How do I hit out of a sand trap that is hard pan?

Question

Many sand traps at cheaper municipal courses here in So Cal are just hard pan "dirt traps". How do I keep from hitting a "flyer" out of these.

Answer 1

You can:
1) Putt out if conditions allow.
2) Chip out (just like a normal chip shot).
3) Dig into the sand using the leading edge (do NOT open the clubface -- the club will bounce off the sand and send the ball flying over the green). Check out Dave Pelz's description: http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline/print/0,18068,469149,00.html

Answer 2

whenever you're in a sand trap of any kind you should always choke up alittle on your club (because your feet sink in a little when you set up to the ball.) 2nd sand slows your club down substantially more than turf so you usually want to take one extra club. Hard pan fairway bunker shots pretty much require you to pick the ball clean with a minimal divot if you want any success. Hitting the ball fat when conditions are hard pan is almost the worst thing you can do, the ball will go nowhere. If you're in a greenside bunker and conditions are hard pan you're going to want to take a slightly different approach. You want to open your stance and club face, and take an authorative almost full swing with a sand or lob wedge and try to hit an inch or two behind the ball and dig down under it. If you try to pick a greenside hard pan bunker shot clean it will come out hot and you'll have no control over it. depending on rough conitions a greenside hard pan bunker shot can be hit pretty successfully with a putter as well. My best advice would be to practice these shots on the range or practice greens. Hit 10 or 20 balls from different sand conditions to different yardages. Experiment with different clubs, but try to hit to the same distance. You'll get a feel for how the ball comes off the face for each club, and you be able to translate that into better shots on the golf course.

Answer 3

the key is thinking hard pan. Imagin you are sitting on hard pand 30 ft in front of the green - what do you do?

Pick it clean - hit the ball first. Take the same size swing you would from hard pan at the distance you happen to be at.

The two inches in front off the ball tip dfinitely does not apply here - you'll bounce into the ball and skull it across the green.

Answer 4

depending on your lie, just do a "sand chip." i read about it in an article and use it to assist my higher handicap golfing buddies when they are on there 4th swing in the beach.

have your feet facing the pin and simply take a chip swing (8 o'clock to 4 o'clock). Close the face and do NOT decellerate throught the ball. Practice this a couple of times the next time to grow out to get your distance control down.

This way you are always in control of your swing speed because of the lack of a full backswing.

Answer 5

sometime i just putt out of it