A Small Chip Can Beat A Big Blast

When you walk into a bunker carrying anything but a sand wedge your opponents are likely to give you that subtle half sneer which implies you are 1) a hacker and 2) gutless. Well, lots of times you should give them a sneer right back, for there are numerous occasions when the chip shot is by far the best way to get a ball out of sand and close to the hole. Two things must be checked first: The trap should have little or no lip, because the chip is going to take off low and never climb much, and there should be considerable putting surface between the trap and the cup. Assuming these conditions are met, you can hand the sand wedge back to the caddie—caddies disapprove of this shot, too—and ask for an eight-or a nine-iron. Play the ball back toward the right foot, to insure that you will hit down firmly on the ball. You must not hit the sand behind the ball. Choke the club down a couple of inches, and hood the face slightly. Now concentrate hard, keeping the head especially steady, because the shot is a delicate one. The ball will come out crisply, and with considerable overspin, so you can expect a good deal of run. One way to judge how firmly to hit it is to consider how hard you would swing at the same chip shot if the ball were on grass, then hit this one a little easier.