you must limit the number of factors — and there are only two factors:

Width of Cut
Depth of Cut

In terms of controlling distance, the depth of cut is the constant while the width of cut is the variable. I asked Trisha to make some practice swings with her 56-degree wedge while just skimming the surface of the bunker.

“Yes, that’s right,” I said. “You’re keeping the depth of cut consistent. The next step is to begin controlling the width.”

I then drew a channel in the sand that was 6-inches wide. I explained that the objective was to remove the sand from the middle of the channel, while at the same time managing both the enter and exit points.

“Are you ready to give it a try?” I asked after showing her the technique.

“Sure,” she said. “I think I can do that.”

I had drawn a series of channels in the sand, and as she moved from one to the other I remained quiet. She wasn’t hitting a golf ball… just skimming the sand. After she was done, we studied the first channel together.

“What do you see?” I asked.

“Well, I entered past the front line of the channel,” she replied.

“Were there a ball there, what do you thing would have happened,” I asked.

“I guess I would have bladed it just like I did the other day,” she said.

“Yes, that is right,” I said. “Let’s look at the next one. Here you entered behind the front line. How do you think the ball would have reacted to this swing?”

“The ball probably would have stayed in the bunker,” she answered.

“Yes, right again,” I said. “I don’t think we need to look at the rest. What this suggests is that you are moving your center of mass during the shot. You can only be consistent when there is no lateral movement in your swing.”

“How do stay centered,” she asked?

“I’m glad you asked that question,” I said. “I’ll show you, but there are a few details we need to cover first.”

I stepped into the bunker.

“In playing bunker shots, you need a weaker grip. First, move your left thumb to the center of the handle with your right-hand squarely on top of your left thumb. The “V” formed by the thumb and forefinger of your right-hand should point at your chin.”

“Like this?” she asked, showing me the revised grip.

“Yes, that is correct,” I said. “The second step is to assume your setup, which includes: widening your stance, centering the ball between your feet, positioning the club shaft in a neutral position neither leaning forward or back, and then lastly, lowering yourself down while pushing your tailbone back and up to anchor your lower body.”

“I think I’ve got it,” she said climbing into the bunker.

She worked her feet into the sand, choking up on the club to make up for the difference in length. And then she duplicated my setup position.

“Did I get it right coach?” she asked

“Yes, that’s correct,” I said.

“What’s next?” she asked.

“Let me show you,” I said, climbing back into the bunker.

“I’m going to turn my stomach out from underneath me in both directions without moving any other part of my body,” I said. “At the same time, I’m going to allow my arms, hands and wrists to react to the weight of the club, paying special attention to my right wrist, which must hinge to have enough energy to work through the sand.”

“I understand,” she said. “What’s next?”

“As we talked earlier, you are going to just skim the sand entering and exciting an imaginary channel.”

“I understand,” she said. “This time I’ll pay more attention to that part of my swing.”

She then set up to the ball and swung. She bladed her first shot, sending it over the green. Then she left her second shot in the bunker. She looked at me with a frown.

“You have to stay centered, ” I said. “Keep trying.”

The next time she anchored her center and on striking the ball, it floated up into the air landing softly onto the green.

“I bet you can’t do that again,” I said.

I had given her a challenge. I could tell by her body language that she was determined to prove me wrong. Her next shot was like the first.

“How’s that coach?” she said with a big smile on her face.

Now that she had tasted some success, she was anxious to move on.

“How do I control distance,” she asked.

“You vary the width of the channel, but that may take a little practice,” I said. “I suggest that we work on that at your next lesson. How do you feel?”

“I not scared anymore, she said. “I think with some more practice I’m only going to improve.”

“I agree,” I said, and we climbed back into the cart and made our way back to the clubhouse.

What I’ve found in teaching this technique to other students is that their bunker play improves immediately… just like Trisha. And with a little practice, they are able to begin to vary the distance of their shots. You can do the same, but just remember the formula:

The depth of cut is the constant. The width of cut is the variable.

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Instruction

The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic

Published

3 weeks ago

Mar 29, 2024

Terry Koehler

My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.

As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.

The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.

Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:

Mis-aligned hands

By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.

The position of the grip in the upper/left hand

I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.

To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.

Too much lower (right) hand on the club

It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.

Gripping too tightly

Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.

So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

Published

2 months ago

Mar 4, 2024

Shawn Clement

Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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Instruction

How a towel can fix your golf swing

Published

2 months ago

Feb 26, 2024

Todd McGill

This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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