Stuck In A Bunker!

You may have heard this alleged quote from Mark Twain: "GOLF IS A GOOD WALK SPOILED."  And what "spoils" the walk?  It is the difficulty in getting the ball to go where you want it to go...which is in the hole in as few shots as possible.

The first day of golf team tryouts for my daughter was yesterday. We managed to get a swing together in 2 weeks, and she did pretty well keeping the ball on the golf course and out of the yards that laced the perimeter. There was one little nuance that we hadn't addressed. The bunker - sand trap is what it used to be called. I'm not sure if the name was changed to make it feel less daunting to the player, or to spare the feelings of the poor little area of sand. :) With or without the name change, my daughter was trapped there for quite a few shots.

Have you ever felt like you keep trying and trying but can't get a different result?  I sure have. In golf and in life. When this happens, it's good to find someone to help you change your approach and enable you to accomplish the result that you desire. Last night, at dusk, my daughter and I stepped in a sand bunker at a local course, and she worked on a few key movements, that had her popping the ball out of the sand with apparent ease.

Hopefully, when she returns today, she will have a good report. If she doesn't come home, I'll assume that she's still STUCK IN A BUNKER! :)

Here are a few key thoughts if you find yourself stuck in a bunker :

1. Rotate the face of your sand wedge so that it points a little to the right of your target
2. Keep your hands angled a little forward
3. Focus your eyes on a spot 2 inches behind the ball and hit that spot as you swing through
4. Spank the sand and keep accelerating - the sand will lift the ball out of the bunker
5. A short prayer before you make your mighty swipe doesn't hurt either!

Fore you, Sue