You've GOTTA see these Black Sand Bunkers in Montana + Master the "Holster Move" for High, Soft Sand Shots

TIPS & DRILLS
Learn the “Holster Move” to Hit High & Soft Sand Shots Like the Pros
Golf Channel & GolfPass Contributor Devan Bonebrake demonstrates

devan_bonebrake

View more on Instagram

To Recap…

Let’s face it- most of the time as an average amateur, you’re just trying to get the ball somewhere on the putting surface to give yourself a chance at getting up and down. But if you can understand the mechanics required to hit the high greenside bunker shot that lands softly with limited roll-out, this will serve you in nearly any greenside bunker situation. Master the “holster move” with help from coach Devan Bonebrake from the Golf Channel:

-STEP 1: The deadly sin in the sand is to try and keep the hands forward at impact as if you’re trying to compress the ball. Instead, hit a couple inches behind the ball, and take just enough sand to “scoop a dollar bill” out of the bunker, as so many coaches say. Get the club head out of the sand quickly!
-STEP 2: Keep the club head moving with good speed through the impact zone. And as soon as your club gets through the sand, you want to feel like the club face is pointing straight back at you. Again, this will ensure that the leading edge does not dig and get stuck in the sand.
-STEP 3: As the club face starts to point back at you, “holster the club handle” right to your lead side belt loop. To practice this, you can place a head cover in your lead side pocket, and your club handle should touch the head cover just as you’re completing your swing.

PRO TIP: The “holster move” is great because it works with just about any wedge. If you need to hit it short to a tight pin, grab your 60* lob wedge. Need to hit it a bit further to the opposite side of the green but still get it to stop quickly? Try your 51* gap wedge.

COURSES
Ever Played a Course with Black Sand Bunkers?
Start planning your 2025 trip to this Jack Nicklaus track ASAP

Old Works Golf Course
Anaconda, MT

The golf season in Montana may be coming to a close, but it’s not like you were going to plan an impromptu golf trip to Big Sky country this time of year anyway. So now is as good a time as any to start crafting that 2025 bucket list. 110 miles from Bozeman and 25 miles from the city of Butte lies the town of Anaconda, MT. A menacing name for a small town, the moniker has nothing to do with snakes. Rather, it is named after the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, which operated from 1881-1983. After the copper smelting operation was shut down, an environmental cleanup plan was put into place and a championship golf course was commissioned, to be led by Jack Nicklaus’s design firm.

Old Works Golf Course may not be the most architecturally perfect layout, but it sure is full of character. Behind the green of hole #4 sits an old furnace flue that frames the hole, and there are brick ruins hidden among the surrounding natural prairie grasslands. A towering 585 foot tall brick smokestack towers in the distance (the largest free standing brick structure in the US… hint: most putts break towards it). Warm Springs Creek runs around and across a number of holes, and the Pintler Mountains can be seen from virtually every spot on the course. Even the course's practice range is unique, featuring unique targets shaped like local wildlife.

But the most striking feature of the course is the sand- Nicklaus wanted to celebrate the history of the region and used black furnace slag in all of the bunkers on the course instead of traditional white sand. The result is visually striking- it really catches you off-guard the first time you see it as it almost looks like a water hazard. The best example is the par three 7th hole (nicknamed “the Heap”) as it is seemingly surrounded by a sea of black on all sides.

Overall, Old Works is truly a unique experience. The course is rated the #2 public in the state according to Golf Digest, and it most recently appeared on the Top 100 Public list in 2016. As one online reviewer wrote, “such a fun course to play and one I could enjoy every day… while it of course will never rate ahead of Rock Creek Cattle (which I played the next day), I would much rather play Old Works everyday with its variety and character.”

Rates: $65-$109 for out-of-towners, or you can play on an unlimited, all-day rate for just $135

Check out this flyover from @oldworksgolfcourse

STATISTICS
Stat of the Day: Greenside Bunker - Missed Green vs. Up & Down Percentages by Handicap
presented by…

The Stat: A 2 HCP is 3.4x more likely to get up & down than to miss the green, whereas a 20 HCP is 2.8x more likely to experience the opposite.

The Takeaway: Missing the green is a cardinal sin from the bunker. You don’t always need to go directly at the pin- just get yourself on the putting surface and give yourself a chance at making a putt!

TODAY’S TRIVIA
Answer to Win a Club Glove College Traveler Protective Travel Bag
(1 winner chosen on 10/31/24 across all October trivia entries, 1,000 correct respondents minimum)

LIKE THIS EDITION?
Forward it to a friend! —> —>

SPONSORSHIPS
Feature Your Brand in this Newsletter!

We have a growing audience of 18K+ loyal readers and an additional 17K Facebook + 13K Instagram followers. If you’d like to promote your brand or course to our audience, click the button below!