Why You Shouldn’t Think of Bunkers as Sand Traps

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Why You Shouldn’t Think of Bunkers as Sand Traps

Thursday, May 31st, 2007 by www Subscribe To My Feed

Sand traps or bunkers, seem to provoke an extraordinary amount of anger among golfers. But on some occasions aiming for a bunker is actually a good idea on a long and difficult approach shot. The pro’s will tell you that it is actually easier to put the ball on the green from the “up and down” of a sand trap than it is from the surrounding longer thick grass.

Bunkers started out as holes in the ground on the windswept Scottish linksland. Because these holes provided shelter from the cold winds, sheep would take shelter in them, and expand the holes. When they start to play golf on the land, the locals fashioned sand filled bunkers out of the holes.

On most of the older golf courses, the greens sited to maximize the threat the bunker’s threat to the golfers shots. This is how they came to be known as “hazards” in the rules of golf. A typical bunker usually has a depth of about 2 inches of sand. This prevents the golf ball from being buried on the landing and it provides a decent amount of cushioning for the escape shot. You won’t find very many amateur golfers that will aim for a bunker. Bunker seem to be the last place in the world that most amateurs want to end up in.

So why is it that most amateurs golfers are scared to death of their golf ball landing in a greenside bunker? just what is it about sand play that is so hard for them? Basically what it comes down to is a lack of technique, and understanding about sand play.

Most golfers that are faced with a bunker shot are already defeated before they take their shot. You can tell that they are by the contorted, constipated looks on their faces. Their reactions when they fail to extricate their golf ball from the bunker is also amusing. After they have taken a few shots, most amateur golfers throw their technique out the window, and simply try to hit the ball as hard as they can. This is not good. Trying to hit the ball harder only make them angrier than they were before because they are unable to get the ball out of the sand trap this way. Typically they end up finishing with a nice big hole that isn’t good for anything.

This all too human reaction of failure with bunkers resigns most golfer to their fate. In their minds they think that they have done everything that is humanly possible to get the golf ball out, and they are still unable to get the ball out of the bunker. Most golfers trudge into a bunker expecting the worst, and guess what happens? They usually get what they were expecting.

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