Photographs from the sand are a few of the most troublesome in golf. Getting up-and-down below regular circumstances is hard sufficient, however when you end up in a bunker, it turns into that a lot tougher.
Even for the professionals, these pictures are something however computerized. In 2023, the PGA Tour chief (Matt Kuchar) in sand saves obtained up-and-down simply 68% of the time, whereas the LPGA chief (Mi Hyang Lee) topped the tour at 64%. And people are the finest gamers on this planet. For the typical Joe, getting up and in from the sand is a a lot much less probably proposition.
This 1 challenge is killing your greenside bunker pictures, says high instructor
One of the vital troublesome features of bunker play is the unpredictability of the hazards. Within the sand, you will get any variety of lies, which impacts the issue of the shot. Even good lies aren’t simple, however when you may have a tricky lie, getting up-and-down turns into all of the extra unlikely.
One of the vital troublesome lies from the bunker is the dreaded fried egg. For assist with that shot, we enlisted 2016 U.S. Girls’s Open champion Brittany Lang. Take a look at the video above, or learn under for her suggestions.
Find out how to escape a fried egg lie
When the ball is partially buried within the sand, you may’t use your typical bunker method. Due to the best way the ball is sitting, you need to make a number of changes to ensure the clubhead interacts with the sand within the right manner.
“I normally attempt to intention a little bit bit to the appropriate,” Lang says. “As a result of I shut the clubface.”
On a typical bunker pictures, you’d use the precise reverse setup — open stance and open clubface. However due to the lie, these changes are crucial.
Like with regular bunker pictures, you need to use an out-to-in path. However as a substitute of utilizing the bounce to let the clubhead glide beneath the ball, you need to hit down and let the ball explode out of the sand.
“It simply will get that pure contact,” Lang says. “I simply sort of chop it out of there.”
From there, the one factor it is advisable to keep in mind is to maintain your velocity up all through the complete swing. If you are able to do that, the ball ought to pop proper out of the bunker and onto the inexperienced, providing you with an opportunity to avoid wasting par.
