Every year golf magazines feature articles on the game's toughest shots.
Usually, each article has its own specific criteria on what it considers a tough shot.
But by and large it means a shot that's not only difficult, but also intimidating.
When missed, these shots boost scores by two or three strokes.
Missed often enough, they also boost golf handicaps.
A recent article in one golf magazine lists over 20 of these troublesome shots.
They range from shots involving a full swing to shots requiring a delicate touch.
The article ranks them in order of difficulty.
But they also discuss them in terms of frequency.
Amazingly, five bunker shots rank within the article's top 10 most difficult shot.
Two made the top two spots.
While these shots are hard, they're not impossible.
Making simple adjustments to your address and/or your swing helps you conquer them as long as you don't try to do too much with them.
In other words, the adjustments help as long as you stay within your capabilities.
Trying to hit that miracle recovery from a difficult lie shot seldom works.
1.
Feet Inside/Ball Outside Fairway Bunker Your ball rests near the edge of a fairway bunker.
The only way you can hit it is to stand in the bunker.
You must use a baseball-like swing here instead of a golf swing.
You also have to be practical.
You can't try to do too much.
Advance the ball as far as you can and set yourself up for the next shot.
Grab a 7-iron from your bag, choke down on it, and dig your feet into the sand for support.
Choking down lets you set up your clubface behind the ball at address.
Now, make a few practice swings above the ball to get a feel for the motion.
Use your shoulders and chest muscles, just as you do when swinging a baseball bat.
Increasing grip pressure a bit stops you from rotating the face open or closed during the swing.
And bend your front elbow a bit, so it's not too stiff in the backswing.
2.
Feet Outside/Ball Inside A Bunker Your ball is in a bunker, but the only way you can hit it is to stand outside the bunker, which means the ball is several inches below your feet.
Be careful with this shot! It's not something you face every round, but anything can happen with it-a shank, a slice, or even a miss.
Again, don't try to do too much.
Focus on getting the ball out of the bunker and positioned for the next shot.
The steeper the slope, the more the ball goes right (or left if you're left handed.
) Spread your feet wider than your shoulders and position the ball just inside your front foot.
Now bend your knees and drop your backside so your club gets down to the ball.
Don't bend your torso forward! And hinge your wrist quickly.
Lowering your body instead of bending forward helps you maintain balance.
3.
Fried-egg Bunker Lie Your ball rests in the depression it made when it dropped into the greenside bunker.
So it looks like a fried egg.
Hence, the name.
With sand behind it as well as under it, you need extra muscle to get the ball out in one shot.
Don't try being perfect with this shot.
Your goal is getting the ball out of the bunker and onto the green in one.
The key to this shot is opening your stance, squaring your clubface, and favoring your front side with your weight.
Use a steeper swing path than with normal and enter the sand about an inch behind the ball.
Imagine you're burying the club in the sand and leaving it there.
4.
Plugged Bunker Lie This shot is similar to the last but the ball is really buried in the sand.
You can't float the ball out on a cushion of sand because there's no sand to do it with.
Come down hard, almost as if you're jamming the club's heel in the bunker, with the toe pointing at the sky.
Keep your hands low to the ground through impact.
This creates an explosion big enough to unplug the ball and flip it onto the green.
5.
Bunker Blast From a Down Hill Lie The article considers previous shot the second toughest to hit.
It ranks this shot the most troublesome.
Your ball comes to rest on the downslope of a greenside bunker.
Hitting the ball high enough to get it out of the green isn't easy.
That's because the slope de-lofts your club.
The key is aligning your shoulders with the slope.
Take a wider stance than usual.
Align your shoulders with the slope.
Then, open the clubface and make your normal bunker swing.
Don't try swinging too hard or cutting under the ball too much.
The ball comes out lower and with less spin than if you were on a level lie, so plan for extra roll.
Those are five tough shots we just described.
No doubt about it.
All are intimidating for weekend golfers.
But try the solutions we propose, which were provided by Tour pros.
If you still have problems hitting these shots, take a golf lesson or two.
And continue reading golf tips and golf magazines.
You may not face these bunker shots often, but mastering them is a good way to lower your golf handicap.