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- Like Wolf Creek, but 1/3 the Price + The 5 Keys to a Good Sand Shot
Like Wolf Creek, but 1/3 the Price + The 5 Keys to a Good Sand Shot
Plus, How Often Do you Leave Your Bunker Shots IN the bunker?
Wild Golf
September 06, 2024
Happy Friday all- the match we all wanted is officially happening. Finally, we get to see PGA Tour stars go head-to-head with LIV’s best players…. Well, sort of. The Tour’s poster children Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler will battle LIV’s bad boy duo of Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau in a made-for-TV event in December in Las Vegas. The exact date and location haven’t been announced, but this does seem like a big step forward on a path towards an amicable partnership. Of course, money is playing a role here, and it’s not like the golf calendar is jam packed with events in December, so this is an opportunity for some good exposure. Nonetheless, you don’t often get 4 of the greatest golfers on the planet together in an arena like this. Maybe they’ll work out all the details for a resolution during the match. Wouldn’t that be something?
In today’s newsletter…
✅ TIPS & DRILLS: The Greenside Bunker Shot Simplified- follow these 5 steps and you’re on your way to a great escape, every time.
✅ COURSES: Just down the road from Wolf Creek, this Mesquite, NV course offers equally stunning views for 1/3 the price.
✅ STATISTICS: How frequently do you leave your greenside bunker shots IN the bunker? Measure yourself against the stats below.
✅ TRIVIA: Jack Nicklaus was notoriously bad out of the bunker. How bad was his worst season escaping the sand? Answer for a chance to win a HackMotion Core Wrist Sensor Training Aid!
Let’s do it!
TIPS & DRILLS
Struggle to Escape the Sand? Fix these 5 Faults
If you fix all 5, it’s hard not to be above average from the sand
To Recap…
Two things you can take to the bank- Viktor Hovland will always be smiling in post-round interviews, and the greenside bunker shot will continue to confound amateur golfers until the end of time. If you want to be smiling as wide as Viktor after every bunker shot, follow these rules from PGA coach Chris Ryan:
-STEP 1: Open the club face super-wide so that the leading edge won’t dig. You want to feel like the back of the club smacks the sand.
-STEP 2: Move the ball up in your stance to encourage a more shallow angle of attack.
-STEP 3: Shift your weight forward about 2/3 towards your front foot. This will help you finish with your weight on your lead side (hanging back on your rear foot will kill your chances of success).
-STEP 4: Try to keep your shaft angle more neutral, with the handle pointed back towards your belt buckle through impact. Again, if you have too much forward lean, the club will dig, making it difficult for it to glide under the ball.
-STEP 5: Contrary to popular belief, you can align your feet directly towards your target line - i.e. you do NOT need to aim left (assuming your a righty). By keeping your alignment neutral, it will encourage more body turn (and less use of the hands).
PRO TIP: And of course, be sure to practice. Very few of us spend more than a few minutes in a practice bunker on a monthly basis. There’s a reason the pros make the sand look easy- they simply put in the work.
COURSES
The Wild Terrain at This Nevada Course Will Leave You Mesmerized
And it’s 1/3 of the Price of Wolf Creek Just Down the Road
Falcon Ridge Golf Course
Mesquite, Nevada
The city of Mesquite, NV sits 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas. As golf tourists travel away from the Vegas strip, Nevada makes one final plea to keep golfers in state before they reach St. George, Utah (another trending golf destination that should be on your radar). In Mesquite, you’ll find the widely acclaimed Wolf Creek GC (#47th Best Public according to Golf Digest) as well as the Palmer Course at Oasis Golf Club, each with rates between $175-$390. But a very close 3rd and FAR more economical option is Falcon Ridge Golf Course. Rates sit between $45-$115 with additional discounts that can be found via online booking sites. And the sights at Falcon Ridge are equally jaw-dropping when compared to its nearby competition. As one reviewer put it, “Wolf Creek is Disneyland- it’s a beautiful golf course… but I’d rather play Falcon Ridge ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.”
The landscape in Mesquite makes it feel like you’re playing golf on a different planet- truly a stunning visual experience in peak season. Lush green fairways provide a stark contrast against the surrounding Mojave Desert, with the Virgin Mountains in the distance. It’s a wonder how they’re able to grow such green grass in such an arid climate.
The course may not be very long at just 6,546 yards from the tips, but it does offer plenty of challenge due to the undulating terrain. If there’s one knock on the course, it’s the blind shots that come with that natural undulation. We definitely recommend having a look over the course before you tee off. There’s a good flyover video you can view HERE, and the cart GPS can be your best friend out there. Even still, Falcon Ridge is well worth the investment. It may not take home the same hardware as Wolf Creek, but if you’re looking for fantastic bang for your buck, look no further.
Pro Tip: Falcon Ridge does not yet have a driving range for warm-up (though they just purchased a nearby plot of land and hope to have a range up and running in the coming months).
Rates: $45-$115 dependent upon time of year, with additional discounts of 30%+ if booking through online tee time sites.
Check out this drone flyover from @brianoar
STATISTICS
Stat of the Day: Percentage of Greenside Bunker Shots Left IN the Bunker
presented by…
The Stat: A 2 Handicap will leave 1% of their greenside bunker shots in the bunker, whereas an average 14 Handicap is 8 times more likely to do so, leaving 1 out of every 12.5 bunker shots in the bunker.
The Takeaway: It’s one of the worst feelings in golf, and we’ve all experienced it. The key of course is repetition/practice (see tips above), but if you are an average 14 Handicap or higher, be sure to assess the lie, the slope of the bunker, the height of the bunker lip, whether the sand is dry vs. wet, etc.
Instead of always aiming to get it as close to the hole as possible, sometimes it’s better to play it safe and simply get it out of the bunker, even if that’s not the ideal aim point.
TODAY’S TRIVIA
Answer to Win a HackMotion Core Wrist Sensor Training Aid
(1 winner chosen on 9/30/24 across all September trivia entries, 1,000 correct respondents minimum)
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Jack Nicklaus was a notoriously below average from the sand. What was his WORST Greenside Sand Save Percentage season (post-1980 when the stat was officially tracked)?For reference, the 2024 PGA Tour average = 52.9%, and Aaron Baddeley led the Tour at 71.6%. |
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