Jul
15
2009

Keeping a Quiet Lower Body in the Sand

Posted by Double Eagle in Sand Play Tips

sandSand play has been one of those things I haven’t been working on much this season because honestly, despite my struggles earlier, I just don’t hit in the sand that much.  It seems counter-intuitive until you realize that I was hitting the ball so poorly that I wasn’t even close enough to the greens to get in green-side bunkers.

Now, things are coming together and my misses are putting me in a lot more green-side and fairway bunkers.

I used to be a fairly decent sand player, but I noticed as I began to hit from more sand this year, that I had lost my way.  Suddenly, I was facing routine bunker shots that I was blasting way over the green because I was catching them almost cleanly.  I’d “adjust” and hit another one for practice and would skull it over the green.

Something was very wrong.

I like to use Dave Pelz’s recommended bunker shot technique from his Short Game Bible.  I’ve had a lot of success with that over the years and discussed it at length a while back.

It wasn’t until I saw a bunker play tip somewhere recommending a “quiet lower body” that I began to see where I was going wrong.  This year, I’ve been working extensively on weight transfer and have become more active in my hips and legs during the down swing.

Unfortunately, this kind of leg action is a killer for bunker shots.

Consider the setup for a moment: set up with the ball opposite the left heel with the left foot flared open (not perpendicular to the aim line), open the club face, and aim left of the target. We set up with the ball opposite the left heel because we have no intention of actually striking it.  Our object is to splash the sand a couple of inches behind the ball. The ball floats out on a cushion of sand.  Angels rejoice.

The setup should really be what dictates the outcome of the shot.  Why?  Think what happens when you drive your legs with an aggressive hip turn.  One of two things probably happens.

You will either:

  1. Allow your upper-body to shift to the left before impact, meaning the bottom of your swing arc moves left, as well.  Instead of hitting two inches behind the ball, you’ll hit much closer, and possibly even make flush contact with the ball – exactly the thing you don’t want to do. Or,
  2. Tilt more to the right, as you might with a driver, where you’re trying to keep your head behind the ball and hit it with a slightly ascending blow.  This has the effect of moving your sternum to the right a little, and thus the low point of your swing moves right, as well.  From there, you can either hit it really fat, possibly not even getting it out of the bunker, or strike it on the upswing, skulling it across the green.

Those outcomes are really unacceptable for consistent bunker play.

Once I realized I was driving to the left and was letting my upper body move left (and then doing the opposite when I tried to avoid that), it was a simple matter to fix.  I did nothing more than to take the drive out of my legs and make them more quiet.  “Passive” might be a description that’s easier to understand.

I want the feeling of my legs being more passive during the swing, like my upper body is doing most of the work, especially my arms.  I like to feel like my lower body is acting more like it does during a putt or chip than what it does for, say, a driver.  Of course, my legs will be a little more active than during a putt where they are still, but it’s the imagery I go with to make it clear in my mind that I want to keep the low point of my swing in the same spot during shots from the sand and not drive my legs to the left.

The problem, really, is not that I was trying to add power to my sand swing by driving my legs.  It was a mental compensation resulting from playing the ball opposite my left heel with a sand wedge in my hands.  Try that from the turf and you had better drive your weight left or you’re going to skull or top the ball every time because it will be well left of the low point of the swing.

The key is to realize that we’re striving to hit a couple of inches behind the ball and to trust that will happen with the proper set up without subconsciously driving the lower body through the ball.

Part of the equation is consistent setup and key to that is consistent ball position.  Once you get the feeling of keeping your lower body passive and stable in the sand, learn where your natural point of entry into the sand is, and play the ball a couple of inches forward of that.

I’ll be adding more sand work to my normal practice routine to make sure I groove these things.  Keep your lower body passive and groove a consistent setup and I know you’ll improve your ability to play from the sand just like I did.

