Finding yourself in the sand can be intimidating for many golfers. TPI co-founder Dave Phillips offers two tips to help simplify your approach. High-handicappers often make it more complicated than it needs to be.

For more drills and exercises from Dave and other TPI instructors, check out the library on our site: https://www.mytpi.com/exercises

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Okay, I’m here in the sand and the sand can be difficult for some people. It can be really easy for others. But here’s a couple things you got to understand. I’ve got my 60°ree here. This is actually a 60°ree V wedge from Vokei. And it doesn’t have a ton of bounce on it. Has a little bit, which is this back back bounce right here. This is about 8 degrees of bounce. Now, if I’m in firm sand like this where it’s a little bit wet, I actually don’t want too much bounce because I want to I want it to glide against the sand. I don’t want it to hit firm sand and bounce back up into the golf ball. However, if I was in soft sand, I would want to adapt to my 54 because my 54 has 14 degrees of bounce. So, the more bounce you have tends to help you slide through that powdery soft sand. If the sand tends to be firm and packed, you don’t want too much bounce because it can actually bounce back into the golf ball. But remember, just because I’m close to the green doesn’t mean that you can’t go to the 54 or even 52 or 50 if it’s got more bounce. You just need to open that face more. I can turn my 54 into a 60 by opening the face more and opening it even more on the back swing. So don’t ever be afraid of that. So again, pick the right wedge first. Now, for a lot of us, when we get in the bunker, some of us can panic. If you’re a beginning golfer, you might struggle because it’s the one shot that we don’t actually hit the ball. We hit the sand and the sand takes it out. Now, here’s a little thing that I think for if you just want to get it out, you’re not really worried about how close you get to the pin, but you got to get it out of the bunker, then here’s the tip for you. What I want you to do is think about this area of the club. This is called the heel of the club. Right. Right in here. This area right here, the heel of the club. Get this into the sand first. So, how you do that is I’m going to open the face and I’m going to lower the handle so that the toe of the club is actually off off the sand. So, I’m going to lower the handle open the face. Now, from this position, all I want you to do is drive the heel of the club into the sand, not into the ball, into the sand. So, again, I’m going to aim this about an inch behind the ball. And all I’m gonna do is I’m gonna drive that heel as if I’m hitting a hammer into the sand. So I’m leaning a little bit left. I pick the club up. I drive it down into the sand and the ball will pop right out just like that. It’s amazing. I didn’t try anything fancy. I didn’t try and open it up. All I did was I got the heel into the sand. And when I get the heel into the sand, it’s almost like a spoon. It’s the perfect little scoop to lift the golf ball out onto the green. So, if you’re struggling with bunker game, stop getting all fancy. Get that toe off the ground, get that heel down, and make sure you pick it up and just like a hammer, throw that heel into the sand. So, I’ll do that one more time for you. I’m going to put it here, open it up, lean a little bit left, handle back a bit. I’m just going to pick it up, and I’m going to drop the heel right here into the sand behind the golf ball. So, right there, pop it up. and you’ll be amazed how easy it lifts out and spins out onto the green. So, that’s number one. Now, then we can get into some funky things in the bunker. Here’s another little specialty shot for you. So, every now and then you’re going to get totally unlucky and you’re going to get one of these things. I’m actually going to make it nasty for you. Step on it. Now, that’s a severe plugged lie. In that situation, all we’re trying to do is get it out onto the green. And here’s a great way to do that. So, a lot of times we don’t really know what to do. We swing too hard. We take too much. What I want you to do in this situation is imagine you’re just picking the club up and putting it on your shoulder like this. So, if I was just going to pick the club up and put it on my shoulder and then I turned and throw it down into the sand. The key is is you got to stick it into the sand, right? So, what I’m doing is I’m opening the face up. It’s completely plugged. I lean a little bit left. I want you to feel like all you did was pick the club up and put it on your shoulder. Now, when you turn, it’s going to be narrow and like this. And then I want you to just throw it down into the sand. So, here we go. I’m going to set up. I’m literally going to pretend I’m doing this. I’m going to pick this club straight up and pop it down. And it will come out 90% of the time. Now, I got a little close to the ball there, but it still came out and it didn’t run that much. I’m going to do the same thing one more time. We’ll put it in a nice hole for you. Like that. This time again, all I’m going to do is pop it up and drop this. I’m trying to bury the club in the sand. So, I’m going to set up hands a little low. I’m cocking it straight up in the air. Straight up in the air down. It’s going to pop right out of the sand onto the green. So, that’s an easy way when you get that plug lie to get it out of the sand. Now, to make this perfect, you should get yourself some of these Vokey wedges because they’re part of the equation every single time.

2 Comments

  1. I've never heard this advice about the heel contact with sand but it makes so much sense. Thanks 👍🏿 can't wait to try it

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