Thoughts and Techniques Playing Back of a Greenside Trap
Thoughts and Techniques Playing Back of a Greenside Trap
In this article we have a few thoughts on the topic of playing bunker shots from the back of a greenside trap. Please review the points below to round out your education on this topic.
Stay away! Without a doubt, the best way to play a bunker shot from the back of a trap is to keep your ball out of the bunker in the first place. Bunkers are hazards, and you want to stay out of them whenever possible. As you plan your approach shots, give the greenside bunkers the respect they deserve. Play away from particularly deep sand traps, and always use enough club to safely clear bunkers that are guarding the front of the putting surface. You’ll never be able to completely avoid bunkers in this game, but reducing the number of traps you find is sure to improve your score.
Think about the hole location. If you decide to play out of the bunker to the side, or back away from the green, you should think about the location of the hole when trying to position yourself for the next shot. Your pitch or chip shot is going to be much easier if you have plenty of green to work with. So, for example, if the hole is cut on the left side of the green, it will probably be best to play out to the right of the green, if at all possible. Doing so will give you plenty of green to work with, and it will be easier to get up and down.
Rake with care. When you are done hitting your shot, take a moment to carefully rake the sand that you have disturbed while hitting your shot. Not only do you need to rake up your divot, but you also need to rake your footprints – including the footprints you make while walking out of the bunker. Raking traps is an important part of golf etiquette, even when you are frustrated after wasting a stroke in the back of a bunker.
You are never going to be happy about seeing your golf ball come to rest in the back of a greenside bunker. This is a bad position, and it is likely to add at least one stroke to your score, if not more. We hope that the information provided in this article will help you limit the damage in this tricky spot, so you can move on with the rest of your round as quickly as possible. Good luck!
