BUNKER SHOTS
Tips from Tiger Woods - Part III
Excerpts from the book How I Play Golf by Tiger Woods
07/01/2002
There are tough shots, and then there was the one I had on the 16th hole
at Poipu Bay Resort in Hawaii during the 1997 Grand Slam of Golf.
With three holes to play, I was trailing Ernie Els by three shots and
needed a birdie to have even an outside chance of catching him. When I
saw my approach to 16 drop into the right greenside bunker, I knew a
birdie would be unlikely, but not impossible.
But when I got close enough to observe my lie, I saw a shot that was
close to impossible. The ball had buried into the thick, wet sand.
Worse, it was on a severe downslope.
To get the ball out of the bunker would be very difficult, and if I did
there was no way it was going to hold the green. I was a dead man.
Or was I? A steep, grassy embankment was just beyond the bunker. If I
could somehow make the ball fly directly into the embankment, the ball
might release forward and get on the green. It was a 100-1 shot, but I had
to try it.
I addressed the ball as though I was ready to chop wood. I didn't swing
the club back so much as lift it straight in the air, then brought it
down into the sand as though I was swinging an ax. I swung as hard as I
could, closing my eyes, and hoped for the best.
When I found the courage to peek, I saw an amazing sight. The ball had
shot straight forward and slammed into the embankment. It jumped into
the air a good three feet and continued forward, stopping two feet from
the hole. I knocked the putt in for one of the best pars of my life.
Ernie parred the hole and held on to win by three. But that sand shot,
which ranks as one of the best I've ever played, made my day and eased
the pain of losing.
The no-fail setup
More than for any other shot in golf, the setup for the standard bunker
shot determines the type of swing I make and the way the club behaves when
it enters the sand. It's a four-part process.
• I open my stance: I align everything – my feet, hips and
shoulders – to the left of the target. That preprograms an out-to-in
swing, the clubhead cutting across the sand and the ball through impact.
• I open the clubface: I aim the clubface to the right of
the target. That increases the loft of the clubface so I can hit the
ball high and soft, and it also increases the amount of "bounce" on the
sole of the clubhead.
• I weaken my grip: The last thing I want on a sand shot is
for the clubface to rotate to a closed position through impact. To
discourage that, I weaken my left-hand grip at address, so the back of
my left hand faces the target.
• I position the ball forward: I like it just opposite my
left heel. Playing the ball forward promotes a higher trajectory, and
also encourages me to slide the clubhead easily through the sand.
Easy does it
Remember one thing: The standard bunker shot is about technique, not
strength.
• I downsize my swing: I don't need a long swing with lots
of body action, as there is no need for extra distance. I keep my grip
pressure light, maintain an easy rhythm and swing my hands back to about
shoulder height.
• I cock my wrists fully: The clubhead speed I generate
comes mainly from my hands and arms. I break my wrists early on the
backswing and cock them all the way. This is a very "handsy" shot, with
very little movement in my hips and legs.
• I'm a right-hand man: The swing on the greenside bunker
shot is dominated by the right hand. Through impact, the action is very
similar to throwing a ball.
• I go ahead and release: Even if I've really slung the
club through the sand with my right hand, the toe of the clubhead hasn't
turned over fully after impact. That's due to my weak left-hand grip. I
know the ball will come out high and soft.
• I slide, I don't chop: I don't hit down too steeply on
the ball. I simply try to swing through impact into the follow-through.
How much sand?
The amount of sand I take depends on how much spin I want to put on the
ball. When I want the ball to run after it hits the green, I aim for a
spot about three inches behind the ball. The ball then comes out on a
thick cushion of sand with hardly any backspin.
When I want to hit the ball high and make it stop quickly, I'll hit
maybe an inch behind the ball, sometimes less.
I always accelerate
If there's one mistake common among poor bunker players, it's decelerating
through impact. It probably stems from hitting at the ball instead of
through it.
To be consistent from sand, the clubhead must be gaining speed when it
enters the sand instead of slowing down. This is true even on short
bunker shots.
Some explosive thoughts
I believe the principles of good sand play are pretty much the same for
everyone. If you want to hit the ball higher, you must either open the
clubface or position the ball farther forward in your stance to increase
your launch angle.
There are other principles that have more to do with strategy and club
selection than with physics and swing mechanics. Every amateur should
obey these rules:
• From fairway bunkers, forget about using any club longer than a 4-iron
unless the sand is moist and packed, with the ball perched in a perfect
lie. And take at least one club more than you would from grass at the
same distance.
• The longer the shot, the lighter you should hold the club. That
increases your ability to generate speed, and speed is necessary on
every shot from sand.
• If your lie is even a little dicey, position the ball at least an inch
farther back in your stance than you would from a perfect lie. If the
lie is bad, play it back even farther.
• From greenside bunkers, aim for the top of the flagstick – most misses
from sand come up short rather than long, so give yourself the benefit
of the doubt.
From the book How I Play Golf by Tiger Woods with the editors
of Golf Digest. Text copyright 2001 by ETW Corp. Reprinted by
permission of Warner Books Inc., New York. All rights reserved.
Distributed by New York Times Special Features.
Creating the will to win
I'm asked all the time about my ability to focus and stay in the moment
when the pressure is on. It's simple. I realize that the only thing I can
control is my game. That is my only security blanket in a game where you
could easily feel naked to the world.
The key is to consistently put yourself in position to win. That's the
only way to get used to the pressure, so when you're faced with a
must-make putt, you know the feelings that go along with it. More
important, you know how to deal with them.
Control yourself and you control your destiny. When I apply pressure on
opponents, it is a matter of controlling my game better than they do a
shot at a time, moment by moment.
