Play in the Sand

When faced with a long greenside bunker shot, don't automatically grab your sand wedge.  According to PGA Professional Ben Alexander, sometimes a pitching wedge is a better choice.

A greenside bunker is a bunker located directly next to the green, and most of the time we will use a sand wedge to escape from them.

But here is where the average player often gets into trouble: A sand wedge is designed to be hit a MAXIMUM of roughly 40 feet from a bunker. But if the bunker shot is more than 40 feet, such as 50 or 60 feet or farther, many amateur golfers will still use the sand wedge. That's where they run into poor shots such as a thin, bladed shot or have trouble with distance control.

As I said, a sand wedge was only designed to have a maximum distance range of 40 feet. So for bunker shots that are longer than 40 feet or so, use a pitching wedge instead of a sand wedge because a pitching wedge will carry the ball farther using the same sand wedge bunker-shot fundamentals. Why is this? Because a sand wedge has bounce on the bottom of the club, while a pitching wedge has none or very little bounce. Bounce is the curve of the bottom or sole of the golf club, which will make the ball go a shorter distance.

The key to becoming a better bunker player is to choose the correct club and allow the club to perform they way it was made to. So, don't try to make the sand wedge pull off a shot for which it was not designed.

Copyright 2004 by PGA.com. All rights reserved.

Register to Receive E-Specials

Sign up for our monthly newsletter to receive golf tips, discounts, the latest news and upcoming event announcements.  We also have a drawing each month and give out a FREE DOZEN PERSONALIZED GOLF BALLS to one lucky winner who has signed up for our newsletter.