Sand Play - The 'Fried Egg'

There is nothing like adding insult to injury. Walking up to a sand trap and peering over the lip only to find your ball has buried itself in the sand. After having already hit a shot with which you're not happy this can be likened to being kicked while you're down or like being cheated by the golfing gods.

Fear not golfing friends, if you know how to hit the shot you'll not feel cheated any longer.

The problem with a buried ball or "fried egg" is getting the club under the ball enough to lift the ball from the bunker. Now, under normal circumstances a golfer would keep the face of the club square or slightly open during a sand shot. This allows the club to bounce off the sand rather than digging in to far. However, during the buried sand shot, you need your golf club to dig into the sand much more than normal in order to get the club face underneath the ball.

By slightly closing the club face you can encourage the club to dig under the ball and thus more easily lift the ball from the trap. You must also remember to swing harder at the sand when making this shot because you will need to displace more sand than normal as the club digs under the ball.

Finally, make sure to produce a full follow through. This is the most important aspect of any sand shot. It helps your swing maintain its momentum as it passes under the ball and lifts it into the air and, hopefully, onto the green.

TheGolfExpert