Quote:
Originally Posted by fred53
There are ways to extricate yourself from plugged lies...I too played Havana and hit into some bunkers...a few plugged...most did not..I got out of all of them. Perhaps not as close to the pin as I'd like.
I'm about a 5hndcp and practice my sand shots. I've not idea what level you play, but if you don't practice regularly then it is expected that you might have trouble from different kinds of sand.
It is rarely the sands fault for the inability to hit a shot to get out of the hazard and it is not supposed to be easy to get out without putting the time in to learn how to do it from many conditions.
So your options are to practice, hit more accurate shots or complain.
This is not meant as a rant against those who don't practice, but in my 50 years of playing the largest segment of the golfing population don't practice and yet still expect to be able to hit difficult shot...or even easy shots consistently. It doesn't work that way...sorry.
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Based on what I've seen and heard over the years, a 5 Hdcp golfer can't really relate to the over 50% of all golfers whose handicaps are 18 and above. Those in the latter category do NOT practice and should not be chastised for not doing so. All TV courses where sands traps have been recently redone have too much sand, it's too soft and it's unfortunately raked to it's thickest near the upper greenside lip. You simply don't see traps in that condition on good courses that are maintained by crews that understand golf. Can't remember ever seeing a lie on a PGA or European Tour event like those that the OP is referring to. To compare the difficulty of these soft sand traps to the Old Course at St. Andrews, as someone did, is not a rational comparison to anyone who has seen, first hand, the shape and side walls of the bunkers at that course as I have during my working career as an LPGA official. Their difficulty has nothing at all to do with the consistency of the sand. Some negative comments are justified despite the fact that many responders don't seem to understand that they just might be justifiable.