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Tahoe challange sand trap help please

• DaBossa 2 Posts

  Sat, Apr 10 2010 5:33 PM

  Im a new player and am doing ok in the Tahoe challenge, up to the sand trap shot (7).

  Ive been reading  the forums and understand that sand bunker shots are hard, but im just not getting what i should be doing? no matter what i try the ball normally just rolls along the sand 2-3 yards, Ive only got two of 10 tries into the air - I got 34yrds with a 7 iron.  And for the other i used the SW and only got to the ruff at the edge of the bunker? what am i doing wrong?

  From memory - Lie is only 4-5% so Not buried.

  Distance to hole 54yrds? Auto club selection is a 5 or 6 iron? / full, which hits 180yrds.

  This is becoming very frustrating, as im doing well up to this shot.

  Wheres a good place to practice sand bunker shots?

  Please help.

• VanHalenLover 1,422 Posts

  Sat, Apr 10 2010 9:28 PM

  DaBossa:

  Wheres a good place to practice sand bunker shots?

  I find the bunkers the best place to practice these (ba-da-boom). Sorry, I just couldn't resist!

  try out the flop and pitch options from green side bunkers, they work quite well once you get a grasp on the distances for each.

  On those pesky fairway bunkers, you also have to practice practice practice to see what distance you will get based on the lie% and the club selection. If you choose 'select course' under 'single player game' and set it up as a non-ranked round, you can head right for the bunkers and practice till your heart's content with no drop in average from wasting 8 or 9 shots per hole testing these out!

  best of luck

  VaHaLo

• borntobesting 9,628 Posts

  Sat, Apr 10 2010 10:16 PM

  DaBossa:

  Im a new player and am doing ok in the Tahoe challenge, up to the sand trap shot (7).

  Ive been reading  the forums and understand that sand bunker shots are hard, but im just not getting what i should be doing? no matter what i try the ball normally just rolls along the sand 2-3 yards, Ive only got two of 10 tries into the air - I got 34yrds with a 7 iron.  And for the other i used the SW and only got to the ruff at the edge of the bunker? what am i doing wrong?

  From memory - Lie is only 4-5% so Not buried.

  Distance to hole 54yrds? Auto club selection is a 5 or 6 iron? / full, which hits 180yrds.

  This is becoming very frustrating, as im doing well up to this shot.

  Wheres a good place to practice sand bunker shots?

  Please help.

  There seems to be a slight bug in the bunkers of the CCTH tourneys right now. Normally for a 54 yrd shot from the bunker you would use one of your wedges. 

• DaBossa 2 Posts

  Sun, Apr 11 2010 4:04 AM

  that "might" be it.

  I went a done a practice round putting the balls into every bunker i could find (nuts right) and had no problems?

  Putting is a **%$#@!!! (lol)

  Had a little bit of trouble with lag too - if i dont tap the button will it just cancel the shot?

   

• iwb1 110 Posts

  Sun, Apr 11 2010 7:36 AM

  Long time since I have used standard clubs but this should help.

  Try full backspin with the PW  and full power and aim slightly left of the pin.

  That should get  it to pitch in the rough and roll onto the green. Check the reply after and you should be able to refine the shot 

• VanHalenLover 1,422 Posts

  Sun, Apr 11 2010 10:13 AM

  DaBossa:

  Had a little bit of trouble with lag too - if i dont tap the button will it just cancel the shot?

  If you are asking about the stutter on the meter, YES! If you notice stutter in time and let it swing through without clicking, it is just a practice swing and you are not charged a shot. WGT missed out on a gold mine by not selling this as an option, lol.

   

   

• mefitz 372 Posts

  Sun, Apr 11 2010 10:25 AM

    Hi DaBossa, Try typing "Tahoe #7" into the search box at the top right of the page. You`ll get A LOT of threads with great tips (look for the older ones) about that shot. I remember when it was first released and hardly anyone had "improved" clubs, hence the "look for the older" threads. There`s too much info for me to list. GL ;)

• Golfspieler 1,614 Posts

  Sun, Apr 11 2010 10:26 AM

  I dont think your doing anything wrong LOL, the problem is that you need to hit the shot 75 yards full backspin with your wedge. And your starter sand wedge is only 70 yards, so it doesn't go far enough. And using your irons just wont work at all. I had the same problem till i upgraded my wedges, now the hole is no problem with my 58 degree wedge. It's all a question of the clubs in your bag. Other then uprgrading your sand wedge, you could hope for a tail wind or try a xd ball with your sand wedge.

• Richard4168 4,309 Posts

  Sun, Apr 11 2010 11:23 AM

  Hi DaBossa,

  I like to club up to a 85 yard wedge and hit it about 93% strength depending on the wind. Like the other poster said, a 70 yard wedge won't reach the green. Try clubbing-up. Remember, your hitting from the trap, so you'll need to hit the ball with a little more authority as well as all shots that don't lie in the fairway. That hole at Tahoe is similar to #8 at Pinehurst where I club-up to a 155 yard Rapture 7 iron with about the same strength.

  I've rolled the ball within a foot of that hole at Tahoe, once. The ball likes to keep rolling on that hole. You need to take some momentum of the ball, so try to hit the collar if possible and the ball will roll right to the hole if it's hit on line.

  That hole can definitely be a CTTH round killer.

• birdwell 561 Posts

  Tue, Apr 13 2010 9:58 PM

  I've holed this shot once...

  but I've failed to get it out of the bunker 1,000 times!

  grrr....

   

  Sounds absolutely counter-intuitive, but I play this shot with a little TOPspin!

   Visualize yourself just picking it off the sand and aiming for that mound in front of the bunkers - but just a little harder that your think you need it. No need to to dig up too much sand here. This works VERY well when you can land the ball on the rough and let it roll to the pin. Or even if you hit the top of the hill, sometimes you get a fortunate roll.... (like the time I holed it!)

  If you try this and miss on the meter badly, your not even going to get out of the trap though.. ha ha.