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what golf club to use in a bunker

by Mr. Godfrey Jakubowski Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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You will probably want to use your sand wedge as the go-to option for most of your bunker shots. This is the club you will reach for when you have a comfortable distance to the hole, a good lie, and an easy path out of the trap.

Full Answer

Can you put two golf clubs in the bunker?

Additionally if you take two clubs into the bunker to see which one to use, once you have decided you can put the club you decided not to use on the ground too.

What is the best club to use for bunker shots?

You will probably want to use your sand wedge as the go-to option for most of your bunker shots. This is the club you will reach for when you have a comfortable distance to the hole, a good lie, and an easy path out of the trap.

What is a bunker in golf?

A bunker in golf is defined under the rules as a “specially prepared area intended to test the player’s ability to play a ball from the sand .” The name comes from the origins of the game. The earliest courses were laid over linksland, on which naturally occurred small deep sand pits which were called bunkers.

What are fairway bunkers on a golf course?

Fairway bunkers are designed to catch errant drives off the tee. They are generally placed on the sides of the fairway and tend to be fairly shallow. You have a reasonable chance of advancing the ball somewhere near the green. Once again links courses will tend to have much deeper fairway bunkers.

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What golf club is typically used in a bunker?

A sand wedge, or sand iron, is a type of golf club, an open-faced wedge primarily designed for getting out of sand bunkers. It has the widest sole of any wedge, which provides the greatest amount of bounce, allowing the club head to glide through sand and avoid digging in.

What wedge should I use in a bunker?

For the traditional-length bunker shot, use your 56-degree sand wedge, open the face slightly, and imagine the sand flying deeper onto the green than the above short-range shot. The farther the sand flies, the more acceleration you'll need to incorporate through impact.

What club should I use in the sand?

A 56-degree sand wedge is suited for hitting out of the sand or for a golfer who hits behind the golf ball a lot. The higher degree of bounce helps the club glide through the sand or dirt, which makes it the most versatile wedge in the bag.

What club do pros use to get out of sand?

Wedges with less bounce (6-8 degrees) are ideally suited for courses that have little sand in the bunkers or that are especially firm (such as Arizona). Wedges in the 10- to 12-degree bounce range are the most versatile and can be effective in a wide variety of conditions.

Should you only use sand wedge in the bunker?

You should still consider your sand wedge to be the default option when in a trap, but you should keep your mind open to other possibilities when the time is right. Just like playing any other shot around the course, club selection is key in this situation.

Is a lob wedge good in a bunker?

The lob wedge is great for hitting those high, soft landing, short bunker shots, but those longer distance, running bunker shots are difficult to play with the high loft of the lob wedge. Use the correct club for the shot you want to play.

What wedge do you use for sand?

Most golfers agree that a sand wedge is essential in your bag. As your experience and skills grow you can look at other wedges but to start with one should have at least a pitching wedge and a sand wedge. The Cleveland CBX 2 Sand Wedge is an example of a quality sand wedge that will work well for most golfers.

Can I use a pitching wedge in sand?

Can A Pitching Wedge Be Used As A Sand Wedge? You could use a pitching wedge in a sand trap. Similarly, you could use a 9-iron or a 7-iron in the sand as well. The problem with using a pitching wedge in the sand is lack of consistency.

Should you chip with a pitching wedge or sand wedge?

For the average golfer, chipping with a sand wedge should only be used when you need to get the ball over an obstacle. A sand wedge is much more prone to chunking or topping the ball, and is why most golfers should use a gap or pitching wedge in most cases.

What is the easiest sand wedge to hit?

“For beginners having a hard time getting the ball out of the sand, the C3i Wedge is the easiest sand wedge to use with its widest sole that can get the ball into the air quickly and deep face that offers quality contact.”

What is the challenge of picking the right golf club?

The challenge of picking the right club is one that you need to handle successfully if you are going to play good golf. This is true throughout the entire course, except once you are on the greens. You know you are going to use a putter for the shots that take place on the greens, but everything else is up in the air.

Do you have to be frustrated in golf bunkers?

However, there isn’t much time in golf to let yourself be frustrated or disappointed. Instead, you simply need to pick your head up, journey into the bunker, and get down to work. Many amateur golfers are afraid of bunker shots, and it seems that much of their fear has to do with the mysterious quality of bunker play.

Is a fairway bunker shot important?

Fairway bunker shots are important too, of course , but those are going to have to wait for another time. For now, we are talking about the typical greenside bunker shot that you will have to play from time to time in order to move your ball up out of a trap and onto the green. All of the content below is based on a right-handed golfer.

hurley999s

I was curious about different opinions on what everyone uses in the bunker. The 56 (or thereabouts) is the “sand wedge” but is it really the best choice? Do most people use it in the bunkers or is it more of a versatile, around the green chipping club and short approach club?

