# Spin Out Of Bunker



## KrudlerAce (Jul 3, 2010)

Having been reasonably successful with most of the shots in golf for most of life, there is still one shot that I find difficult. I have always been able to get out of bunkers okay, but never been able to get the ball to check or spin and get close to the flag. I played with a guy off 20 last Saturday who managed to spin it really well out of the sand, yet I play of single figures and am unable to do the same.

Does anyone have any good tips for getting spin out of the greenside bunkers. Perhaps any videos you have found that really helped your game.


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## FrogsHair (Mar 4, 2010)

To be perfectly honest, I struggle with the same issue as you describe....lack of spin out of a bunker, that would assist me in distance control. Another thing, I too can get out of bunkers most of the time, but I could not tell you how I do it. Early on, I read some where that a sand shot was one of the easiest shots in golf since the club face rarely, if ever touched the ball. I took that to heart, and never looked back. When I hit out of a bunker, the ball does have back spin on it, just not enough to check up to any consistent degree. What I have done to be more successful in stopping the ball nearer the hole is to take special care in choosing a better landing spot, that allows the ball to roll out to the hole. Almost like a chip, or pitch shot after the ball lands on the green. In other words, I read the green to help with the shot's distance control. 

As for lack of spin, here's my take. If the golfer is moving sand, that causes the ball to move, it would be up to the sand to impart much of the back spin on the ball to get it to check up more so than not. I don't think the sand, by itself, can do that, for the amateur. The amateur does not swing fast enough through the hitting zone, to impart such a degree of back spin. This is pretty much the same reason most amateurs can't spin a ball back from a clean, fairway lie. They just don't have the hand speed through the hitting zone like the PGA pros do. The type of sand itself would need to be taken into account. The coarser the grain s of sand are, the more spin it would impart. One of the conditions of spinning a ball back from a fairway lie, is not letting any debris get between the club face and the ball. With a bunker shot, we want debris (sand) between the ball and the club face. Also, the firmness/softness of the sand would be a factor. I would think it would be easier to impart more backspin on the ball from a firm sand lie, since the golfer is hitting closer to the ball, or even contacting the ball with club face, the firmer the sand is. Softer sand requires taking more (debris) sand. Also, just like any other lie, the condition, and or type of grooves on the club face will impart more or less spin on the ball. Most clubs the golfer uses to get out of the sand, will have dull groove to begin with. For those golfers who practice a lot getting out of bunkers, the sharpness of the grooves will disappear faster just because of shear usage. Then again this is a sandy lie, and the club face grooves won't be touching the ball. :dunno: Then there is the landing conditions of the green's surface that will effect back spin. Some greens surface conditions, and/or types of grass resist back spin more than others. Again, the same as a fairway lie. Since the green side bunker shot is more, or less a finesse shot where the golfer is not swinging very fast, the slower swing speed will inhibit imparting a lot of back spin to the ball. The ball's lie in the sand would also have to be taken into account. Is it plugged deep, sitting on top, or some where in between? What kind of swing can the golfer put on it. 

I know we are not talking about "backing up" a ball from green side bunker, but creating back spin to cause the ball to stop quicker, in a more controlled manner. :thumbsup:


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