Getting creative around the greens
Chipping can be frustrating. Thankfully, we have multiple wedges in the bag for all different greenside scenarios. But are you using yours correctly?
Equipment
Bring on the bunkers
Golf is simply one of the best sports in the world, and we're lucky enough to have another major tournament to watch this week.
We loved watching the pros take on Valhalla Golf Club at the PGA Championship. As with any huge championship course, the Valhalla GC has its fair share of hazards. Now, you may well be the kind of golfer to groan when you walk on to the next tee and see the fairway littered with bunkers.
Valhalla GC has 60 bunkers,
with a greenside bunker on 17/18 holes
The Valhalla course has a greenside bunker on every hole besides the 12th, so those that played well in the tournament did well to keep on their toes to overcome the obstacles. Bunkers are famously difficult to play, so today we want to give you some advice on how best to tackle them, as well as give you a solid recommendation in the form of the latest golf wedge offerings from Callaway.
Fairway bunkers
It can feel rather daunting sizing up the fairway when we’re on the tee, feeling those fairway bunkers shooting daggers right back at us. It can also feel especially cruel when we make excellent contact with the ball only for it to take a bad bounce on the fairway and trickle into the sand trap.
That being said, you’ve got to give the course designer credit for strategically placing these bunkers to make the game more challenging and exciting.
To get yourself happily out of a fairway bunker, you need to make solid impact with the ball to punch it through the sand. It can be notoriously difficult to hit out of a bunker as the feel is so different to hitting any other terrain you’d find on the golf course.
How do your bunker shots usually go? Are you good at escaping them or do you find that it takes you a few goes to get out of a dreaded bunker? If you’re struggling with bunker shots and find fairway bunkers to be downright demoralizing, we’d love to change that.
Why not visit us in the pro shop to get some bunker lessons booked? It feels really satisfying when you splash the ball out of the bunker just right!
Greenside bunkers
How do you feel when you realise your ball has ended up in a greenside bunker? Once the frustration has gone, are you confident that you’ll get up-and-down, or worried about racking up a high number?
Once you’ve stepped into the bunker and you’re sizing up your shot, what’s the usual plan of attack? Do you focus on the flag and go for the hole? Or is simply getting the ball onto the green a success in your book?
To make a decent bunker shot, you’ll want a club that has a rounded bottom with plenty of bounce. This will allow you to glide the wedge through the sand without digging into it so you make great contact with the ball.
You’ll want to dig your feet into the sand so you have a solid stance, and commit to a full swing to ensure you splash through the sand. You’ll get out of the sand every time when you head into a bunker with the latest Jaws Raw golf wedge from Callaway.
The latest Callaway golf wedges
The Jaws Raw wedge is a truly phenomenal bit of hardware. The Raw face ensures that the grooves rust over time to give you more spin, and the grooves themselves have sharper edges to give you excellent spin control.
This wedge has a muted toe pad and comes in two distinct finishes, both of which look fantastic enhance the appeal of the club. The Jaws Raw range comes with three grind options available, the standard ‘S’, wide-sole ‘W’, and high-bounce ‘X’. The latter of which would be the ideal choice for Phil Mickelson-esque bunker escapes.
Should you find your chip shots to be a challenging area of your game, the CB wedge will certainly help you build up confidence. This wedge has a deep cavity back and a larger head to help you strike through the ball, plus the leading-edge chamfer will help you hit through the ball rather than dig into the ground.
Featuring Callaway’s Jaws grooves, the CB wedges gives you excellent grip in a more forgiving clubhead. You’ll also have an endearing, lasting feel on your chip shots thanks to Callaway engineering urethane microsphere into the club’s construction.
If you’re considering getting yourself some new golf wedges this season, why not pop by the pro shop? We’d be happy to help you find the perfect set of wedges and help you into them with some lessons.
