If you were to take a poll on what shot golfers fear the most it
almost certainly would be a sand trap shot.
If you were to take a poll on what shot golfers fear the most it almost certainly would be a sand trap shot. Ironically, if you ask a professional if they would rather be in a trap or in the rough around the green they would unanimously pick the sand trap.
Now we know that the pros practice that shot a lot more so they aren’t afraid of it like the average golfer is but you can get very good at hitting out of sand traps with just a couple of tips.
What makes the sand trap shot difficult is that it is not like any other shot in golf. So if you try and apply principals that work for a chip shot for example, it wont work out of a sand trap.
First you must understand that the less sand you take the better. People see funny clips of golfers “exploding” their golf ball out of a trap and feel that muscling it out is the only way. You should attempt to take a thin slice of sand as your wedge slides under the ball. Thus the club and ball never really make contact with one another.
Play the ball forward in your stance just an inch or two inside your left heel. This will make it easier for you to contact the sand prior to the ball. Open your stance so your feet are aiming to the left of the pin. This now enables you to add loft to your club by laying it slightly open and thus it will be aiming at the pin. The swing path should be on a slight outside to inside line and break your wrists slightly on the way up. Once at the top of the backsiwng which should only be about 1/2 to 2/3 of a full swing, pull you arms through and keep your wrists rather quiet through the ball. Your target should be about 1-2″ behing the ball depending on how far you want to hit the shot.
Always follow through and accelerate the club through the ball. If those things happen you will be getting out of sand traps like a pro in no time.
Remember, when all else fails, take a lesson, you’ll be surprised how much we can help.
