2011 NEW PRODUCTS

SENDING THE BALL THE DESIRED DISTANCE FROM THE BUNKER IS ALL ABOUT CONTROLLING THE CLUB’S ENTRY POINT INTO THE SAND. PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOWARD BOYLAN

B Y S I M O N K H A N

There is one simple way to boost your confidence from traps; learn to impact the sand at a consistent distance behind the ball.

As we know, the typical greenside bunker technique sees the club enter the sand behind the ball. The face forces sand against the ball, pushing it up and out. Unfortunately, we also know the consequences of getting this contact wrong. Too much sand between face and ball and the ball can stay in the trap; too little, and the ball can airmail the green. These two ugly extremes explain why so many club golfers fear the sand. But in this piece you will discover some straightforward ways to find the correct contact, time and again. Put them into practice and you will no longer dread the sight of your approach plopping down in a distant trap.

CONTROL DISTANCE FROM SAN D

This depends on the sand you are striking from; with

heavy, wet sand you need to strike closer to the ball –

perhaps an inch behind it – while with soft and powdery

sand it might be a couple of inches. But this amount is

less important than your ability to strike a consistent

distance behind the ball. Consistency of strike

results in consistency of distance... and

that breeds confidence.

HOW FAR

BEHIND THE BALL

SHOULD YOU

IMPACT THE SAND?

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AN EASY WAY TO ADD STABILITY FOR A PRECISE STRIKEIf you are to create a consistent entry point into the sand, your action needs precision. You need to be especially precise with the low point of your swing arc, which falls pretty much under the lead shoulder. If your bunker action involves lateral movement and weight shift, the arc’s low point moves during the swing, compromising that precise strike. Much better to stay rock still over the ball, and keep that low point consistent.

Another benefit of standing square is straighter shots. This is because as you open the stance, you also have to open or weaken the clubface to compensate. But the weaker you make the face, the less influence it has on the direction of the ball, compared to the swing path. This is why you will see most open-stance, open-face trap shots fly left, along the swing path.

A second key address problem that foils amateurs is standing too open (aiming left for right handers), and opening the face wide to compensate. For a start there is not a lot of momentum going forward – towards the target – with this technique, meaning the golfer has to swing longer and harder to find the right distance – and that’s no help to finding a consistent and precise strike. Also, when you stand well open to your target line it is much harder to gauge and understand where the low point of your swing is falling. With the lines of intent garbled, your confidence in finding the correct impact spot in the sand can take a hit.

GET SQUARER TO IMPROVE YOUR STRIKE

www.golf-world.co.uk // JULY 2011

LEFT KNEE

Pointing my left knee more towards the

target like this restricts hip rotation, which

keeps me nice and still. I will add a little weight

on to my left side just to help lock the left knee in position; in

fact, it will hardly budge from its address

position throughout the swing.

FRONT FOOT

A simple way to boost stability is to flare your front foot out; here, I am pointing the toes midway between square and the target. Flaring the front foot causes the leading knee to flare too.

BALL POSITION

Note too that my ball position falls under the lead shoulder. As long as the shoulder stays in this position, the low

point of my arc falls right under the ball – which is ideal.

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Getting low in the sand will boost your chances of success, but be aware how it affects clubface aim. As your hands get lower, you put the shaft on a flatter angle. Because of the huge loft on the face, as the shaft angle flattens the face starts looking shut – as illustrated here by the tee peg.

It’s important then to open the face before you take a grip, so that flattening the shaft angle brings the face from open to square, not square to shut. This open-yet-square face also puts the clubhead in a position that promotes the use of the bounce on the sole.

Obviously the club has to pass below the ball on the greenside trap shot; address the ball itself and at some stage during the swing you will have to make a dropping action to take the sand from underneath it. This is tough to repeat, and creates inconsistency of strike. So widen your stance, add some knee flex and spine angle, and get lower in the sand. Start low, and you won’t have to drop. But starting low has several other key advantages:n Getting lower in the sand makes it easier to get height into the shot.n Getting lower allows you to swing more forwards, instead of down. That means you can take a shallower sand divot, which allows the bounce on the sole of the sand wedge to interact with the sand.n A wider stance and more knee flex helps set up a more sturdy base, crucial for a precision strike on a loose surface.n Creating a little more angle between arms and clubshaft makes it easier to hinge and release the wrists – an important part of bunker technique and something we will look at next.

