Ah, sand. Kids make castles out of it; bathing beauties lay their towels on it. Certain nomads around the world have made it their home, while cats use it for—ahem—something else. Sand is used to mark the passage of time, for romantic walks in the moonlight and for Tibetan religious paintings. It plays a role in sports as well: An obvious one in beach volleyball, less so in track and field. There’s even a special box for it at the playground. Sand is, for the most part, an enjoyable thing—until we come to golf.

In golf, sand is a trap. It sits in a bunker waiting to snatch your ball from the air and bury it. And whether it succeeds in covering your ball completely or just holding it teasingly on its surface, the sand isn’t letting your ball go without a fight.

Bobby Jones once said that too much ambition is a bad thing to have in a bunker, and he’s right. But neither should you have too much fear, says Michael Marcum, Director of Instruction at Empire Lakes Golf Course in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

“The sand is actually not a bad place to be,” he says. “Most people are intimidated, but I tell them it’s really one of the easier shots in golf.”

Really? We tend to find that the shot into the bunker is far easier. At any rate, Marcum is the pro so we’ll listen to what he has to say. He’s taught at golf schools in Texas and San Diego and was general manager and head golf pro at East Lake Country Club before he moved to the Palmer-designed Empire Lakes. And he knows his clubs: He spent some time as regional director for the Henry-Griffitts Custom Club Company and is a Master/Professional club fitter. All of this means that he’s far better at hitting out of the sand than we are—and likely a little better than you are. His tips may not have you punching it out like Ernie Els did in 2002 on No.13 at Muirfield (which contributed mightily to his eventual British Open victory). But no doubt the following will give you something to think about next time you’re dealing with sand—and we don’t mean on a beach, in the Sahara or cleaning up after your cat.

Situation:
It’s not what beginners are used to. Normally you’re hitting out of grass, it’s sitting up there, you can get at it a little easier. Hitting off of sand can be like hitting off of concrete, yet in most cases—if there’s enough sand—it’s really fluffy, and it’s one of the easier shots in golf.
You have to play it as it lies. You can’t even move loose impediments like leaves. If the ball was sitting in a Styrofoam coffee cup, you could probably get a ruling, but that’s about it.

Rules:
The first thing to remember is that you enter on the low side. Don’t enter on a high bank. They try to keep the sand up and if you step up there you’ll break the wall down.
Second, you cannot ground your club; it’s considered a hazard. The average golfer comes to me for lessons, the first thing they do is ground their club. I tell them, if you’re going to come in here you can’t ground your club, you can’t use it as a crutch, it will cost you.

Ball Position:
You want the ball just ahead—that’s left of center in your stance if you’re right-handed and the opposite for all you lefties. And the center point is right where you want the club to enter the sand. Right in the middle of my stance, where my zipper is, that’s where I want to try to catch the sand.
A lot of people play way too far back in their stance, then they get into trouble because when they come back, the leading edge is biting too much. In a lot of cases, they hit the ball first, sort of on the heel of the club, then they put themselves in difficult shape.

Also: Line it up somewhat on the toe of the club. Line it up too close and there’s a good chance you’ll hit it on the hozzle.

Grip:
You want as neutral a grip as possible. The average [right-handed] golfer tends to grip too strongly with the right hand. The right hand should be overly neutral; this means the club face stays open. This is very important.

Swing:
You’re trying to hit the sand behind and under the ball, not hit the ball itself directly.
If you want the ball to come up high and land softly, the face of the club should be fairly open. You see some Tour players lay it open where it looks parallel to the ground. When the ball is sitting down or maybe even plugged, you’re most likely not going to open the face up as much. Get the leading edge to dig in like a scoop shovel when you come through and blast it out.
You’re trying to sort of slide under the ball with a little bit of sand on the face of the club. Blast it out as if you’re trying to explode it, create as much force as possible with that club face. When the face is open you’re creating more of a glancing blow. When the face is square or closed you’re creating a lot more force there, which is what you want when the ball is sitting down.
You need to take a very vertical, steep swing. More of a “V” swing rather than a “U” swing. The average golfer wants to make the same swing he makes on the course. … Takeaway needs to be much more abrupt, especially if you want the ball to pop up and out. You’re trying to slide under the ball, but you need to make a big swing to have enough force and momentum to carry the ball up onto the green.
Follow through after you splash the sand out onto the green, with the ball hopefully going with it. The follow-through is almost all the way through, with the vertical coming up very quickly.

Potentially Helpful Exercise:
This guy I worked with did a sort of trick shot at the end of a teaching clinic: You take a $1 bill and place the ball on it. Your swing hits about two inches behind the ball. Set it right on old George Washington, and hit it about where the “1” is. You really want to try to hit this so it throws the ball and the bill out on the green—to grab the leading edge of the bill and then spit the whole thing out.
I’ve done it before, and it works pretty well.

Common Mistakes:
The average golfer misplaces the ball in his stance, his swing angle of attack is much too shallow and he keeps the club head way too low. Don’t do any of that.

If all else fails, drop by Rancho Cucamonga and take a lesson from Mike. He’s ready and waiting, wedge in hand, to help improve your game:

Empire Lakes Golf Course
11015 Sixth St.
Rancho Cucamonga
CA, 91730.
(909) 481-6663
www.empirelakes.com

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