Danny Willett: Improve your swing in the sand

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As with pitching, many of the themes I look to employ in my full swing – the feeling of the club moving in front of me, and strong upper-body movement over a stable base – also show up in bunker play. As a consequence, I spend a lot of my practice time in sand. For me, the most important thing about sand play is creating an address position that promotes stability, a consistent sand contact point and a simple, square path through the ball. Here’s how I set about achieving all three.

Danny Willett

When I’m in sand I work on creating pressure towards the target by feeling the shaft and my right arm, shoulder and knee all work through together.

I increase my angles in sand to add stability and help work the SW’s bounce. My irons are slightly upright (short arms) but my wedges are standard as my hands are lower in sand.
   
Danny Willett 

How you can build and maintain a solid platform
In sand I widen my stance and add extra knee flex (1). The lower you are, the more locked your lower body becomes, and the better you have to work your shoulders to hit shots. I enhance that base by feeling extra pressure in my left knee, which retains its position as I swing back (2). This base lets my upper body deliver the club with precision. I then feel my right knee moving subtly towards my left (3) through impact.
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