Santiago Golf

I use a 63* for my bunker shots, though I would teach most golfers to use a 52-58* in the sand. Most ams are opening and adding loft through impact, so more loft isn't generally a good thing because they don't hit a full 60* 50 yards, it going to be tough to hit it 25 yards out of bunkers.

scooterhd2

My wedge setup is 50/54/58, and I use the 58 out of 90% of greenside bunkers.

hurley999s

I’ve always used 56 myself, just out of habit (I’m mid 30s and goofed around playing once or twice a year growing up until taking things seriously about 2 years ago). I’ve used 60 with specific bunker shots where I needed to get it up in a hurry, but my standard was 56.

Dan Drake

Cleveland Golf did some good research a few years ago on tour and found that 58°-60° was the most commonly used club out of the sand on tour, by far. That said, the bunkers they face (and green complexes) vs. what we all are normally dealing with are not usually the same thing.

Precis1on

Whatever the shot demands, but overall the highest amount of bounce I can attain on a wedge. I'll go all the way down to a 9 iron if the distance demands it (usually a large green and large bunker combo).

hurley999s

your regular/home coursestandard conditions - not wet, not hard lack.

Who is the rules guru for bunkers?

In this video, Neil Tappin is joined by rules guru Jeremy Ellwood to look at the rules specifically related to bunkers. They discuss what you are and are not allowed to do to help avoid any confusion and potential penalty shots.

Can you put two clubs in a bunker?

Additionally if you take two clubs into the bunker to see which one to use, once you have decided you can put the club you decided not to use on the ground too. Also you can use the club to steady yourself if the bunker is particularly steep of precarious to get in to.

Can you find your ball in a bunker?

Unplayable Lies. Sometimes you may find your ball in a completely unplayable area of a bunker. The options here include the usual options of going back to play the previous shot again from wherever that was, you can drop within two clubs lengths no nearer the hole or in line for a one-stroke penalty.

Can you ground your golf club in a bunker?

1. Not allowed to ground your club in the bunker. The main rule to follow in bunkers is you are not allowed to touch the sand with your club whether that be grounding it behind the ball, shifting sand on your backswing or having a practice shot in the sand.

Can you take a drop back in line outside of a bunker?

Indeed the old rules said this drop still had to take place in the bunker but under the new rules you can take a drop back in line, outside of the bunker but that would be with a two-stroke penalty, not one. In terms of water in a bunker, you are entitled to relief from that but you must take relief within in the bunker.

Can you touch sand with a golf club?

You are not allowed to touch the sand with your club like this. It should be noted that there are some exceptions regarding you or your club touching the sand. First you are allowed to tidy up other parts of the bunker away from where your ball is lying for care of the course purposes.

What is a bunker on a golf course?

Fairway bunkers are designed to catch errant drives off the tee. They are generally placed on the sides of the fairway and tend to be fairly shallow. You have a reasonable chance of advancing the ball somewhere near the green. Once again links courses will tend to have much deeper fairway bunkers. They will usually force you to concentrate on escaping the bunker rather than making progress down the hole.

How to play greenside bunkers?

In terms of greenside bunkers, the classical way to play was the splash shot: 1 open up the face on your sand wedge 2 open up your stance to the target 3 settle yourself in the sand and squat down a little more than you would with a normal shot 4 have 55% to 60% of your weight on your lead foot 5 ball opposite your lead heel 6 swing along the line of your feet creating an open swing path 7 maintaining the loft on the club 8 hit the sand behind the golf ball

Why is the extra wide sole used in golf?

The extra-wide sole and low center of gravity combine to make it easier for mid and high handicappers to get the ball airborne. It is usable from all sorts of lies including bunkers.

What does it mean to be in a bunker?

You are considered to be in the bunker if “any part of it touches sand on the ground inside the edge of the bunker.”. You’re also in the bunker if you are within the edges of the bunker and “on a loose impediment, movable obstruction, abnormal course condition or integral object.”.

How many golf clubs are in a golf bag?

Most people will carry the regulation 14 golf clubs in their bag. Unless your name is Seve then you’re probably best restricting yourself to the most lofted clubs in your bag when you are looking to escape from sand.

What is the wide sole of Callaway Sure Out 2?

Available in lots from 56° to 64°. The Callaway SureOut 2 features the extra-wide sole common with this style of club. It is designed to give maximum relief to the player from a variety of tricky lies including bunkers.

How to get a good shot in the sand?

open up the face on your sand wedge. open up your stance to the target. sett le yourself in the sand and squat down a little more than you would with a normal shot. have 55% to 60% of your weight on your lead foot.

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