Conducting a lesson today in the early morning I was asked a question by my client.
“How so you play from a wet bunker?”
Playing from any bunker will challenge most amateur golfers, but playing from wet sand is not all that different to playing from dry, loose sand. It is all about getting yourself in the right position to hit a reasonable bunker shot. The key to hitting a good bunker shot is to keep the clubface square. This is because the sand wedge works best when used the way it was designed, to sit square to the target.
Watching the professionals on tele, we see them open the clubface and splash the ball on to the putting surface, but you have to remember that these guys are experts, they are highly skilled and have spent hours in practice bunkers.
But if you watch a professional play from a wet, compacted bunker they are most likely addressing the ball with a square clubface. Why? So that they can dig into the sand and underneath the ball.
When playing from wet sand we need to take into account two things: One – the landing point of our shot. Playing from wet sand causes the ball to release more, there is less spin on the ball, so you need to allow for this when judging and planning your shot. Two – the wet sand will be “heavier”, the club will not travel through the sand as easily when it is wet, so you need to be really committed to hitting into and through the sand, otherwise the ball will stay in the bunker.
Now the important part, you need to impact the sand a distance of 1 ball behind the object ball, this will ensure that you take the right amount of sand.
The follow through is majorly important for standard bunker shots, but playing form wet and reduces the length of the follow through, with your energy heading into the wet sand rather than trying to hit through the sand, as you would from dry sand.
Your technique is the same as with any other bunker shot, you want to hit the sand a ball width behind the object ball, you should use a half swing and you must ensure that you hit down into the sand. Normally, from a dry bunker you would follow through into a good strong finish, but the wet sand will reduce the length of your follow through, but don´t worry this is normal, just be sure to thump the sand.
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