Golf magazines survive on enticing golfers with “tips” that promise to improve their games. Nothing necessarily wrong with that. I’ll admit that I’m one of these readers. Most tips don’t work for most people, of course. I recently found one that seemed especially absurd. It was called “Blast Bunker Shots to Tap-in Range.” And who wouldn’t want to be able to do that!
Two problems. First, the author suggests that the golfer judge the distance between the bunker ball and pin, but practice a swing that he/she would use from the fairway at three times this distance.
Whoa! Finally, a mathematical formula that I can relate to! Or, uh..maybe not. First of all, I’m not a pro with a repeatable 10, 20, 30, and 40 yard swing. Sometimes I hit the ball a tiny bit fat or thin, or swing a little too fast or slow. So, that calculation is out the window. But more important, I’m not such a low handicapper that I can reliably enter the sand with my club at the exactly correct angle and the exactly correct distance behind the ball. The slightest variation in these two things significantly affects the distance the ball travels.
Put it all together and you have another rather silly promise made by golf magazines to desperate golfers.
