In fairway bunkers, career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy doesn’t ‘push’. He learned this the hard way after driving into the fairway bunker on the second hole at Augusta National in 2011, getting too aggressive on the recovery and hitting the lip [pictured].
“I remember in the final round in 2011, hitting it in that bunker off the tee at the second hole and thinking, Oh, this isn’t good. I can’t go for this in two,” McIlroy says. “I walk up there today, and it’s like, No, if I lay it up to a good number, I’ll have a good chance to make a birdie.”
Squeezing out a few extra metres for taking more risk of hitting the lip simply isn’t worth it. Always choose the longest possible club that will guarantee you clear the lip.
getty images/David Cannon
