Draw Drill
This drill is great for honing an inside-out swing path and learning to produce a right-to-left shot. Take two tees and set them on a 45-degree angle with the inside tee ahead of the ball and the outside tee outside the ball. Place a club on the ground with the toe facing to the left and the butt pointing at a 45-degree angle toward the ball. The key here is to swing the clubhead through the gate without touching either of the tees. Also, the clubhead should be fully released so it’s still outside the hands, but pointing directly down the target line. For most players, the inside part of the gate is the most important and most challenging. If you want to learn to hit all the way through the ball with an inside-out swing path, you must be able to strike the ball without hitting the inside tee.

The key to hitting a solid draw is to swing on an inside-out path while also fully releasing the clubhead.  

See The Draw
To hit a slight draw, the club must attack the ball from inside the target line. A great way to see the proper swing path is to create a gateway with the use of some well-placed tees. Position the tees so the clubhead will approach the ball from an obvious inside path. The proper path becomes easier to follow with the tees on the ground and may produce the feeling of swinging out to right field. If the swing path is incorrect, it will miss the gateway and may hit one or both of the tees, creating a pull or slice. When the club is tracking properly, the ball will start slightly right of the target line and curve back to the left in the air.

Using tees to create a gateway for the clubhead is a great drill for eliminating a slice and producing a draw.

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Downhill Lie- This shot is probably the toughest to tackle, as you not only have to contend with the slope, but with the edge of the bunker as well. The first thing to do is adopt a stance that creates balance.Do this by placing your right foot outside the bunker. Secondly, play the ball back in your stance with your shoulders tilting downward to match the slope. From here, it’s all about finding and feeling the “angle of attack” to help you clear the lip and get the club safely into the sand behind the ball.

Ball Below Feet- A key point to remember when the ball is below your feet is that your posture requires quite a bit of bend from the hips to ensure that you get down to the ball. Instead of a rounded swing (like when the ball is above your feet), think of your swing going more up and down. Another key point is to remain committed, stay in your posture through impact and finish your swing!
Ball Above Feet- When the ball’s above your feet, it’s imperative that you create a swing that follows the contour of the bunker. Stand a little taller, and grip down slightly on the club’s handle. Then make a swing that’s relatively shallow and rounded, not upright. Since a ball above your feet will tend to produce a shot that flies left after contact, make the necessary alignment adjustment, and aim more to the right.

Plugged Lie- Escaping from a plugged lie requires keeping your clubface square (the only time you’ll do so when hitting out of the bunker). With most of the ball beneath the surface of the sand, you’ll need to get some “dig” out of your impact, so play the ball in the center of your stance and adopt a severely upright swing, picking the clubhead up quickly, then chopping into the sand and exploding the ball out and onto the green. Since most of your force is downward, don’t try to swing into a traditional, full finish. Instead, leave the clubhead in the sand with an abbreviated followthrough. This shot will come out low and void of any spin, so plan accordingly.

Uphill Lie- When confronted with an uphill lie, play the ball forward in your stance, much like you would a standard bunker shot. The key point, however, for uphill lies is to get your swing and shoulders to match the slope of the bunker. The ball will come out high and short, so a little more speed is necessary to fly the ball the correct distance. In addition, be careful that you find solid footing, as the upward slope will tend to push your body away from the target and lead to bladed shots.
   For more on awkward lies and other great info,check us out at KIKOGOLF, home of the WRIST RITE. Also, don’t forget if you have questions,comments or your own tips you would like to share, visit our message boards!

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(Excerpt from well respected PGA Tour Fitness Instructor Sean Cochrane)

“Yes, the wrists are involved in every phase of the swing and are very active in the execution of the golf swing. Outside of the lower back, the wrists are the most commonly injured area of the body.

Why is the case?

The answer can be traced back to the biomechanics of the golf swing. The physical structures of the wrists are used excessively in the golf swing. The wrists beginning with address and gripping of the club, into rotation of the forearms, hinging during the backswing, maintenance of the hinge towards impact, and release of the club are placed under stress each and every swing.

Multiply this workload on the wrists over one round or an entire tournament. You can begin to see how much work the wrists have to do in the execution of the golf swing.

Knowing the amount of work the wrists are required to perform in executing the golf swing, we can begin to understand why they are often injured as a result.”

(Source: By Sean Cochran - PGATOUR.com)

KIKO knows wrist rotation in the swing and constant strain on the wrist can cause problems with your swing and the health of your wrist. We created the Wrist Rite which helps alleviate some of the issues faced with placing strain on the wrist while improving your golf swing.

Learn more about Wrist Rite

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