Breaking 90

Downhill in sand: Set up with your weight on your front side, and hinge your wrists early going back.

Downhill bunker lie

Set weight left, hinge early

By Rafael Alarcon
Photos by J.D. Cuban November 2009

The key to breaking 90 is being able to save strokes from more difficult places, like a downhill lie in a bunker. Use your most lofted wedge, and open the face before taking your grip. Set up with your weight on your front side, then keep your lower body still with very little turn throughout the shot. This helps you maintain your balance.

Your arms should dominate the swing. An early wrist hinge sets up a vertical backswing, allowing you to strike down and through the sand. It takes courage to make a firm, accelerating blow about four inches behind the ball. Make sure the clubhead doesn't pass your hands until the ball is well on its way, and allow for extra roll. You need to practice this shot to pull it off under pressure.

Ball in dvivot hole

Keep your left arm firm

Even after hitting a good shot into the fairway, you could find yourself with a bad lie—in a divot hole (top). One way to handle such an unfortunate break is to play this shot as if it's from a fairway bunker.

Take one more club than you normally would. This will encourage you to swing at 70 percent speed and will make it easier to contact the ball cleanly. Hit down on the ball slightly. As with all shots from bad lies, keep the left arm and wrist firm through impact (bottom).

Remember, the ball flight will be lower than normal. Make sure you have enough height to fly it over a water hazard or bunker fronting the green. Also, the ball will not have as much backspin, so it will roll more when it lands on the green.