I Was Fried Recently

Greg Ellis
Great Golf Academy
Goodyear, AZ
gellisdog@cox.net

More Information

I was playing golf the other day and happened to hit my tee shot on a par 3 into the bunker. The ball was held up by the wind and came to rest in the bunker in front of the green. I thought this will be okay; until, I saw where the ball had landed. Rarely do you see a bunker today that has too much sand and the shot lands and remains in its own pitch mark. Much to my chagrin and after making this profound statement about the firmness of the bunkers, I found my ball in the dreaded “fried egg” lie in the bunker. I proceeded to get it out of the bunker and two-putted for my bogey. Whenever I have the fried egg lie in a greenside bunker I always remember the golf tip that I saw by Greg Norman on getting out of this precarious position. With this in mind, should you ever face this situation, here is how you want to handle a Fried Egg bunker shot. 

The first thing is, do not panic. The golf shot appears to be more difficult than it truly is.  Stand up to the shot and invoke a positive mental attitude that will enhance your opportunity to successfully execute the golf shot. This shot must be approached like any other greenside bunker shot. Take a stance that will be open to the intended target line.  Use your normal grip. Lay the club face wide open so that the face of the club is facing the sky. The ball must be positioned forward in your stance. Brace your weight (70%) on your foot closest to the intended target. The knees should be flexed more than the normal bunker shot set up. This provides a more stable base for the force of this specialty shot.

The alignment of the club is to be set with the hosel of the club directly behind the ball.  Normally the middle of the clubface is set up directly behind the ball and the club slides under the ball with the sand lifting the ball out of the bunker. In this instance, the club must “dig” the ball out of the pitch mark.

The backswing will be very steep and along the line of your feet alignment. The swing should be approximately - length. The downswing will be a steep descending swing that will allow the hosel to dig down underneath the ball allowing for the clubface to trap sand between the clubhead and the ball. The ball will pop up and out of the bunker, and land softly on the green. The ball will not “scream” across the green like what happens when most golfers attempt to hit the golf shot by closing the clubface down.

Practice this technique and you will begin telling yourself that it is okay to be “fried”. 

Have fun and remember, if you need help with this tip or any other, feel free to email Greg at  greg.ellis@trilogygolfclub.com or call for a lesson at 623.328.5107.
Be sure to tune in to the Bunker to Bunker Golf Show every Saturday morning from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. or on 620KTAR AM or on the internet at ktar.com, click on the Sports Talk button, for more tips and updates on all of the week’s golfing news in the Valley and around the world. Join Greg, Jim Hill, and Marty Monaghan for a comprehensive look at the golf world for the week.