Tom Watson on Playing Greenside Bunkers (Video)

In this short Callaway Golf video, Tom Watson suggests you a way to hit out of a greenside bunker. I need to recognition on one aspect he says, due to the fact I don't suppose maximum humans recognize what it method.

Around the 1:20 mark Tom says that the BACK EDGE of the sand wedge's bounce is what contacts the sand and makes it slide thru the sand. There's a few logic here that impacts your cope with role, and that is what I want to consciousness on.

In order for the lower back facet to hit the sand first, you need to open the face of the wedge. In fact, that is the reason you open the face. Since you hit the sand behind the ball and moving the sand is what throws the ball out, you might not get a huge slice.

But truely beginning the face isn't enough, and that is in which most players make their mistake.

I know that you are told over and over that, for most shots, you want to lean the shaft forward at impact. The key words here are FOR MOST SHOTS. That simply doesn't work for a sand shot! If you lean the shaft forward, the front edge of the wedge will hit the sand first even if you open the face . You absolutely do NOT want to lean the shaft forward.

That calls for an adjustment in your deal with setup.

To get the shaft vertical or even leaning backward a bit at address, you want the butt end of the shaft to point at your belly button at address. And if you set up with the shaft vertical and pointing at your belly button -- without the ball, just take the position -- you'll quickly realize that the ball has to be moved FORWARD in your stance. In fact, since you want to hit the sand behind the ball and not the ball itself, you need to set up so the ball is maybe two to four inches ahead of the clubface.

Yes, I recognize that sounds like a certain recipe for a thin skulled shot, but it is not. Remember, you're hitting the sand first and letting the clubhead slide underneath the sand. It's the sand being moved with the aid of the clubhead that throws the ball out of the bunker.

There's an extra thing you need to do. Most players set up with their stance a piece open, and that is so they don't hit the ball with the hosel of the club. Remember, you have opened the clubface so the available vicinity of the face is narrower than whilst the face is rectangular. From an open setup, you could installation to hit the ball inside the middle of the clubface like a ordinary shot.

But you can also hit the ball from a square setup. To do that, you need to stand a bit farther from the ball, so the ball is closer to the toe than to the middle of the clubface. Again, remember that you only have to hit the sand behind the ball, not the ball itself. You'll move plenty of sand to get the ball up in the air cleanly.

So don't forget, to get the ball out of the sand:

• Open the clubface so the back of the sole hits the sand first.
• Set up with the shaft vertical, aimed at your belly button, so the shaft isn't leaning forward at address.
• Position yourself so the ball is two to four inches ahead of the clubface, to make sure you don't lean the shaft forward at impact.
• And stand a bit farther from the ball so it's a little nearer to the toe of the club, so you won't hit the ball with the hosel.

It's going to look a bit weird at first, but you'll be surprised at how quickly you can get used to it once that ball starts popping out of the sand and onto the green.