GO LOW

WHEN OPEN IS SQUARE

As the swing gets underway, we begin to see the benefits of the work done at set-up. You’ll recall I point the left foot and knee forward to limit rotation and superfluous movement. The best place to see the effect of this left knee position is at the top of the backswing.

The knee has hardly moved, and the hips barely turned. My weight is still forward, as it was at address. Sure, it restricts length of backswing; but in an action which is about precision and not power, this is far from a bad thing.

My wrists have also hinged

fully, creating a 90° angle between left arm and clubshaft. This keeps my swing compact and gives it power. It also gives me an angle to release on the way down, a technique that improves quality of strike, as we will see next.

BACKSWING: KEEP THE WEIGHT FORWARD

Most times when you find sand, you will

find yourself about 10 yards from the hole. It

makes sense to practise this distance. If you

can get proficient from this range, you’ll find

bunker play much less daunting – and in

time, you will learn to work off this

stock distance when the shot asks

for a little more or less.

PRACTISE THE

RIGHT DISTANCE

JULY 2011 // www.golf-world.co.uk

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Driver: TaylorMade, R11 TP 9°.Fairway wood: TaylorMade Burner Superfast TP.Utility: TaylorMade R11 TP, 17°.3 - PW: TaylorMade TP MB 2011, S400 shafts.Wedges: TaylorMade xFT, 52°, 54°, 58°.Ball: TaylorMade Penta.

IN SIMON’S BAG

SAND-SAVER TECHNOLOGYSimon uses TaylorMade’s xFT sand wedge, with interchangeable face technology that means you will wear out long before the face of your sand wedge does. The insert’s precision-milled grooves form a perfectly flat hitting area, promoting consistency and control. “My sand wedge is 54°, and has a flatter lie angle than the other clubs in my bag,” Khan adds. “That’s because with the sand wedge, you really can’t afford to let the heel catch the ground. The clubhead is often travelling quite slowly, meaning any ground impact flips the face instantly. Also, as we’ve seen, it’s a great idea to get lower in the sand, and that effectively makes the club’s lie angle a little more upright in your hands. Flattening the lie helps you make better contact in the sand.”

T E CH NOL O GY

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

As with any golf shot, the way you set up to the ball has a massive effect on the swing you will make. This is why so much of this article has been based around address position changes. However, I would like to share with you my three keys for the action itself. In some ways, I can sum my action up as “wrist hinge, wrist release, keep the left shoulder moving”. n Wrist hinge on the way back keeps my swing neat and compact and gives the action the right shape. n The tour pro uses the rear of the sole to strike the sand, and

not its leading edge. That impact employs the bounce, enabling the club to surf forward through sand, instead of digging down into it – and it creates a shallow sand divot and that characteristic ‘fizzing’ impact noise you will hear on tour. To find the sole’s trailing edge, the shaft must be angled back slightly, clubhead marginally ahead of the hands. Releasing the wrists helps me find that shaft angle.n Keeping the left shoulder moving through to the finish of the swing stops that wrist release becoming a handsy flick.

THREE SWING KEYS FOR A BETTER IMPACT

GO ONLINE FOR A BETTER CONNECTIONA lot of improving your sand play is about improving your confidence, so it can help to work on any of the tips in this article without a ball at first.

A brilliant drill I would recommend is drawing a line in the sand with the sole of your sand wedge, and moving up the line practising your sand divots. Make sure the line runs from your front foot instep or under your lead shoulder – in other words, where the ball would be. Again your

focus is on impacting the sand a consistent distance behind the line, but aim to strike the sand with the back edge of the sole and not the leading edge; when you do, you’ll hear that tour pro thud.

This line drill is an old tip, but it is one even tour pros like me still use on a regular basis because it is so effective at sharpening up our ability to strike the sand in the right place. Don’t discount it simply because it’s been around for a while.

www.golf-world.co.uk // JULY 2011