Golfers beginners to professionals are constantly looking to get better at the game of golf. And it goes without saying that one of the core cores to great golf is a great swing. A careful analysis of how you swing your club can make significant adjustments to your game. Eradicati what you are doing wrong and improving what you are doing right will create significant and cumulative shave strokes offments.

There are certain fundamental elements to the swing that even the pros often take for granted. As you peruse this article you'll find these tips will make measurable if sometimes modest shave strokes offments that accumulate to lowering your score.

Let's start with your stance. The chief thing you want to do is to make sure that you are steady yet relaxed. If your posture is uptight and rigid, then there is an increased chance that your swing won't arc and follow through the way you want it to.

After you are in a comfortable and relaxed position with your club securely gripped, you'll also want to make sure that your feet are solidly planted about a shoulder's width apart. A lot of golfers are tempted to raise their heels up when they swing, but this leads to a poor swing. If you are lifting your heels up while you swing, this tends to alter your center of gravity and negatively impacts the velocity of your swing. It is now obvious, your posture is one of the most important aspects here.

To gain consistency in you swing, your must practice regularly. Even if you are a person who only golfs a couple times a month, it's still important to practice. Even when you are just golfing for fun, it's even more fun when you do better. You won't be able to see any real results unless you dedicate a portion of your time to mastering your swing. You should feel confident in whichever one you choose.

One of the big obstacles that golfers who live in the upper (cold) half of the United States face is the inability to play golf during the snow and cold of winter. However, in many of these areas, homes are built with basements that if they have a high enough ceiling can be a great place to set up practice golf balls and net, a golf mat which will allow you to swing away.

Another great alternative is to use a golf simulator. These can dramatically shave strokes off your swing as they provide feedback you need to make the small but impactful changes to get better. And the great thing is that these golf simulators are now quite inexpensive and can hook up to a simple laptop. Find simulators and other great golf equipment at many online golf stores.

Finally, if it's your spouse who golfs, don't forget that a good video on swing improvement, a practice net or golf simulator all make gifts for golfers which he (or she) will love for years to come.

How To Become An Expert In The Bunker (5)

With only two key shots available to golfers when trying to get the ball out of a sand bunker (the splash or the explosion), the splash shot should be used at all times possible. And because the splash takes skill and practice, most players try to explode the ball without giving the shot a second thought.

The good news is that there are times when exploding the ball will be necessary, even for those of you who have taken the time to practice and become good at the splash.

But in order to fully master the sand bunker when you face these shots, it is important to understand the methods behind your options. So let's talk more about the explosion shot and when it is wise to use it.

Deep In The Sand

The explosion shot is a completely different animal than the splash. There is more than one situation where you may want to opt for this shot. The obvious situation is when your ball is buried deep in the sand. You really have no choice here – you have to use the explosion shot.

The Fried Egg

A second scenario is the “fried egg”. As the description suggests, this is when the ball is deep enough in the ground with no sand behind it for the club to enter. Although a highly skilled professional may be able to use the slash here and make it work, it is usually best for you and I to choose the explosion.

The Front Bunker

A third situation where the explosion shot should be used is when you are set up in a front bunker at a large and deep green, with the hole in the back of the green. In this scenario, it can be almost impossible to splash the ball flying up at the exact point you need.

The end result will probably have you over-swinging, hitting up too much sand, and sending the ball over the green. Since the explosion shot runs a bit when it hits the ground, it makes better sense in use it here.

How Far Will The Ball Roll Once It Hits The Ground?

Whatever situation you fall into that warrants an explosion shot, how far the ball lands and how far it will roll after exploding out of the sand depends on several factors:

1) How hard you swung the club.

2) The type of club used (the sand wedge is not always used in the bunker).

3) How close to the ball you slam the club into the sand.

4) And finally, the type of sand that is laying in the bunker.

How To Become An Expert In The Bunker (1)

When playing the ball from the bunker you have two basic approaches to take to best handle the sand: a) The splash shot or, b) The explosion shot.

You may or may not have heard of the terminology here but it is important to become familiar with each shot if you are to improve your score. All golf players who have ever had the joy of starting as a newbie, then breaking 100, then down to the 90's, and even lower – all have had to specifically improve various parts of the short game, especially when hitting from the sand.

Both types of sand shots can be tweaked to various degrees in order to get the desired length and height on the ball that you want. Splash shots can also have the spin you may need on the ball. But forget about spinning the ball on an explosion shot that has it resting in a buried lie.

How To Know Whether To Splash The Ball Or Take The Explosion Shot

When your ball has decided to take a trip into the sand and you must choose what type of shot to take, the first rule is simple: Always take the splash shot if at all possible.

This is one of the most common mistakes golfers make who cannot seem to lower their overall score - once the ball hits the sand they treat every one of these shots as an explosion.

You are probably one of these players. For some reason, it got into your head that at anytime the ball hits the bunker the only way to knock it out is to explode it. It's a common issue, and one that I personally experienced some years back.

I suspect that your reason is the same - which is that you just have not taken the time to practice the proper technique that a splash shot requires, not to mention the patience needed to make it work when you want to.

Explosion Shots May Be Easier To Play, But Not Always The Best One To Take

There is no denying that trying to explode the ball out of the sand is a much easier route to take, but is it always the best?

Not at all - because by relying entirely on the explosion shot all you have on your side in getting the ball as close to the hole as possible is luck. Luck is for beginners, not those of you trying to improve your strategy and break new scores.

So what makes the splash shot so special? Why take the time to learn it and acquire the patience to become good at it?

The reason is simple: This shot enables you to limit how much sand gets in the way of the ball and your clubface. In turn, you have the ability to control the shot better and induce the spin you need. The more sand that is dug up (as with the explosion shot), the more limited your control over the shot is.