Bruce Romberg

The first aspect of playing a wet bunker shot is to understand the function of both your sand wedge and lob wedge.

The sand wedge has a flange or "bounce" at the bottom of the club. In dry sand this helps the club slide through the sand and not dig in. However, in wet sand that same flange will cause the club to skid and bounce into the ball causing you to "blade" the ball, and the resulting shot goes screaming across the green.

The correct method is to use your lob wedge which has little or no bounce. Open the clubface slightly to take the leading edge out of play, and then just swing normally. The result will be a shallow divot, and the ball will come out with quite a bit of spin.


If you do not have a lob wedge, use your pitching wedge, with the same technique.

Bruce Romberg Info

Bruce Romberg
Harvey Penick, one of golf's greatest instructors, always said the best way to improve your score was to improve your short game. You can see this week in and week out on the PGA Tour as the players who win usually have the best short game stats for that week. Here are a few tips to help you lower your scores.

On chips and pitches around the green use a club that gives you confidence. I play golf with a friend who is very good around the green, and he always uses his eight iron for these shots. He opens and closes the face according to the type of shot he wants to hit, so I have suggested he try wedges instead of that one club.

On occasions when he does use a wedge, he very rarely gets the results he does from that trusty old eight iron. Why? Because he has confidence in that club, he relaxes and hits good shots.


Phil Mickelson uses his high-lofted wedges around the green for most of his chip shots for the same reason. The lesson here is play the club or shot you feel most confident with and you will be more consistent.

When chipping or pitching from around the green the first rule to follow is "always get the ball on the green." How many times have you been faced with a pitch shot, over a bunker, with a closely tucked pin, only to flub your pitch shot into the bunker? Better to have a 25-foot par putt than be in the bunker with double or triple bogey staring you in the face. Always play the safe shot; in the end it will save you many strokes.
Practice that short game!

Practice that short game! Before each round go to the putting or chipping area and practice. Get your golf buddies to engage in some short game contests. Be creative and practice unusual shots. Practice in your backyard. The players with the best short games practice these shots more than others. That's why they usually shoot the lowest scores.

Ronald Bruce Romberg Magazine

Welcome to "the beach" is a term all golfers have come to know at some point in their golfing careers. Escaping a sand trap or bunker is often one of the most intimidating shots to execute, and can often leave a golfer discouraged.

I believe that this game is 60 percent mental and 40 percent physical; therefore what we see and believe we will do with a golf club is most of the time what does happen. Often I hear my students say how they dread the sand and can't get out.

I bet if you think back to when you had difficulties in the sand, you had made a negative comment to yourself before executing the plan. The lesson today will help you picture your ball rising out of the sand and enable you to have confidence in the execution as well. There are only two reasons why at times we can't get the ball out of the sand: Once you make contact with the sand you don't follow through, or perhaps you took too much sand that resulted from hitting too far behind the ball.


The general rule is to aim two inches behind the ball so you are in a sense "lifting" the ball with the sand. To start, make sure you take a practice swing outside the hazard area-you may not ground your club in a hazard until you are making the forward motion of your intended swing.

Next, enter the "beach" and plant your feet firmly in the sand. We want to set the clubface open so the toe is pointing slightly right of the target while your hands are square with your target.

Then, considering I am in a bunker within 30 yards of the green, I am going to make what we call a "V" swing. This swing has a direct angle to it-like you are picking your club up and then coming through to finish.

When we are close to the green we must create this angle which will get the ball out of the sand and has a higher trajectory to then sit on the green. As I take my club back, my hands hinge to make them strong and then I continue up until my hands are even with my hips. At this point, I pull the end of the club down and I aim generally two inches behind the ball accelerating through the sand and making a full finish.

Aiming two inches behind the ball can often end up to be five or more inches or no sand at all! I recommend practicing by drawing a line in the sand and practice making contact with that line over and over again. If you find you are hitting in front of the line, you are probably using too much wrist action-scooping the ball instead of letting your arms pull through the sand. On the other hand, if you are hitting the sand after the line you are pulling your shoulders over the ball instead of under it-perhaps timid of making contact with the sand.

Imagine your ball sits on a pillow. In order for you to lift the ball, you must lift the pillow-that's why we aim two inches behind the ball!

Now you can look forward to entering the sand and successfully executing your shot! Think positively and finish you swing!
Golf Tip of the Month: Uphill and Downhill Lies

Whether in a hazard or on a fairway, we've all encountered uncomfortable situations as far as where our ball lies. Here are a few helpful hints: UPHILL LIE: Slant your shoulders up the slope, and play the ball off your left foot. Make sure your weight favors your left side for balance, aim slightly right of the target, and swing arms up the slope. DOWNHILL LIE: Slant your shoulders down the slope, and play the ball off your right foot.


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