Everything you see in these sequences of a regular greenside splash shot is designed to deliver the open clubface on a shallow arc and at speed through the sand – that’s the key to playing these shots well. My hope is that the mental image of skipping a stone across water will help you to go out and replicate the technique in such a way that you are able to take a consistently shallow cut of sand. As opposed to ‘digging’ the clubhead too deeply, the idea is to feel as though you ‘skip’ or skim the clubhead through the sand – just as you would skip a stone on water. A few further pointers on good basic technique:
(1) As you see above, a wide stance can provide the stability that you need to rotate your upper body and create a consistent swing arc. A number of tour players adopt this approach. Think of tracing a wide U-shape with the clubhead as you make your swing, and don’t feel you need to be too wristy – with a light grip pressure your hands will respond naturally to the weight of the clubhead as you swing it.
(2) Let me stress the importance of speed. The thing to remember is that sand is relatively heavy, and unless you generate a certain amount of speed the clubhead simply gets bogged in the sand and decelerates at precisely the moment you need forward (and thus upward!) momentum. This is why you play these shots with a force of swing that is actually disproportionate in relation to the length of the shot. The sand absorbs energy, and so you need to factor that into your strategy. Practice will teach you to gauge the swing-speed required to have the ball pop up and fly the required distance.
(3) All great sand players are creative, and so it’s up to you to go out and experiment with the extent to which you open the face of your sand iron to establish varying degrees of ‘bounce’. Opening the clubface (before you complete your grip) is what gives you ‘bounce’ – i.e. the dynamic that sees the heavy back edge of the club make contact before the leading edge, acting like a rudder to lift both club and ball out.