Get ahead of the game: TEACHING REVIEW Lesson 6
Oh, what a joy it is to be out and about busy with the new golf season! Meeting friends, savouring the fragrance of freshly-mown fairways and holing out on super-smooth greens. The new golf season is in full swing. But how well is our ‘Game Golfer’ swinging it? Has he survived the rigours of his winter training in Rotterdam with Holland PGA Professional, Mariëtte de Groot? Is his time investment already paying dividends? Indeed, has it all been worthwhile? Or is he destined to remain the “swingless golfer”, as he himself used to joke?
Time to catch-up with the 28-handicap golfer who took up golf a quarter of a century ago! It’s already a while since his final lesson when he was so inspired by the US Masters. It was a sunny Spring day and his coach gave him a choice: a lesson on putting, chipping or bunkers. He chose bunkers. So let’s get right to the point with a photographic impression of lesson number six at Kralingen golf course.
LESSON 6 Friday, 8 April 2016 at 14.30 hrs
No more bunker blues!
Difficult lie: Standing out of the bunker
Using a sandwedge take a wider stance than normal, ball in the middle, bend from the hips, weight on the left foot (leading foot), hands laid-back towards the right thigh.
Most difficult: Ball lying close to the back edge of the bunker on a downhill lie
The golden tip for this bunker shot position is: BH (and not “beha” as some may think! Beha is Dutch for bra!! Ha! Ha! But it certainly helps golfers remember the tip …!) BH = “Bal Hoog” which translates into “ball high” in English. In other words, the ball should be positioned nearer to the back foot (right foot) at address. The right foot being higher than the left with the downhill lie for our Game Golfer who is a right-handed player. This lie is very tricky because it often has to be played with one leg out of the bunker. So it’s really handy to know how to play it and to practise this sort of difficult lie occasionally.
Again a wider stance is needed, stance a little open (left foot ‘open’), weight on the left foot, hands near the right leg to aid a steep takeaway in the backswing …
It’s important to “stay down” during the swing so as to avoid topping the ball. And not to let the hands “get ahead”. At the same time be careful not to “bury” the clubhead in the sand. Focus on swinging “through the ball”. Although it was an awful lot for our Game Golfer to think about, he responded quickly to the tips and was soon blasting the ball out of the deep bunker.
Ball middle of greenside bunker, pin nearby
The bunker lesson rounded off with a series of shots from the middle of the bunker. First looking to play to a pin position a few metres away. Here it was necessary to “chop the ball up” quickly. A higher ball flight for a shorter distance of carry – ideally with backspin. Yes, you don’t need to be a scratch player or Tour pro to achieve backspin!
Tips: A wider and more open stance (left foot pointing out), weight on left foot, ball positioned more towards the left foot, hands low, use the “bounce” (sole) of the sandwedge.
Getting more distance out of the bunker
And then it was time to work on getting out of a bunker further away from the green – a longer shot – using a 9-iron (or a pitching wedge). Ball is now positioned in the middle for a lower flight. Reminder: lower flight (trajectory) = more distance.
Under the lip
The final bunker tip of the lesson was how to play a ball which is lying under the lip at the front of the bunker. Using a sandwedge, it’s important here, once again, to “stand with the slope” and not to “fight it”. This means the ball now needs to be positioned near the “front foot” (left foot). Remember the fun BH tip? Well, this applies here once again. Ball position should be “BH = Ball High”. In other words, ball nearer the “highest foot” which is now the left foot. With this action, our Game Golfer quickly achieved much more effect on the ball despite the heavy sand.
Fine-tuning the basics
In fact, the whole lesson was really about fine-tuning what he was already doing. The basic principles of his sand-play were pretty sound. From feeling adequately comfortable about getting out of the sand, he now feels very confident. His verdict: “Yes, I’m very happy with the bunker lesson. It was a good choice!”
Q&A:
This was your final lesson in the special training series, how do you feel? You were very sceptical at the start. Was it an enjoyable experience in the end?
“After 25 years of not practising before a game and not having lessons with a pro, it has been quite an experience! But, I must say, that it’s had a positive effect on my whole game and has been good for my confidence too. My game is now much more consistent. I’ve decided that perhaps I do have a swing after all! It’s better than it has ever been. I can hit the ball with a lot less effort now. And I’m also hitting the ball further. I feel really positive about the whole thing.”
And the Golf Academy analysis?
“No, that’s not my thing! I’m now a man of leisure so I don’t want the hassle of entering all my golf statistics and information onto the computer – I just want to be outside playing golf!”
Looking ahead to next winter, do you have any plans?
“I really enjoyed the lessons with Mariëtte. In my mind, I’ve already booked to do it again! It’ll give me a focus again during the winter.”
Now that’s the sort of news we love to hear at ‘Golfing Inspirations’! Have a great summer!
Our special thanks to Mariëtte de Groot and to Kralingen Golf Club. And, of course, to our ‘Game Golfer’ too. We sincerely hope his dream of consistently breaking 100 this season comes true … but, most importantly, that he continues to have fun playing this fascinating game.
© Photography by Golfing Inspirations.
Some useful Dutch golf websites:
Nederlandse Golf Federatie: www.ngf.nl
PGA Holland: www.pgaholland.nl
PGA Holland Golf Professional, Mariëtte de Groot: www.degolfprofessional.nl