MeanMachine22 Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 I need some help in these thin Arizona bunkers. I am always amazed how the standard bunker shot becomes simple whenever I travel out of state and find nice sand. Where I struggle is here at home. Even the better Phoenix courses are thin In the bottoms with coarse sand. You are generally forced to chop the ball out. Sounds doable, however we have many deep bunkers with pretty steep faces which makes the chop not an option unless you go out backwards. The flop shot works, but you have to hit perfectly which makes consistency an issue. So, the question is, what would be the proper technique to get a high soft shot off of a thin lie in a green side bunker? Thanks Driver: Ping G25 10.5 degrees, Tour S-flex 5 Wood - Ping G25 18 degrees, 3 wood shaft, Tour S-flex 7 Wood- Ping G25 21 degrees, Tour S-flex Hybrid - Ping G25 23 degrees, Tour S-flex 4 iron - Ping G2, Z-Z65 shaft, white dot PW - 5 iron- Ping I3, Z-Z65 shaft, white dot 56/60 degree - Ping M/B wedge, Z-Z65 shaft, white dot All with I3 gold gripsPutter - Nike Core Method Drone 44†(aka “The Assassin). Golf Ball - Pro VI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. 82 Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Hardpan in the sand, close the face, choke down and swing easy. Sent from my coral using MyGolfSpy mobile app G400 Driver XR 4 Fairway 16.5° Fli-Hi Utility Iron - 21° G Series 5-9 irons SM7 46°, 50°, 54° & 58° Ghost Spider S putter Nexus Laser Rangefinder Garmin Approach S20 GPS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeanMachine22 Posted September 29, 2018 Author Share Posted September 29, 2018 Doesn't the closed face equal low launch? I am talking a deep face and don't want to drill it in the face and be hitting from the sand again. Driver: Ping G25 10.5 degrees, Tour S-flex 5 Wood - Ping G25 18 degrees, 3 wood shaft, Tour S-flex 7 Wood- Ping G25 21 degrees, Tour S-flex Hybrid - Ping G25 23 degrees, Tour S-flex 4 iron - Ping G2, Z-Z65 shaft, white dot PW - 5 iron- Ping I3, Z-Z65 shaft, white dot 56/60 degree - Ping M/B wedge, Z-Z65 shaft, white dot All with I3 gold gripsPutter - Nike Core Method Drone 44†(aka “The Assassin). Golf Ball - Pro VI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB13 Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Honestly, you are just going to have to practice the flop shot. Open face, swing hard, and hit behind the ball. Wilson Staff C300 9.0* Fujikura Pro 58 stiff Callaway Rogue 3W Mitsubishi Diamana D+ LTD 80 stiff Mizuno MP-18 MMC FLI-HI 2 iron UST Mamiya Recoil 95 stiff Ping I200's 4-W Aerotech Steelfiber I110 CW stiff Ping Glide 52* and 58* stiff Bettinardi Studio Stock #38 Armlock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perseveringgolfer Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 I need some help in these thin Arizona bunkers. I am always amazed how the standard bunker shot becomes simple whenever I travel out of state and find nice sand. Where I struggle is here at home. Even the better Phoenix courses are thin In the bottoms with coarse sand. You are generally forced to chop the ball out. Sounds doable, however we have many deep bunkers with pretty steep faces which makes the chop not an option unless you go out backwards. The flop shot works, but you have to hit perfectly which makes consistency an issue. So, the question is, what would be the proper technique to get a high soft shot off of a thin lie in a green side bunker? Thanks What club do you currently use? if it's a SW then I suggest a lob wedge or opening up a PW as both have sharper leading edges and will cut thru that coarse sand better. Opening the face uses more bounce so you shouldn't dig in, which is what could happen using a PW without opening it up. Try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Driver Awaiting NEW Driver (after 10 yrs) 4 Wood Callaway Big Bertha Steelhead plus 4+ Callaway shaft in 'Firm' flex Hybrid Titleist 910H 19* Diamana ahina 'flower' shaft in 'S' Irons Mizuno MP18SC 4-PW N.S Pro Modus3 Tour 105 in 'S' Wedges Callaway Mack Daddy forged in black 50* and 54* KBS Tour in 'R' Putter 'YES' Tracy 11 C groove 34.5" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. 