Fried Egg Solution

My friend Nick Aquilino recently taught me an invaluable shot that every golfer has to attempt. It's a shot that deadens a ball out of a fried egg lie in a bunker so that the ball pops out of the sand but lands softly on the green.

The traditional way of executing this shot is to hood your sand wedge and swing hard through the sand. This might get you out, but you'll be lucky if you can control the ball at all. Nick's method is to take your normal stance and swing, but hit the ball purposely with the hosel of your wedge. It's remarkable how much you can control the ball this way.

I told Nick that he should show Dave Pelz this trick. About 18 months ago, he actually did show Pelz the shot, but Pelz didn't want to listen. If Philly Mick would have known about this shot, he could have gotten up and down on 16 at the Open, and he would have given himself a chance at getting up and down on 18. So, in a way, Mr. Pelz helped Phil lose the Open by not listening to Nick.