I’ve attached a picture that hopefully illustrates the situation I often find myself in. I’m still quite a beginner at golf.
I’m in the rough outside of the bunker, but I have to chip over the bunker to a nearside pin. Bonus jank if the green runs downhill.
I feel essentially incapable of getting the ball close to the pin. I just have to settle for ending up on the far side of the green, 30-50 feet away or whatever. Then I have at least two putts to get it down, so this shot feels super score-inflating.
In a perfect world I wouldn’t be in this situation, but I’m not good enough to avoid it.
Ideally I would like to get more loft and just barely plop it on the other side of the bunker and roll to the pin. Is that essentially the ideal play? Any general tips on achieving this?
What works for me is placing the ball in the back of my stance. Short back swing but do not break your wrists and do not turn your hips. Hit down and through the ball. You have to go all the way through the ball trusting that you will get height without too much distance. How much of a back swing you have to adjust for the distance. But you always have to go all the way through. Swing path has to be a straight line with the ball. And don’t pick up your head. Watch the club hit the ball and then your head will turn and you will see it in the air above the green.