Hearing your golf buddies or commentators mention a sandy might leave you a bit confused, but this popular piece of golf slang is simpler than it sounds and represents a truly impressive feat. This article will break down exactly what a sandy is, the unwritten rules that govern it, and most importantly, give you a step-by-step coaching guide to help you start making more of them yourself.
In its simplest form, a sandy is when a golfer gets "up and down" from a greenside bunker to make par or better. This means you play a shot from a sand trap next to the green, land the ball on the putting surface, and then sink the subsequent putt in just one stroke.
Let's walk through a quick example:
Congratulations, you just made a sandy! It's a two-shot sequence: one shot out of the bunker, and one putt into the hole. It doesn’t matter what hole you're playing - the requirement is saving par or making birdie after being in a greenside bunker.
A sandy is a fantastic measure of your scrambling ability. It signifies that you turned a poor situation (a missed green) into a successful outcome (a saved par). It demonstrates mental toughness and a sharp short game, as it combines two challenging skills under pressure: bunker play and clutch putting.
While the concept is straightforward, there are a few common understandings and points of debate among golfers that are good to know. The sandy isn't an official PGA Tour statistic or a formal rule in the Rules of Golf, but rather a popular stat tracked for fun and bragging rights among amateurs.
The overwhelming consensus is that a true sandy only applies to greenside bunkers. Hitting out of a fairway bunker, onto the green, and one-putting is a tremendous accomplishment, but it doesn't fit the traditional definition. The term specifically refers to the recovery sequence around the green. If you hit out of a fairway bunker from 150 yards and then sink the putt for par, your friends will be impressed, but they likely won't call it a sandy.
To officially claim a sandy, you must score a par or an electrifying birdie. Getting out of the sand in one and then two-putting for a bogey is called a "sand save" by most people, and it’s certainly not a bad outcome, but it doesn't earn you the prestigious "sandy" designation. The magic number sequence is one shot from the sand and one putt.
While yelling "Sandy!" after holing out is enjoyable, tracking this personal stat can provide real, actionable data about your game. A lack of sandies on your scorecard points to a specific weakness in one of two major areas of your short game.
By asking yourself why you aren't making more sandies, you're essentially performing a self-diagnosis of your game. The answer usually falls into one of these two camps:
Tracking your sandies effectively transforms a fun bit of slang into a powerful diagnostic tool that points you directly toward the parts of your game that need the most attention.
Alright, let's move from theory to practice. As a coach, I love helping players turn weak points into strengths. Getting a sandy requires executing two distinct skills back-to-back. Let's break down how to approach each one.
Getting out of the sand feels intimidating, but it becomes much easier when you understand that you aren't trying to hit the ball at all. You are hitting the sand, and the sand carries the ball out. Here's how to do it.
Your best friend here is typically a sand wedge (SW), which usually has between 54 and 58 degrees of loft. The most important feature of a sand wedge is something called "bounce." Simply put, bounce is the rounded, wide sole of the club that allows it to glide through the sand rather than digging in like a shovel. Using bounce is the secret to a good splash shot.
Your setup is everything in the bunker. An incorrect setup makes a good shot nearly impossible.
This is where it all comes together. Forget about hitting the ball and focus entirely on a point in the sand about 1-2 inches behind it.
Imagine you're trying to scoop a handful of sand and throw it onto the green. The ball just happens to be sitting on that patch of sand. Your one thought should be: splash the sand onto the green.
To do this, use your wrists to hinge the club up somewhat steeply in the backswing. From there, your only job is to swing down and accelerate through your target patch of sand. This is where many golfers fail, they get tentative and slow down at impact. A greenside bunker shot requires speed and commitment. Swing with enough force to send that sand flying out of the bunker and onto the green. Allow your body to rotate through the shot to a full, balanced finish. If you do it correctly, a soft cushion of sand will lift the ball gently into the air and onto the putting surface.
You’ve executed a brilliant sand shot and now you have a putt for the sandy. This is a moment of pressure and opportunity.
Don't rush this process. Your adrenaline might be up from the successful bunker shot. Take a moment to calm yourself. Walk around the putt, examine the break from behind the ball and behind the hole. Bunker shots, especially from fluffy sand, can produce varied amounts of spin, so assess how the terrain looks right around the cup.
A consistent pre-putt routine is your shield against pressure. Whatever it is for you - two practice strokes looking at the hole, a final look from behind the ball, setting your blade - do the exact same thing every single time. This shifts your focus from the outcome to the process, freeing you up to make a smooth stroke.
For most amateurs, speed control is the biggest factor in putting success. A putt with perfect speed has the best chance to fall in. Focus on hitting the ball with enough pace to get it to the hole and maybe trickle a foot and a half past if it misses. Dying the ball into the cup can work, but a more confident, assertive stroke that reaches the hole will often hold its line better and give you the best chance to hear that sweet sound of the ball dropping for a sandy.
A "sandy" is more than just fun golf slang, it’s a hallmark of a great scrambler, achieved by getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker for par or better. Accomplishing this requires a well-executed bunker shot followed by a confident, well-stroked putt.
Mastering these recovery shots takes practice, but sometimes you just need advice when you're standing over a tough shot on the course. This is where our app, Caddie AI, comes into play. For those tricky situations, you can snap a photo of your ball's lie in the bunker, and our AI analyzes the stance, sand condition, and pin location to give you high-level strategic advice on how to best play it. It takes the guesswork out of difficult recoveries so you can swing with the confidence needed to save par and start racking up those sandies.
Thinking about hosting a golf tournament fundraiser is the first swing, executing it successfully is what gets the ball in the hole. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step-by-step, from laying the initial groundwork months in advance to watching your happy golfers tee off. We’ll cover everything from securing sponsors and setting your budget to planning the on-course fun that makes an event unforgettable.
A golf handicap does more than just give you bragging rights (or a reason to demand strokes from your friends) - it’s the game’s great equalizer and the single best way to track your improvement. This guide breaks down what a handicap is, how the supportive math behind a handicap index a is, and exactly how you can get one for yourself. We’ll look at everything from Course Rating to Adjusted Gross Score, helping you feel confident both on the course and in the clubhouse.
The compression of a Pinnacle Rush golf ball is one of its most defining features, engineered specifically to help a huge swath of golfers get more distance and enjoyment from their game. We'll break down exactly what its low compression means, who it's for, and how you can use that knowledge to shoot lower scores.
Figuring out which spikes go into your new (or old) pair of Puma golf shoes can feel like a puzzle, but it’s much simpler than you think. The key isn't the brand of the shoe, but the type of receptacle system they use. This guide will walk you through exactly how to identify your Puma's spike system, choose the perfect replacements for your game, and change them out like a pro.
The Golf Genius app is one of the best tools for managing and participating in competitive golf events, but figuring it out for the first time can feel like reading a new set of greens. This guide cuts through the confusion and shows you exactly how to use the app as a player. We’ll cover everything from logging into your tournament and entering scores to checking the live leaderboard so you can enjoy the competition without any tech headaches.
Walking onto the first tee with sweaty palms, worried you’ll be a good partner to paly wtih...or even asked back again ...We’ve all been there - trust me! The real trick of feeling confortable... is about how you handle you’re ready to plsy. THIS guide explains the simple rules of the rode to show you hnow t play golf while staying calm relaxed and focused... an having much morse fun while you,',re aat it? You'll also play with confidence a dn make fiendsa while you're at i
Just ask a question or share a photo and Caddie gives personalized guidance for every shot - anytime, anywhere.
