Pete Styles – PGA Teaching Pro
Often when a golfer arrives in a green side bunker their natural instinct is just to reach for the sand wedge you know it's got sand wedge written on the bottom of it and I'm in the sand it would sand quite sensible to make that choice. Largely that would be the club that most people would use but the best players in the world the guys on T.V. that all professionals they're not all have that decision straight to their hand. What they might consider doing is getting into the bunker and having a little look at the surroundings having a look a little look at the condition of the and the depth of the sand and particularly noticing the lip in front of them. How much sand of they've got to go over then the lie so look at the distance out to the flag then start making club decisions based on all those parameters and have a little look between the options. Now when you consider your options yes you sand great you definitely an option and I've got my sand wedge here then might also consider a club either side of that sand wedge to be a viable option as well. So I have my lob wedge here my lob wedge is more lofted that my sand wedge has about five or six degrees more loft more angle on the face that should encourage the ball to come out more steeply you also got to consider if that ball comes out more steeply it's probably going to go a little bit higher but maybe not quite as far and therefore when it lands it might stop a little bit quicker.
So if I had a flag that was maybe nearer to me than this white flag I'm aiming for the flag was closer my club option would probably be the lob wedge I make a roughly similar swing. So quite a large back swing cut underneath the ball the added loft will make the ball come out how I am short but I wanted to go further back to the white pin probably my sand wedge would be a nice option not too much of a lip to clear and the sand wedge would give me enough loft and it can land then it can roll out a little bit further to the white flag but how about if I had a flag that was further towards the back of the green a little bit higher up this green maybe thirty yards away of green to clear my sand wedge. My lob wedge might feel like they're going to land and stop a bit too quickly so I might take my gap wedge or even a pick to wedge play similarly. So play it similar to a normal bunker shot taken a couple of inches some with a slightly open face but you see the pitching wedge would land and would release a little bit further. Now the important thing with all these three different options is that you practice them there's no point trying to play these three different options three different chances when you haven't actually practiced those options as well. So next time you're down at the practice ground get yourself an area like this with a nice bunker a nice big green to work with hit ten shots with the lob wedge ten shots with a sand wedge ten shots with a pitching wedge with a gap wedge and just look at your yardage is look at how the ball flies high and how it stops with the shorter club and how it lands and it releases a bit more. As you take loft out the club practicing those right of situations the next time you find yourself in a real situation on the golf course you know exactly the right club to play your green side bunker shots with.
2018-09-10 Pete Styles – PGA Teaching Pro
Often when a golfer arrives in a green side bunker their natural instinct is just to reach for the sand wedge you know it's got sand wedge written on the bottom of it and I'm in the sand it would sand quite sensible to make that choice. Largely that would be the club that most people would use but the best players in the world the guys on T.V. that all professionals they're not all have that decision straight to their hand. What they might consider doing is getting into the bunker and having a little look at the surroundings having a look a little look at the condition of the and the depth of the sand and particularly noticing the lip in front of them. How much sand of they've got to go over then the lie so look at the distance out to the flag then start making club decisions based on all those parameters and have a little look between the options. Now when you consider your options yes you sand great you definitely an option and I've got my sand wedge here then might also consider a club either side of that sand wedge to be a viable option as well. So I have my lob wedge here my lob wedge is more lofted that my sand wedge has about five or six degrees more loft more angle on the face that should encourage the ball to come out more steeply you also got to consider if that ball comes out more steeply it's probably going to go a little bit higher but maybe not quite as far and therefore when it lands it might stop a little bit quicker.
So if I had a flag that was maybe nearer to me than this white flag I'm aiming for the flag was closer my club option would probably be the lob wedge I make a roughly similar swing. So quite a large back swing cut underneath the ball the added loft will make the ball come out how I am short but I wanted to go further back to the white pin probably my sand wedge would be a nice option not too much of a lip to clear and the sand wedge would give me enough loft and it can land then it can roll out a little bit further to the white flag but how about if I had a flag that was further towards the back of the green a little bit higher up this green maybe thirty yards away of green to clear my sand wedge. My lob wedge might feel like they're going to land and stop a bit too quickly so I might take my gap wedge or even a pick to wedge play similarly. So play it similar to a normal bunker shot taken a couple of inches some with a slightly open face but you see the pitching wedge would land and would release a little bit further. Now the important thing with all these three different options is that you practice them there's no point trying to play these three different options three different chances when you haven't actually practiced those options as well. So next time you're down at the practice ground get yourself an area like this with a nice bunker a nice big green to work with hit ten shots with the lob wedge ten shots with a sand wedge ten shots with a pitching wedge with a gap wedge and just look at your yardage is look at how the ball flies high and how it stops with the shorter club and how it lands and it releases a bit more. As you take loft out the club practicing those right of situations the next time you find yourself in a real situation on the golf course you know exactly the right club to play your green side bunker shots with.