82 Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Doesn't the closed face equal low launch? I am talking a deep face and don't want to drill it in the face and be hitting from the sand again.If you open up the face you'll blade the shot from hardpan. You'll need to get the lowest bounce wedge you can find from those conditions btw. If your wedge has a higher bounce, change it out. Basically you want a sharpe knife for those shots, and the lowest bounce wedge you can find will do. Sent from my coral using MyGolfSpy mobile app G400 Driver XR 4 Fairway 16.5° Fli-Hi Utility Iron - 21° G Series 5-9 irons SM7 46°, 50°, 54° & 58° Ghost Spider S putter Nexus Laser Rangefinder Garmin Approach S20 GPS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaidJacket Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 A club I belonged to many years ago at one time had "thin" bunkers. There was probably about 1/4" of sand before hardpan So, I developed a high-spinning shot whereby I used a 58-60 degree wedge that had very little bounce. I was able to actually slice right under the ball. I would lay it wide open and swing fairly hard. It was a dangerous shot but I got pretty good at it. The ball would come out with an incredible amount of spin but with very little roll. That's the good news - bad news. Distance control was hard too. But I was out. Some guys putted it out. It was that bad. My Sun Mountain bag currently includes: 771CSI 5i - PW and PFC Micro Tour-c 52°, 56°, 60 wedges EXS 10.5*, 929-HS FW4 16.5* Willimette w/GolfPride Contour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low Country Golfer Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 If you open up the face you'll blade the shot from hardpan. You'll need to get the lowest bounce wedge you can find from those conditions btw. If your wedge has a higher bounce, change it out. Basically you want a sharpe knife for those shots, and the lowest bounce wedge you can find will do. Sent from my coral using MyGolfSpy mobile app This, this and this. Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy Driver: PXG 0811XF 10.5 Regular flex 3W Cleveland HiBore XLS 3-5H: Callaway Steelhead XR 6I-AW Srixon ZX4 MKII SW and LW Kirkland Signature (V2) Putter: TaylorMade Rosa Monte Carlo Ball: OnCore Elixer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEZIPR23 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 A club I belonged to many years ago at one time had "thin" bunkers. There was probably about 1/4" of sand before hardpan So, I developed a high-spinning shot whereby I used a 58-60 degree wedge that had very little bounce. I was able to actually slice right under the ball. I would lay it wide open and swing fairly hard. It was a dangerous shot but I got pretty good at it. The ball would come out with an incredible amount of spin but with very little roll. That's the good news - bad news. Distance control was hard too. But I was out. Some guys putted it out. It was that bad. This is the only way to hit that shot with any consistency. It is a very handsy shot Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy Stealth 2+ 9 (Diamana PD 60 S 45") Stealth 2+ 15 (Diamana PD 70 S 43") G425 19 (Raijin 2.0 85x) G425 22 (Raijin 2.0 85x) ZX7 5-9 (KBS C Taper S) Vokey SM9 45 10 F (KBS 610) Vokey SM9 49 08 F (KBS 610) Vokey SM9 55 08 M (KBS 610) Vokey SM9 59 04 T (KBS 610) Spider GT Splitback 34" ProV1 #23 Twitter @THEZIPR23 "One thing Golf has taught me, is that my muscles have no memory." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 A lot of what is being said in here is right. My home course has had hard/wet sand all year. I used to use a 58° with 12° of bounce before in bunkers with normal sand with great success. In these hard bunkers I started launching the balls over the green even trying to keep the face square and taking shorter swings. I picked up a 60° with 9° of bounce halfway through the year and it has been great. I can just take it and square up the face and take half of a normal swing I would take in the bunker. It's automatic now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtfrmr Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 I use a 60 degree out of traps here Jan we phx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiftyNiblick Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 With ample sand, I always laid open a stronger wedge because my most lofted wedge always had the least bounce--practically none, in fact. Or, I