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There are currently 6 responses to “Keeping a Quiet Lower Body in the Sand”

  1. 1

    twadlund said:

    Great sand advise! My short game has always been pretty shady, but my sand game is even worse. I just have never really felt good with a club in my hands in the sand. I’m actually not all that bad from fairway bunkers, but I sometimes have a hard time getting out in 3 from green side bunkers…I can’t wait to go to the range and try keeping my lower body still, concentrating on my arms, and hitting behind the ball a couple inches. I don’t think that full thought process has ever been in my head while hitting sand shots. I think my big problem is similar to yours; I have worked hard on my weight transfer, which gets my lower body moving, bad for bunker shots…I remember maybe 5 years ago I was on a golfing trip with my dad at some course in South Carolina, when we spotted a crowd of people huddled around the practice facilities bunkers. Turns out, David Farrety was giving a bunker lesson for a bunch of Business guys, looked liked some firms retreat of some kind. Unfortunately I really don remember much, except him hitting plugged balls out of the sand with 4 and 5 irons…His main point was that it doesn’t even matter what club you hit, the swing is the same. Funny enough, I remember him specifically preaching that the lower body needed to remain still. So great advise!

    Posted on July 15th, 2009 at 11:21 pm

  2. 2

    Paul said:

    I have a feeling you and I are on different golfing levels. I usually shoot in the 90′s, occasionally dipping into the 80′s. My best game ever was an 82.

    So knowing how lousy I am, I like looking for simple advice that I can use, and the idea of keeping a quiet lower body in the sand is just such advice. I can hardly wait to get back in a trap ; )

    Quick “sort of funny” story: I was playing a course in Maryland once and having a very good game for me. On the 18th hole, I ended up in a green-side bunker after two strokes. As I headed toward the bunker, I was pretty happy with this. At the time, I didn’t generally have a hard time getting out of bunkers. My accuracy wasn’t great, but I figured I’d have, at worst, a long putt for par and finish up my great game with a great last hole. A bogie was all I really needed.

    But then I got to my ball, and my perspective changed. The far edge of the green from me was, perhaps, only about 7 or 8 feet from the cart path, and, amazingly, the course had decided that would be a great spot for a bench pointing away from the green. It was really strange. I don’t know why the bench was there, except that we were close to the clubhouse and the driving range, but there it was, and there was a woman sitting there with her back to me. The only thing running through my mind was that I was going to miss my shot, spank the ball, and it was going to fly over the green at 100 mph and hit the woman in the back of the head.

    As a result of this, I ended up taking 3 shots to get out of the sand, and when I did get out, it just barely dribbled onto the green, leaving me with about a 40 foot shot just for a double bogey. I was so mad and frustrated that I ended up 4-putting to finish up my day, now completely ruined.

    Out of all the golf I’ve played, that is one of my most vivid memories, although now I find it funny.

    By the way, I’m headed to Myrtle Beach for some golfing next Friday. Can’t wait.

    Posted on July 16th, 2009 at 11:23 am

  3. 3

    Paul said:

    I guess I should add to that story that I guess this would make me an absolutely terrible pro. I can’t even imagine hitting a ball with people lined up all over the place.

    I watched an old show on the golf channel the other day, a replay of a tournament from the 80′s, and I didn’t remember how crazy it was back then. Spectators formed something like a human funnel on the tee box and the golfers shot through the funnel. All I could wonder was how many people I could kill with a single, wild shot.

    Posted on July 16th, 2009 at 11:30 am

  4. 4

    David said:

    If you want to read great advice on bunker play, visit the Wedge guy site. The writer is the maker of Eidolon wedges. I found it 100% effective after a little practice. Good luck.

    Posted on July 16th, 2009 at 11:47 am

  5. 5

    Yardage Pro said:

    Hey guys – been a while since I lurked here – tons of good stuff, as usual, DE. Thanks!

    I read this with interest. Last week at Chantilly National Golf Club in northern VA I lost like 6 strokes in the sand – extra strokes, that is, in addition to the one shot it “should” have taken to get out. :)

    The biggest problem I seem to have is trying to hard to power the ball out. a quiet lower body and a relaxed swing is what works – I just wish I could do it!

    Good read – thanks again –

    Harry

    Posted on July 30th, 2009 at 4:47 pm

  6. 6

    Double Eagle said:

    Give it a shot next time you get in the sand, Harry. Make it your primary swing thought and you might get good results without even having to dedicate some bunker practice time to work on it (of course, there obviously is no substitute for that).

    Posted on August 1st, 2009 at 12:20 am

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