Bruce Romberg

Do you struggle with your bunker play? This may be because you are being given the wrong information. The technique that a (usually) stronger man will use in a greenside bunker is often the kiss of death for most women golfers, who generally have a lower club head speed.

Have you been told to open your clubface? Open your body? Swing the club more up on the back swing? All of these suggestions work great for Vijay Singh and even Annika Sorenstam because these players generate tremendous speed. They don't work for the average female golfer, who cannot even begin to relate to this power game and would simply be happy to be able to get out of the bunker and onto the green most of the time.

Players with slower club head speed often struggle with bunker play. Because the sand acts as such a buffer between the club and the ball, it's necessary to generate a minimum of speed to be able to extract the ball along with some of the sand.

Bunker play tips

Set up so that you will be able to splash the sand:

* Hold your hands high on the grip of the club. By placing your hands toward the top of the handle, you maximize the length of your sand wedge, which will help it to be able to hit the sand firmly.
* Position your golf ball in line with the instep of your forward foot, just like a tee shot. Playing your ball more forward in your stance will help to position the ball later in the swing so that the club head will enter the sand before striking your golf ball.
* Dig your feet into the sand. Digging your feet into the sand also helps to lower the bottom of your swing and will help you to contact the sand before the ball and helps to ensure a nice long divot in the sand. A divot in the bunker is ideally 12 to 15 inches long.

The necessary adjustments for low club head speed players are:

* A square face at address. You will not want to open the face of the sand wedge since this will produce more loft and less distance and due to the fact that you do not generate a lot of speed for most bunker shots you will need all of the distance possible.
* A square stance. In other words, your feet should be parallel to the target line just as they are for a normal full swing. Due the fact that you will not open the club face to maximize the distance it won’t be necessary to open your stance.
* A little attitude with a full finish. Since the sand acts as such a buffer between the club face and the ball, it will be necessary for the low club head speed player to take what feels like a very full swing with a full finish. To ensure that the swing has all the speed that you are able to generate, you will lift your trailing foot so that your heel comes up as your body turns forward and as the foot rotates up to the toe.
* Change to a less lofted club for greater distance splash shots. If you don't generate a lot of swing speed you will find that your splash shot with your sand wedge won't travel far, maybe only eight to 10 yards. If this is the case you will need to change to a less lofted club, like a pitching wedge or a gap wedge, for your longer splash shots.

By having a plan that will work for your game and club head speed, you'll have more success. When you know how to handle a greenside bunker and you are less worried about going into one, you may be surprised how much less often you find yourself there.

Ronald Bruce Romberg Sports

As a golfer, it's easy to be consumed by all the information available concerning the swing. Before we hit a shot, our mind wanders through a list of golf tips: Is my grip correct? What about my alignment, my posture, swing plane, etc., etc., etc.?

With all these thoughts running though our minds, we tend to lose sight of the overall objective, which is to strike the ball squarely and hit it where we are aiming. When you watch good players play, they all have something in common: They finish their golf swing in good balance with their weight on the left side and their upper body facing the target. The key to consistent ball striking is to focus on the finish.

If you take the time to practice your finish position, you'll develop a repeatable swing that leads to solid ball contact for increased distance - not to mention lower scores.


Here's a drill that will help you complete your golf swing into a good finish position:

Start by addressing the ball and taking a short, half backswing, and then swing forward to the finish. Hold the finish for several seconds, then swing back down into the half backswing position and repeat the swing to the follow through position, and hold the finish. Let yourself feel a smooth, natural tempo as you swing the club.

Before you play or practice, warm up for three to five minutes using this drill to relax and groove that follow-through position. As you address each shot on the course, focus on swinging the club to your follow-through position.

The next time you watch Sergio Garcia on TV, see how he holds his follow-through position until his shot has finished. Do this, and you will hit the ball solid and longer more often


Ronald Bruce Romberg
In my first golf tips article, I explained what going deep with confidence was and I explained how you should set down different layers of confidence so that it becomes thick and resilient.

I also explained how this develops golf swagger, an inward sense of confidence that is with us all the time, not visible to the outside. In this article I'm going to outline how to add more layers of confidence and explain what you can do when your golf confidence goes in the tank. This will really create golf swagger.

Another level and type of deep golf confidence comes from having a significant person in your life that has an entirely supportive and non-judgmental respect for you as a golfer. These people are happy for you when you play well and they are there for you when you don't. They certainly don't treat you differently based on what you shot that day.


The problem is golfers don't usually think this type of support affects their confidence, except in a warm-‘n'-fuzzy kind of way. Therefore, they don't pay much attention to it. However, recent research on world-class athletes, including golfers, reports that this is a very important confidence factor for them.

Why would elite athletes say this? First, it's because knowing we have that type of unmitigated support is deeply empowering and true empowerment breeds true confidence. Second, I think it's important because having people who unconditionally support you is another layer of confidence that is not dictated by golf performance.

Therefore, your next task is to create confidence by consciously acknowledging a supportive person in your golf world. I get my clients to add it into their golf swagger because this will help them sustain their emotional balance for all 18 holes. It never goes away.

By now you're probably thinking, "That's fine Dr. Al, but what do I do when the wheels fall off and my confidence is shot to hell? C'mon, give me something I can use in an emergency!"

OK, fair enough. Your next task is to create confidence by building a "confidence vault." This will involve using two very powerful mental tools that you already have: visualization and emotion. But because confidence is built in layers, I'm also going to ask you to incorporate one of your previous layers practice to help build the vault.

Now, wait! Don't get cranky on me. This doesn't mean more practice, but it does mean getting more out of the practice you have already committed to doing.

You build your confidence vault by making regular and systematic "deposits" of excellent shots that are then used when you need a confidence boost. I get players to think of these systematized deposits as multiple layers. The more they deposit, the thicker and more resilient their confidence becomes.

