I have a real problem with my sand shots...i usally take to much sand and chunk the shot...it always lands to short or if im in the back of the bunker then it stays in the sand..can u give me some tips to take a good sand shot??

Fisrt thing you need to do is read at least articles on playing from the sand. That should give you THREE RIGHT WAYS to play the shot, and never leave the ball in the bunker again.
every article I have read promises you that if you follow the advice they are giving you, you will never leave the ball in the sand again. Well, I've read those articles and the authors are full of crap. Tiger Wood tells you to play the ball forward the front of your stance to get the ball up high and land softly. Others tell you to play the ball back in the stance to steepen the angle of attack. So who's right? What you have to do is decide what works for you for the shot that is required that day.
But first you have to do one thing. You have to learn to make a consistant swing every time. Here's a drill that I want you to try. First take a paper punch and punch some holes in a piece of paper that doesn't match the color of your carpet. Than place one of those DOTS you just make on the carpet and address it as you would a golf ball in the sand. Now make a smooth 3/4 swing and try to make contact with the carpet an inch or two behind the DOT. You might want to vacuum the carpet first to get a smooth even surface that will show up the marks you will be making in the fibers. Now the bad news: If you can't contact the carpet in the same place in relationship to the DOT, you will not make consistant bunker shots. Now the good news: If you practice this drill until you can sweep the dot off the carpet with every swing, you will get the ball out of the sand just about every time. Then all you have to do is get the length and speed of your swing right for the shot required, and try different ball positions to find the right one for you. This is the exact drill I used to go from hating the sand to getting out and close to the pin well enough to not fear the bunkers at all. Give it a try and let me know if it works for you. Good luck at the beach. Don

i'm surprised you didn't mention the hole you made in your carpet, don.

thank you don,

this helped me a lot and now im out of the sand in one everytime...
your advice is very helpful

-sean-

Hi Bill, The only hole in the carpet is the one the dog made. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!
Hi Sean, I'm glad my drill is working for you. Any time I start hitting bad shots from the sand, I go back and punch more holes in a piece of paper and put in some more practice time on the carpet. If you ever have a problem taking big divots when hitting balls from the short fairway grass with your irons, you might want to repeat the practice drill with the dots. This same drill should help you make contact with the ball at the same time as the grass for a nice small divot of grass, rather than a piece of sod big enough to be used by Sam Donaldson as a toupee. :rolleyes:
One of the nice things about this site is that when I see a question like yours, I am forced to think of a good way to word a response that will help your game. In doing that, it forces me to think about my own game, and that helps me make improvements in my swing. Just last week I was hitting fat from the grass, and after I made a few bad swings at the DOTS, I knew what I was doing and how to solve it. PRACTICE. Let me know what ball position works best for you when you decide on one for most of your shots. Don.