This little-used technique makes the hardest shot in golf a breeze

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While you consider probably the most tough pictures in golf, a number of candidates come to thoughts. A pressured carry to a inexperienced with a protracted iron. A flop shot with water lengthy. The subsequent chip after a shank. All of those make your palms sweaty simply fascinated about them.

For my part, nonetheless, there’s a shot that trumps all of them when it comes to issue — and that’s the 40-yard bunker shot. It’s one which leisure gamers hardly ever follow, and that exhibits after they’re confronted with the shot on the course. Nearly each time, they’ll blade it over the inexperienced, or chunk it brief. Simply getting the ball on the inexperienced is counted as a win, not to mention getting the ball shut.

The 40-yard bunker shot doesn’t need to be tough, although. All you need to do is make this one easy adjustment, courtesy of instructor Kelan McDonagh.

How one can hit a protracted bunker shot

A lot of the rationale the lengthy bunker shot is tough is as a result of weekend warriors method it totally incorrectly — they attempt to hit the shot with the identical membership as they’d on a typical greenside bunker shot. However this makes the margin for error extraordinarily slim and makes hitting it near the pin almost unattainable.

“9 occasions out of 10 golfers are going to tug their sand wedge, their regular membership that they assume they’ve to make use of within the bunker,” McDonagh says. “That tends to result in skulls, chunks, duffs, as a result of there’s lots of effort making an attempt to get that ball in direction of the flag.”

As a substitute of utilizing that high-lofted wedge, McDonagh says to as an alternative use a 9-iron. Then, all you’ll want to do is use your typical bunker method. Open your stance and the clubface, play the ball ahead along with your weight ahead, permit the clubhead to go the arms via influence, and thump the sand behind the ball.

“Then we’re going to use the identical dedication to the shot,” McDonagh says. “However with the decrease loft, the ball goes to come back out somewhat bit decrease and launch.”

This may cut back spin, but in addition drastically decreases the margin for error. An ideal recipe for some of the tough pictures in golf.

Zephyr Melton

Golf.com Editor

Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com the place he spends his days running a blog, producing and enhancing. Previous to becoming a member of the staff at GOLF, he attended the College of Texas adopted by stops with the Texas Golf Affiliation, Workforce USA, the Inexperienced Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all issues instruction and covers newbie and ladies’s golf. He will be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.