To make a deposit, simply visualize an extremely good shot you played before and recall the emotional reward you felt when it happened. Your smooth 4-iron from 185 arching gently over the water to a tough pin and that delicate chip under the pine branches and over the bunker are very confident images. Even if it's a straight drive that is shorter than usual, it's a positive image.

Now go over and gently tap your golf bag, depositing your positive images, emotions and confidence. Do this every time you hit a great shot, on the course or on the range. These deposits will build layer upon layer of confidence until you have a bulging vault of stored successes - just like a fat bank account.

Now, when the wheels fall off and/or you need to get your game and your confidence back, shot-by-shot of course, go over to your golf bag and mentally take out one of your successful deposits to match the shot at hand. It's easy to visualize it because you've done it before. It's easy to recall the rewarding emotions of the shot because you've had them before. Both of these active mental functions breed enormous amounts of confidence. Now, with your confidence in place, simply play away.

My clients say that the best thing about constantly depositing layers of confidence into their vault is that they have lots of confidence available, even after they use some of it up. And, if they need more, they say they just practice and make more deposits.

One player even stated that it's almost cheating because he gets double bang for his buck out of his good shots. He gets the immediate benefit of the actual shot and a second benefit when he uses it to boost his confidence. I say he gets a triple bang because he often hits his next shot very well as a result of the first two.

Like the building process, the benefits of deep confidence also happen in layers.


Ronald Bruce Romberg Magazine
Yes, there truly is a "secret" of golf. Good players know it, and use it almost subconsciously. The Golfing Machine, by Homer Kelley, describes this "secret" as "clubhead lag" and cites that "It is simple, elusive, indispensable, without substitute or compensation, and always present."

What is lag? We've all heard this term, but few know what it means. Lag can be defined as "trailing" or "following" - this means that the clubhead behind the hands coming into Impact.

In this article we will focus on "clubhead lag" and its importance to the golf swing. Clubhead lag is simple because every club is designed to lean forward, the grip end ahead of the clubhead. When an iron is soled correctly, with both the leading and trailing edges on the ground, you will see that the shaft leans forward. If soled incorrectly, the shaft will lean either backward or too far forward. When a club shaft leans too far forward, the clubface loses its correct loft but better to err on the side of too much forward lean.


Clubhead lag is also elusive as it is not only the hands leading the club head, it's also the bending of the club shaft during start down. The initial force of the hands moving toward the ground bends the club shaft.

According to Kelley, "clubhead lag promotes even and steady acceleration, assuring dependable control of distance - any amount of deceleration during the down stoke dissipates clubhead lag."

Therefore, constant acceleration is needed to ensure a lagging clubhead through impact. So the old "low and slow" is a horrible mistake if you want acceleration in your game.

A prime example of a correctly lagging clubhead would occur when a tour player hits a shot. As the player starts their pre-shot the announcer tells us that the player has 193 yards to the flag and that they are going to hit a 6-iron. A 6-iron! A lot of players would love to hit their driver that far!

In every good swing at the moment of Impact the club shaft is leaning forward (toward the target). The hands are in front of the ball and clubface, effectively turning the 6-iron into a 5- or 4-iron.

When the club shaft is stressed and constant acceleration is used, the player gains control of the height and distance of all their clubs. Once this technique is properly applied, it becomes indispensable. The player can then rely on his ability to use the proper amount of lag pressure at any time.

The average player arrives at impact with the hands behind the ball and the club shaft leaning backward. This effectively adds loft and turns that 6-iron into a 7- or 8-iron.

If you play golf with someone that is always complaining that their irons all go the same distance, that player has a backward leaning club shaft. Do what I do, if they tell you their irons are all going the same distance, tell them to just carry one club then!

Clubhead lag is always present once the down stroke has begun. Good players use steady acceleration. Poor players over-accelerate, the hands reaching maximum speed before impact, thus losing the "lag". According to Kelley, "any over-acceleration or pushing away of the club will eliminate the lag, never to be re-attained for that shot."

Therefore, resist any attempt at throwing the hands at the ball or "flicking" the wrists near impact. Remember - the hands lead and the clubhead trails.

Here are some drills to feel, establish, and maintain clubhead lag.

What does "lag" feel like? It feels exactly like dragging a wet heavy string mop through impact.

In this drill (figures 4 and 5), I used a towel. Wrap the towel around the hosel of your club and place the clubhead on the ground, just outside of your trailing foot. Now try to use just your wrists to take the clubface to the ball.

This move is difficult at best and the shaft will be leaning backward. Now replace the club, but this time rotate your hips, sternum and the trailing shoulder toward right field. You will notice a distinct sensation of dragging and a heavy pressure through the ball.

For the next drill (figures 6 and 7), you can simply take a piece of rope and hold it like a club. Go the top of the swing and allow the rope to rest on the top of your right shoulder. As you start down, you will "feel" like the rope stays on the shoulder as you take your hands directly downward to the ball, or at the "aiming point."

This is called, "rope handle technique" in The Golfing Machine. As you can see here, the "end" of the rope is "lagging" my hands.

A properly lagging clubhead produces a strong downward thrust, which adds distance, trajectory, and consistency.

The majority of golfers do just the opposite. They try moving the clubhead with the wrists. This produces a "quitting" motion and the club moves upward toward Impact instead of downward.

For a great drill use a duffel bag, pillow or impact bag like the one shown in figures 10 and 11. Take the club back to waist height with the club shaft parallel to the target line and horizontal to the ground. Now simply rotate the hips, sternum, and right shoulder. This will bring the hands and body to impact position and the club will be lagging!

About Bruce Romberg - Ronald Bruce Romberg Articles - Ronald Bruce Romberg Articles