Greenside Bunker Play

[daluqfam]

I'm 60yo & play to an 8. Was introduced to Alignment Golf last Nov.11 and I'm enthralled & infatuated with it. Thanks, Lynn. Wish I would've known about TGM 20yrs. ago.

I have a sand play question. My greenside bunker shots are not good. Self diagnosing, I believe that my bunker swing resembles too closely some of the same "U swing" characteristics of my full ball striking swing. (i.e., too much arm swing on takeaway, a tardy club/wrist set, & a tendency to extend through impact to straight arm follow through). My swing does not resemble the "V" shape, I lack speed through hitting area,& my shots produce little spin.

Experimenting, I've found that at address with ball position 1/2 ball behind low point using an open stance to the path line, distributing weight center/left(similar to Impact Fixed), laying the clubface wide-open, & adjusting right hand grip stronger & underneath... with this set up I'm executing the Back Stroke using a quick-set, minimum-pivot, limited arm swing motion on my base line. Then on the down stroke i'm allowing the right hand during release & impact to speed scoop underneath ball with a turned-down, arched right wrist and a flexed left wrist (yes, throw-away!)... my highest, softest shots are produced as such.

Am I wrong in executing this specialty shot in this manner? (Throw-away wrist positions with some reverse shaft lean?) Should I continue practicing it, or go back & mimic something more similar to the conventional TGM swing before these habits influence other areas?

Bad Bunker Player

[Mike O]

Before you get to the swing type - I'd make sure you have or experiment with the correct equipment.

What loft and bounce is your wedge you use for bunker play?

[whip]

Make your bunker swing very similar to your full. Swing but open the face use some picot minimal arms and wrists

[daluqfam]

Before you get to the swing type - I'd make sure you have or experiment with the correct equipment.

What loft and bounce is your wedge you use for bunker play?

Mike O, I use a Vokey 56deg with 11deg bounce. BBP

[Etzwane]

Anyone playing with Vertical Hinge ?

[daluqfam]

Anyone playing with Vertical Hinge ?

Etzwane, at SAFT the attitude of the back of my left wrist is nearly perpendicular to a wall. (even though flexed in throwaway!) So I would classify my hinge action on this specialty shot as more vertical than angled.

[Mike O]

Mike O, I use a Vokey 56deg with 11deg bounce. BBP

Although no expert - I like that club and bounce. I recently went from an 8 degree bounce to a 14 degree bounce and noticed an immediate improvement in my bunker play. I might suggest you try a sandwedge with more bounce and see if it makes a difference. Otherwise back to the regular scheduled programming - bunker swing ideas.

[whip]

I see too much adjustmebts being made in the bunker with most amateurs its simoky a putch shot with angled hinge open face slightly open stance feeling the wight of the clubhead with the pivot using the hips to spash he wirght of the clubhead under the ball i see to many use all arms and wrists and trying to vertical hinge

[O.B.Left]

Its much easier to use the bounce of the club when its bigger. I've got a collection of sand wedges from a Walter Hagen concave face model as used by Bobby Jones in winning his Grand Slam , to an old 1930's Wilson R 20 to a couple of 1959 Wilson staff Dynapowers . Those clubs were made for the sand specifically , their big bounces and heavy heads are a delight to play a sand shot with. Makes me wonder about finding a modern club with a similar grind.


Hackers come in leading edge first digging , good bunker players bounce the club off the sand using with the bottom of the club making contact not the leading edge.

With todays modern , more dual purpose, less built in bounce sand wedges , opening the plane line and aligning the face to the hole exposes more bounce .... effectively increasing the bounce angle. Same goes for coming into the ball with very little shaft lean. With the shaft vertical, as it should be at Fix. Dont get the hands too far ahead with this particular method. This is what Yoda teaches in the sand. Not a hinge and hold deal more of a fullish sweeping easy swing , early release and a vertical shaft at impact. Just like Luke Donald's method . You have options of course , but Luke Donald is pretty darn good with this shot out of the sand or off the turf green side.

Can it cross over to intentional throwaway ? IMO if you scoot the clubhead ahead of the hands and employ vertical hinging it will. Bend the left hand that is, the definition of throwaway. It can produce a super high soft shot but it demands extreme precision . Yoda teaches this shot too, green side normally off of grass with vertical or horizontal or angled .... its in the book 10-3-J Pause Minor Basic Stroke although the accompanying photo shows horizontal hinging with a flat left hand .... not throwaway then. Me I like to stay comfortably back of low point by an inch or so and go extremely open with the plane line before resorting to intentional throwaway..... I find it far more reliable. I keep the hands going through the shot , situation normal , no pausing but im releasing and the shaft is vertical at impact. Vertical hinging. BTW anyone remember the trick sand shot Seve used to do where he'd lift his left leg off the ground and swing between the clubhead between his legs? Hitting these beautiful little cut lob shots! Even with a long iron! Thats a Pause stroke if ever there was one as his hands come to a dead stop against his uh.... inside thigh area.

Daluqfam, Bottom line all of the three types of Steering and forward ball positioning , and extremely open plane lines with their associated increased effective loft and bounce and early release, bigger pulley wheel and gripping down to shorten the radius and Vertical Hinging and even throwaway are available to the golfer to be used as machine adjustments , tools to lessen compression. Everything that can be employed to increase compression can be reversed to intentionally decrease compression.

[daluqfam]

OBL, it took me four readings, but now, I understand 95% of your explanation. I really understand. I admire/envy your comprehension of the correct golf swing mechanics of TGM & Lynn's unparalelled explanations & depictions.

Based on all the feedback that I've received, this is the direction that I'm going to proceed with:

1-My Vokey 56/11 wedge is fine as long as I employ structure that exposes the variable bounce to max sand surface contact.
2- For that structure I need to open my stance from the target line & open the clubface & slightly reverse lean the shaft.
2-My technique is to form a bowed right wrist at address with a stronger underneath right hand placement on the grip. (incidentally this right produces for me a flexed left wrist on the grip).
3-The motion is an arm swing on address line that started from a left centered weight balance... min to no pivot...allowing bowed right wrist on downswing/ release to scoop under ball at low point.

Producing the highest, spinning-est sand shots that I've ever played!

Thanks, everybody for the info. Daluqfam