Golf Digest - March 1997
Stabilize Feet At Address
Sand makes good footing difficult, but not impossible. Dig in with your insteps to build a solid base and minimize unwanted lower-body movement. Shifting your feet into the sand lowers your entire body, so compensate by choking down slightly on the club.
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Shorten Your Backswing
Your primary concern is solid contact. A shorter swing makes this easier by allowing you to retain the stability you established at address. Overswinging may cause you to lose control, but don't shorten your swing by curbing your body rotation. Make a full shoulder turn with a shorter arm swing.
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Thin Beats Fat At Impact
Hitting behind the ball thwarts your main objective: getting out. Fat shots are usually caused by trying to scoop the ball. Avoid scooping by focusing on swinging through the ball to a complete follow-through. If you're going to err, do so on the side of hitting the ball thin.
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Practice Drill
This drill will help you to hit the ball first, the sand second. Draw a line in the sand to indicate your ball position at address. It should be about three inches inside your left heel, which is slightly back of your normal ball position. This will help you hit the ball first. Make swings without using a ball and try to contact the sand at a point just left to the line. If you're performing the drill correctly, the divots will start in front of the line, as shown. If the divots begin forward of the line, the swing is producing ball-first contact-your goal. If they start behind the line, you're programming a fat shot. As I said, if you're going to err, do so towards the "thin" side. After you can consistently position your divot correctly, you're ready to try the shot with a ball.
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Director of Golf Instruction
Pine Meadow Golf Club
Mundelein, IL
Director of Golf Instruction
Estancia Club
Phoenix, AZ
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