Getting Out Of Golf Traps

Here is the scenario, you are having the best round of golf of your life, your swing feels great, you are hitting the ball straight and far, and then thud, you land in a sand trap, or behind a huge tree. Don't worry, it happens to every golfer. Traps are on the course for two reasons, to make golf more difficult, and to piss you off. They do a very good job of both, so avoiding them and learning how to get out of them if you do end up in them is very important to a good round of golf and keeping your sanity. Without traps on the course golf might get a little boring and would be too easy for the professionals, so it is probably best that they are there. Once you get good at hitting out of sand traps or the deep rough, you may actually enjoy making a nice shot out of them. But until then, lets try to avoid them!



One of the worst places your ball can end up is right behind a large tree. This does not happen too often, but when it does it can be frustrating. There are a few options, cut the tree down, hire someone to rip it out of the ground, or sacrifice a stroke and hit your ball back into a position where you can make a good shot. Option three is usually the route that most golfers take, although if you can pull off one of the other two then hats off to you. Where you decide to hit he ball from behind the tree depends on how good you are and how much you are willing to risk. One strategy I would advise against is trying to bounce the ball of another tree. It is very unlikely that you will be able to predict where the ball is going to end up, and even if you could figure out exactly where on the tree you needed to hit, it is even more unlikely you will hit that exact spot. Sometimes hitting the ball backwards is your best play, I know that sounds terrible, but trying to squeeze a shot through the trees just to gain some yards usually is not worth the risk. My advice is to find the easiest spot to land the ball on the fairway, losing the least amount of yardage possible. This will set your next shot up nicely.

Sand traps are a completely different problem. Sometimes landing in a trap isn't that bad, you might get a great lie near the green in the back of the trap and can easily put a shot on the green. Other times you are going to be stuck at the bottom of a giant wall of sand with no way over it. When hitting out of the sand you want to dig a lot of sand up with your shot, this will give your ball the most height possible and will get you out of most traps. If you definitely can't hit the ball out straight towards the green, then like the tree situation, you may need to sacrifice a shot to set up your next one. Taking risks in the trap can often lead to multiple extra strokes, especially if your ego comes into play. If you fail on the first risky shot, you may want to try again, and again, until you get out. If you are playing with a bunch of friends just for fun then taking these risks is much more fun, because if you land that epic shot out of the trap you can brag about it for a while. If you are playing seriously, trying to win, then play it safe. When it comes down to getting out of traps, weigh the risk versus the reward on whether you should try that tough shot. Most times you will want to play it safe.