You need a different plan for when your ball is so close to the bunker’s face it might get swatted back into the sand like a blocked shot by Shaquille O’Neal. First, assess the situation. If you can’t get the ball up quickly enough to clear the face and hit it toward the flagstick, play your bunker shot in another direction. What direction? Well, if the lip is lower guarding another part of the green, that’s your exit strategy. If the steep face is between your ball and the entire green, then I’m sorry but you’ll have to find a spot off the green that makes your next shot as easy as possible. That usually means hitting to an area where you’ll have an uphill pitch to the hole. This is one of those times where you have to put your hubris in check and accept that the smart play is to simply get out.

That being said, there are times when you can get out and get the ball moving toward the hole. When you think you can pull off a shot from this nasty lie, I want you to remember this one thing: long and slow. That means you’re going to make a long backswing and through-swing, and feel like your clubhead speed isn’t as quick as in a typical bunker play. A long-and-slow swing will help produce a higher, softer shot that gets the ball over the lip and lets it release toward the hole.

As far as swing mechanics, it helps to keep the left wrist (for right-handers) in a cupped position to add loft to the shot. Cupped means the back of your hand is closer to the top of your forearm than your palm. Also, when you swing, let the clubhead release so it gets ahead of your hands as it moves through the sand. What you don’t want is to dig deep into the sand with the handle of your club leaning toward the target at impact.

Last tip? Don’t try to climb out. Take the elevator. — With Ron Kaspriske

Matt Killen, one of Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers, is the short-game coach for Justin Thomas.

The post Your new plan for escaping high-lipped bunkers appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Earlier this week Phil Mickelson revealed to Golf Digest that the double bogey on the 17th hole that derailed his chances to win the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills was due, in part, to a rock that was behind his ball in the greenside bunker.

“I tried to go behind the rock and underneath it, and it took all the spin off [the shot],” said Mickelson, who got on the green with his second shot but then three-putted. “That one thing changed everything. All because of that fricking rock.”

Come this week at Shinnecock, however, players won’t have to worry about such bad breaks. The USGA is implementing a local rule that will allow players to remove stones and small pebbles from bunkers without penalty. Instead of treating them as loose impediments, they’ll be considered movable obstructions.

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WATCH NOW: WHAT’S AT STAKE AT THE U.S. OPEN AT SHINNECOCK

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Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior director of rules of golf and amateur status, said stones and pebbles will be considered movable obstructions this week, instead of loose impediments.

“If I’m moving one of those rocks and my ball moves, no penalty,” said Thomas Pagel, USGA senior director of rules of golf and amateur status. “I’m just going to replace my ball and move on.”

Here’s a video with an explanation of how this will work as well.

A Local Rule at Shinnecock Hills is being used during the 118th #USOpen, allowing small stones in bunkers to be played as movable obstructions. The @USGA‘s Thomas Pagel explains the situation and how to proceed. pic.twitter.com/mQ16pan60V

— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 12, 2018

What Lefty wouldn’t have given for this to be in play 14 years ago.

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The post U.S. Open 2018: This new local rule in effect at Shinnecock could have saved Phil Mickelson in 2004 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Most of us are familiar with the traditional method of playing a greenside splash shot – where you stand open to the target, open the clubface and swing along the line of your feet. Well in this drill, European Tour Performance Institute director of instruction Mark Gregson-Walters tells you to park that theory. “Instead, try standing closed to the target [that’s pointing right for a right-hander], and opening the clubface so it points even further to the right,” he says. “By swinging back down towards the target, you will get an instant feel for how the club should enter the sand correctly. It’s a great drill for good bunker players to sharpen their skills, and for players who struggle with sand shots, it can even serve as your go-to method when you’re out on the course.”

The post Video: The new bunker drill that gives instant results! appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.