Plugged lie in bunker- the miracule out!!

Guys,
Some of you will know this but I found this a great way to escape from a plugged/sitting down lie in a greenside bunker every time.

If plugged then take your most lofted club(60'wedge) , hood the club face so it is sitting between 20'-40' degree closed and hit down on the ball very hard. This will cause the ball to 'pop up' and run out by about normally 5 to 10 yards.

We have a few ' road hole bunkers' around my course and this never fails to come out.

In essence it is the complete opposite of having a good lie and laying the face open.

I reccomend you try it next time you practice. It will stop you having on of those famous ' Hamlet Cigar' moments and racking up a high number in your monthly medal next time!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjk7FQgAsUc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This link to you tube shows how it's done. If the face of the bunker is steeper or you are closer to the face than that in the video, then you will need to hood the club more and hit a little firmer in order to execute the shot. I have played this shot out of bunkers where the lip is above the level of my head. And no I am not a smurf either!

I wouldn't attempt a shot like the one in the video if there is any kind of face on the bunker. It works fine in the type of bunker shown but that's about all. The bottom line is, if you are in a pot bunker, plugged or not, you need loft to get you out. Even for a plugged lie, you need to open the face and hit down very hard behind the ball to have any chance of getting it out. If you are seriously plugged in a pot bunker then sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and use your first shot to get the ball back to a normal lie so you have a chance to get out with your second attempt.

Sorry d4s, got to disagree with you on this one. This works , try it in a practise bunker, I speak from experience of having to play it from pot bunkers on my course for the last few years.If close to the face or in a greenside bunker it will pop straight up if hit with conviction, you can't afford to pussyfoot it, commit to hitting it hard and it works. I played the shot about two rounds ago. I was about 10 inches from the face of a 4ft riveted bunker and got it up and out. It released by about 10 yds.
I did destroy the lower part of the riveted face though due to being committed and had to explain I had dug a small trench in the bunker to my mate who is the head green keeper!!
For me I find this has a higher percentage chance of coming out than trying to lay the blade open when very close to the face of the bunker.

OK, we'll agree to disagree. But I'm speaking from a position of authority here, I'm universally recognised as the best bunker player in my family!

Yeh, ok, I think sometimes it's good to know there is more than one way to skin a cat! If you find something that works that you have struggled with before then it's nice to have an alternative

Absolutely true! Now, if you can find me a way of chipping off bare lies I'd be a very happy man

Aim for the rough!! No bare lies there

Matelot golfer wrote:Aim for the rough!! No bare lies there

I'm here all week!

Matelot golfer wrote:Yeh, ok, I think sometimes it's good to know there is more than one way to skin a cat! If you find something that works that you have struggled with before then it's nice to have an alternative

I've heard this idiom many times before but I've always wondered just how many ways there are to 'skin a cat' and why is it such a popular saying?

Good bunker tip though. I was taught / told that if the club comes out - so will the ball.......eventually. Played golf today and got so wet 'it was raining cats and dogs'

Yadsendew wrote:

Matelot golfer wrote:Yeh, ok, I think sometimes it's good to know there is more than one way to skin a cat! If you find something that works that you have struggled with before then it's nice to have an alternative

I've heard this idiom many times before but I've always wondered just how many ways there are to 'skin a cat' and why is it such a popular saying?

Good bunker tip though. I was taught / told that if the club comes out - so will the ball.......eventually. Played golf today and got so wet 'it was raining cats and dogs'

Did you have your Bowie knife about your person so you could test the cat-skinning theory per chance

NTS

No I am without Bowie knife but I do have an old antique 'Army knife' a relic from the first world war.

I keep it alongside an old WWI Army Jacket.................It's upstairs covering the tank.

To which my grandson exclaimed "Bloody Hell Grandad - You've got a TANK!!"

I know the old ones are not always the best - but I like it.

Yadsendew wrote: I know the old ones are not always the best - but I like it.

And in response to this and your post above it complaining about the rain.......

A freight plane was having difficulty maintaining altitude and the pilot ordered the cargo be ejected - all over a West Wales golf course as it happens - to which the locals exclaimed 'Bloody Hell Jones the shanker! It's raining datsun cogs!'

Boom Boom.......
.......
.......
silence
.......
.......
I'll get my coat!

A thought on closing the face in bunkers when plugged.

The reason people advocate closing the face is to assist in digging down enough to get under the ball... but if the ball is plugged that generally means that the sand is very soft and deep enough to allow it to plug in the first case. So all you are doing is giving up control and the ability to hit it fairly high out of a plugged lie.

I do it this way. Open the face of the club way up... but lean a little more forwards. Pick the club up very sharply with a lot of wrist break to open it up further. Then smash down into the sand as hard as you can about two or three inches behind the ball. You are aiming to leave it in there you hit it that hard and come down that much.

What will happen is that you force the open club way down in the bunker and the sand the ball is in explodes upwards and forwards as the club takes it place. It will pop out and roll a bit but also be more likely to hold the green than a hooded clubface.

Much better I think...


Now. To give credit where it's due. That is the way Seve wrote about playing a plugged bunker shot.