How to Escape Wet Sand

How to Escape Wet Sand Here's how to adjust your swing to splash it like it's dry By Ed Ibarguen Top 100 Teacher This story is for you if... • You're an early-morning golfer and the course is always a bit damp. • You struggle from wet sand after heavy rainfall. The Situation You hit your approach shot into a greenside bunker and find that the ball is sitting in wet sand. The Solution Like most sand shots, your goal is to slide your club under the ball on an angle that allows the clubhead to reach its lowest point just in front of the ball. Unlike most sand shots, however, the ones you play from wet sand have to be fast and forceful. Wet sand is heavy, and if you decelerate into impact, the shot will go nowhere.

HOW TO BEAT WET SAND On a specialty shot like this, the secret to pulling it off is in your setup. Copy the positions at right, and then follow the swing cues above. 1. Take a wider stance so that the insides of your heels are in line with the outsides of your shoulders. 2. Set the ball in the center of your stance, and then open your stance so that your hips and shoulders point at least 30 degrees left of your target. 3. Rotate the club to the right so that the face is wide open. 4. Lean the shaft forward and visualize that same lean later at impact to promote a downward blow. BACKSWING You don't want to start off fast and long and then slow down. That leads to deceleration. Make a shorter backswing, stopping your hands between halfway to three-quarters back. DOWNSWING Smoothly speed up so that the fastest part of your swing occurs as your club is digging through the sand. Use your body — turn your chest and hips toward the target as you power your wedge through impact.