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18 r xr r- r economist sunsuntribune golf saturday april 26 2003 c t i 2l e r w 0 0 u s t e a c h e s g 0 if how 1 play r how to escape jrotn sand t here are tough shots and then there was the one i had on the 16th hole at poipu bay resort in 1 hawaii during the 1997- grahd slam of golf with three holes to play i was trailing ernie els by three shots and desperately needed a birdie to have even an outside chance- of catching him when i saw my approach to j 6 drop into the right greenside bunker i knew a birdie r be unlikely but not impossible but when i got close enough to observe my lie i saw a shot that was close to impossible the ball had buried into the thick wet sand worse it was on a severe downslope to get the ball out of the bunker would be very difficult and if i did there was no way it was going to hold the green a thick clump of bushes beyond the green was beckoning to my ball i was a dead man or was i a steep grassy embankment was just beyond the bunker if i could somehow make the ball fly directly into the embank ment the ball might release forward and get on the green it was a 1001 shot but i had to try it i addressed the ball as though i were ready to chop wood i didnt swing the club back so much as lift it straight in the air then brought it down into the sand as though i were swinging an ax i swung as hard as i could closing my eyes and hoped for the best when i found the courage to peek i saw an amazing sight the ball had shot straight for ward and slammed into the embankment it jumped into the air a good 3 feet and con- tinued forward stopping 2 feet from the hole i knocked the putt in for one of the best pars of my life ernie paired the hole and held on to win by three but that sand shot which ranks as one of- the best ive ever played in my life made my day arid eased the pain of losing the nofail setup more than for any other shot in golf the setup for the standard bunker shot deter- fox run golf centre executive golf course fuh jpractice facility ourl400 yard executive course features our 10 acre practice family facility features iwproshop fully lit for night use lw fully licensed snack bar with deck c3 bucketsizes wrental clubs pullcarts ypractice trap chipping reg putting green q ladies leagues every thursday grass mat tee areas tournaments private functions v5 lasered urcd iptured target greens complh with sand traps green fees tee times recommended book up to 1 week in advance one round weekend 16 bne rpirndweekd wednesday is seniors day one roiuid li2 j 560 taunton rd w aj ax 9054288479 v f to book tee times gall 9056831367 i lbcated 1 km west of westneypn taunton rd steeles avenue a wwwgolfdurhamcoitifoxrun i j hpmor 0lf camps i v starting veek of july 2 7 14 21 28 august 11 18 25 register eart i golf everyday 44 main street union ville on 9054771148 now omk for 18 hole par 3 floodlit driving range mm mm mm mmm mm wmm mmm mm mm mm mm mm wmmm mmm mmm mm mmm mm on weekdays or on jumbo range pail 1 r 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 11 2lm on i i weekend green fees i i vaild anytime i i expires may 903 with this coupon with this coupon j i i vaild monfri before 5 pm i expires may 903 mines the type of swing i make and the way the club behaves when it enters the sand its a fourpart process i open my stance i align everything my feet hips and shoulders to the left of the target that preprograms an oiittoin swing the clubhead cutting across the sand and the ball through impact i open the clubface i aim the clubface to the right of the target that does two things it increases the loft of the clubface so i can hit the ball high and soft and it also increas es the amount of bounce on the sole of the clubhead i weaken my grip thelast thing i want on a sand shot is for the clubface to rotate to a closed position through impact to discour age that i weaken my lefthand grip at address so the back of my left hand faces the target i position the ball forward 1 like it just opposite my left heel playing the ball for ward promotes a higher trajectory arid also encourages me to slide the clubhead easily through the sand easydoesu remember one thing the standard bunker shot is about technique not strength- i dont apply any more effort than i would on a 40 yard shot from the fairway i downsize my swing i dont need a long swing with lots of body action as there is no need for extra distance i keep my grip pres sure light maintain an easy rhythm and swing my hands back to about shoulder height i cock my wrists fully the clubhead speed i generate comes mainly from my hands and arms i break my wrists early on the backswihg and cock them all the way this is a very handsy shotwidi very little movement in my hips and legs im a righthand man the swing on the greenside bunker shot is dominated by the right hand through impact the action is very similar to throwing a ball i go ahead and release even if ive real ly slung the club through the sand with my right hand the toe of the clubhead hasnt turned over fully after impact thats due to my weak lefthand grip i know the ball will come out high and soft i slide i dont chop i dont hit down top steeply on the ball i simply try to swing through impact into the followthrough the ball coming out on a small cushion of sand how much sand do i take the amount of sand i take dependson how much spin i want to put on the ball when i want the ball to run after it hits the green i aim for a spot about 3 inches behind the ball the ball then comes out on a thick cushion of sand with hardly any backspin when i want to hit the ball- high and make it stop quickly ill hit maybe an inch behind the ball sometimes less i very rarely try to pick the ball cleanly without taking any sand at all as the ball can very easily get away from me and fly too far idge i golf country club 9058527962 xh directions durham road 23 to uxbridge hwy 47 1 km west of 23 ililiifiiliiiiilllm m mmmmwmmwmmmwmmmmmmmmmwmmmmmummmmmmimm