used a dedicated sand iron instead of a turf-playable wedge.. In hard bunkers, the very low bounce wedges seem to work well. Play the ball forward so it jumps straight up in the air, but follow through, don't stab.. Hitting it close is another matter. As long as I played my next stroke with a putter, I considered my sand shot a success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickleeleep Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 I live in Vegas where the bunkers are the same. A lot of time you cant even rake the bunker because it doesnt do anything. I have an extra spot in the bag that I though would be a good idea to get a low bounce wedge specifically for bunkers. Is there such thing as too little bounce for this scenario? The new RTX-4 wedges have an option for 58* or 60* with 3* of bounce. Would that be better than say a 62* with 6* of bounce? Driver- 2016 M2 12* Tensei Red Stiff Wood(s)- G400 5 Wood 16.9*/ 7 Wood 21.1* Alta CB Stiff Irons- JPX 900 Forged 6-GW NS Pro 950GH Wedges- RTX 3 54* 588 RTX 2.0 58* RTX 4 64* Putter- Spider Tour Black Instagram- @patrickleeleep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiftyNiblick Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 19 hours ago, patrickleeleep said: Is there such thing as too little bounce for this scenario? There used to be a wedge called the Black Widow which had negative bounce. The trailing edge was actually above rather than below the leading edge. If you played the ball back in your stance, the club would dig in and either the shaft or you would break as the club head dug deeply into the ground. If you played the ball forward, however, you could hit high pitches from the cart path, complete with sparks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG STU Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 On 9/29/2018 at 12:07 PM, GSwag said: If you open up the face you'll blade the shot from hardpan. You'll need to get the lowest bounce wedge you can find from those conditions btw. If your wedge has a higher bounce, change it out. Basically you want a sharpe knife for those shots, and the lowest bounce wedge you can find will do. Sent from my coral using MyGolfSpy mobile app Exactly--- Down here the traps frankly suck they will be inconsistent from trap to trap even on the same hole. For those shots like the OP posted I use my VIP PW you can not get less bounce or a sharper edge than that. I have been playing golf long enough I know how to manipulate it to get the loft at what I need. Back when I played comp depending on the course and traps I would sometimes carry a old Hogan Sure Out which has a huge flange. As SOP for me I only carry 12 clubs so that leaves room. I used that Sure Out only in real fluffy traps and certain lies in the rough. I will note this was the days before the groove ban BS now that Sure Out is non conforming in comp to the 2010 groove rules. Not that I care because I do not play comp any more but there are plenty of companies that make conforming high bounce big flanged wedges these days Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56* Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhartmann34 Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 I'd love to have some thin bunkers. They're great to slide my 58* wedge under. Just a smooth swing. I find golfers in general often swing too hard with too long of a swing in bunkers...often trying to hit behind the ball and dig to China. Pick a spot a half inch behind the ball. Keep the face square. Take a nice short back swing and smooth through. If our bunkers and courses weren't frozen, I'd do a video. I'm sure there are some on YouTube. *Edit* Here's a decent video I found Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk Driver: G400 (8*) with Diamana Kai'li X-stiff Fairway: G400 (14.5*) with Diamana Kai'li X-stiff Irons: Crossover 3 iron (19*) with TT Dynamic Gold 120 S400 shaft AP3 (4/5) and AP2 (6-PW) with TT Dynamic Gold 120 S400 shafts Wedges: Scor 50*, 54*, and 58* with TT Dynamic Gold 120 S400 shafts Putter: Pro Platinum Newport 2 Midslant Handicap: 3 Location: Illinois...until i can get my wife to move to a warmer climate Right Handed: Although sometimes I wonder if left handed would suit me better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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