Bruce Romberg

The first aspect of playing a wet bunker shot is to understand the function of both your sand wedge and lob wedge.

The sand wedge has a flange or "bounce" at the bottom of the club. In dry sand this helps the club slide through the sand and not dig in. However, in wet sand that same flange will cause the club to skid and bounce into the ball causing you to "blade" the ball, and the resulting shot goes screaming across the green.

The correct method is to use your lob wedge which has little or no bounce. Open the clubface slightly to take the leading edge out of play, and then just swing normally. The result will be a shallow divot, and the ball will come out with quite a bit of spin.


If you do not have a lob wedge, use your pitching wedge, with the same technique.

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Bruce Romberg
There are times when you have to play a lob shot to get the ball near your target, (playing over bunkers, water or when the pin is on a tier or on the front edge of the green). If you want to improve your game, you've got to be good at this shot.

To play a lob shot - the kind you see the pros play on TV - practice the following tips and see your game improve:
Improving your stance

Take a wider stance than normal with your feet slightly open. Next, lower your body by bending from the knees (like you're sitting down). Then, lower your hands a little from your normal grip position

Setup for lob shots

First, open the clubface so you are aiming to the right of your target, then adjust your feet, shoulders, hips until they all point in the same direction, to the left of your target.

The ball should be played forward - opposite your front foot - with the grip of your golf club pointing toward your belt buckle. This keeps the hands behind the ball, where they help keep the clubface open upon impact. .
The swing

The lob requires an outside-in swing, which is why you have to set-up with an open stance. As you start your backswing, cock your wrists early and aggressively rotate your hips and your shoulders, but keep your lower-body action to a minimum.

The key is to make sure your swing is from outside in as you hit the ball creating a motion where the toe of the clubhead never turns over the heel. In other words, do not allow the hands to rotate during the swing.

You want to feel as though your right hand is throwing the ball high in the air, at the target.

Practice these tips and see your scores improve.

About Bruce Romberg

You have a respectable game of golf that comes and goes, just like the rest of us, but even on those days that you seem to hit the ball better, your score seems to be the same.

How do you get those scores lower and, ultimately, have more fun?


Take responsibility for your score and improve your short game. By identifying your strengths and weaknesses and applying simple methods for quick skill improvement you can manage your own game and lower you scores. Also, with better shot selection and a short game 'cheat sheet' you can hit less than perfect golf shots that will still be fine and help to lower your scores without necessarily improving your skills.
Techniques to lower your score by improving your short game:

1. Identify your strengths and weaknesses by taking notes during your play.

In order to lower your score you must first determine what areas of your game need the most work. As you play your rounds, make small notes on the side of your scorecard. If there are recurring problems these are the areas you should focus your practice.

2. Learn to putt and control your distance.

Becoming a good putter requires a good set up and a few basic fundamentals. Once you bend forward from your hips so that your eyes are over your golf ball and your hands hang directly below your shoulders, you will be able to isolate your upper body and make a proper putting stroke where only the triangle formed by your arms moves. Next, you have to practice to learn to control distance. Any spare time you can find to practice stroking medium to longer putts to learn to control your speed and distance will automatically help to lower your scores.

3. Putt whenever you can.

There are a lot more times when you can putt and might not realize it. Other than putting from the green you can also putt from the fringe or collar, up closely mown hills, from farther away from the green in short manicured grass or just into the rough, greenside. Because there are very few moving parts when you putt and the ball generally does not get into the air, it is a very low maintenance choice and therefore more forgiving and consistent.

4. Become a good chipper.

Other than putting, chipping is the lowest risk shot. Once your set up is proper, gripping low, stance narrow, weight and shaft of the club leaning forward, the stroke is just like that of putting. Because the stroke is relatively small, you are more likely to be more consistent and any miss will be less penalizing.

5. Only pitch the ball when you have to.

When you are in a short game situation where you need more carry in the air than there is room for the ball to roll, you will have to pitch with your sand wedge. Because a larger swing will be necessary to carry the ball a greater distance in the air, this shot will be riskier and should only be used when you have ruled out all other options


Bruce Romberg

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