| How to Hit a Bunker Shot in Golf Posted: 29 Dec 2020 12:00 AM PST No, no, no, not the sand! There's nothing worse than watching your ball get stuck in a bunker—a.k.a the beach. But don't worry, it's not the end of the world. With the right approach and swing, you can nail that bunker shot, get out of the sand trap, and get on the green. [Edit]Stance and Setup - Choose a sand wedge for a bunker shot. A sand wedge is a club with a higher angle that's specially designed to bounce off of the sand and propel the ball into a nice trajectory that's up and out of the sand trap. Pull out your sand wedge to give yourself a better chance at hitting a solid bunker shot.[1]
- Some more skilled players may choose a lob wedge, but they can be trickier to use for bunker shots if you're a beginner.
- Choose between a 56-58° sand wedge, which will help you get enough lift on the ball to get it over the lip of the bunker.
- Take a wide stance with your weight in your front foot. Stand with your feet a little wider than you would for a shot from the fairway—around shoulder-width or a little bit wider.[2] Keep most of your weight in your front foot (the foot closest to the area where you're aiming).[3]
- A slightly wider stance will add more stability, which you may need since you're standing in sand.
- Keeping your weight in your front foot helps you avoid a shallow angle with your club when you swing, which can cause the clubhead to catch the ball rather than the sand beneath it.
- Position yourself so the ball is in line with the inside of your front heel. As you're lining up for your shot, take a stance that places the ball more forward than you would for a standard shot. Stand so the ball is even with the inner part of the heel of your front foot, which will help you get underneath it and launch it over the lip of the bunker more easily.[4]
- If you stand with the ball lined up in the center of your stance, you'll have a tough time getting enough loft to escape the bunker.
- Lay the clubhead so the face is open to the sky. Place the clubhead about behind the ball, which is exactly where you want to enter the sand when you swing.[5] Open up the face of the clubhead, which is the part that makes contact with the ball, so it's facing straight up.[6]
- Opening up the clubface allows you to add more loft, or lift, to the shot, which can help you get the ball out of the bunker.
- Grip the club with your hands about from the top. Take hold of the golf club with your lead arm (the one closest to your target) and interlock your index finger with the pinkie of your other hand to create an interlocking grip. Choke up slightly on the club so your hands are about away from the top of the club.[7]
- You can also grip the club like a baseball bat if it's more comfortable.
- Choking up on the club makes it easier for you to add more loft to your shot.
- Keep your front arm straight and bring the club behind you. Start your backswing by moving your arms to bring the club behind you. Keep your lead arm locked straight and allow your rear arm to bend as needed to continue moving the club further behind you.[8]
- Keep the motion nice and smooth for a clean shot. Jerky, snappy movements can cause the ball to smack into the bunker wall.
- Try to stay as relaxed and calm as you can to make your shot smoother.
- Use your backswing to control the distance of your shot. The further you move the club behind you, the more powerful your swing will be. Choose the length of your backswing based on how far you're trying to send the ball out of the bunker.[9]
- For instance, if you're in a bunker and the pin (the flag) is right next to you, you'd use a shorter backswing to avoid sending the ball flying past the green.
- It can take lots of practice for you to figure out your backswing.
- Accelerate the clubhead forward and commit to the swing. As soon as your club reaches the length of your backswing that you want, start moving it forward. Avoid slowing down or stopping the club as you swing it forward. Keep your speed consistent and commit to a clean and smooth stroke.[10]
- Stopping short or slowing down your club can ruin your shot and keep you stuck in the bunker.
- Hit the sand about before the ball. Swing your club forward and make contact with the clubhead just before the ball. Hit the sand itself and not the ball, which will allow your sand wedge to get underneath the ball and create enough loft to get it up and over the lip of the bunker.[11]
- Hitting the ball with the edge of the sand wedge, also known as blading the ball, won't give it any loft and can cause it to nail the side of the bunker wall.
- If you hit too short of the ball, you'll bury the clubhead in the sand and won't hit the ball with enough force to get out of the bunker. It's got to be in the sweet spot just before the ball.
- Follow through with your club to create a smooth swing. After your clubhead makes contact with the sand and ball, continue swinging the club forward to follow through. Avoid stopping short or burying your clubhead into the sand or the ball may not go where you intend it to. Use a solid follow through to make your swing nice and smooth.[12]
- Always always always follow through with your swing!
- Practice with different backswing lengths to find your range.[13]
[Edit]References |
| How to Do Clipper over Comb Posted: 28 Dec 2020 04:00 PM PST Do you want to cut hair quickly but still have it look good as it grows out? If you're cutting a shorter or medium-length hairstyle, using the clipper over comb method works great. This fundamental technique makes it easy to blend length and give hair a tapered look. While it's really hard to do clipper over comb if you're cutting your own hair, you can easily give someone else a haircut using it. With a little bit of patience and practice, you can give someone a style that they're sure to be happy with! [Edit]Preparing Their Hair - Position the person so their head is at your eye level. If you're working in a barbershop or salon, raise the person's seat so it's easier to see where you're working. If you're cutting hair at home, try to find a tall chair where they can sit down. If you need to, put something on the seat to raise them up even more.[1]
- Wet the person's hair with a spray bottle. Clippers work best when you get the person's hair damp, so fill up a spare spray bottle with some clean water. Spritz the water onto their hair to make it easier to comb through and section off. If you get their hair too wet, just lightly dry it with a towel so it's still a little damp.[2]
- Avoid leaving their hair dripping wet since it could clump together and make your cut look uneven.[3]
- Comb their hair with a wide-toothed comb. You won't want to cut through tangled hair since it might affect the finished look of the haircut. Start from the top of the person's head and slowly pull a comb down toward the bottom of their hairline. If you hit a tangle, gently work through it without ripping or breaking through their hair.[4]
- Combing their hair also helps you see how it naturally lays against their head so you can give them a cleaner cut.
- Section off the top of their hair along their natural part. Everyone has a natural part shaped like a horseshoe where the top of their scalp meets the sides of their head. Comb all of the hair on top of the person's head forward so you can see their part. That way, you won't accidentally cut off too much hair or give the person an unnatural part.[5]
- If the person has long hair that keeps falling back down, use a hair clip to secure it on top of their head.
[Edit]Setting Length - Start on the same side of their head as your dominant hand. It's a lot easier to see what you're cutting when you move from your dominant side to your non-dominant side. Start on the right side of their head if you're right-handed or the left side if you're left-handed. Always stand directly in front of the section of hair you're working on so you can see it clearly.[6]
- Hold a handled comb in your non-dominant hand. Use a wide-toothed comb if you're cutting off a large volume of hair or a fine-toothed comb if you're blending a shorter haircut.[7] Position your comb so the teeth point up. Pinch the base of the handle with your index finger and thumb. Loosely wrap your other fingers around the lower half of the handle so the comb doesn't slip around while you're using it.[8]
- Depending on the hairstyle they want, you may start off with a wider comb to trim off more hair and switch to a smaller comb when you're finishing up.
- Comb up from the base of their hairline so the teeth point up. Place your comb just below the person's hairline and press it lightly against their head. Keep the comb's teeth pointed straight up so it moves easily through their hair. When you see hair poking through the teeth near the bottom of the comb, hold it in place.[9]
- Only focus on a section of hair that's about wide so it's easier to work with.[10]
- If you want to make their hair look like it has more volume, try positioning the comb diagonally instead of horizontal.
- To remove weight and volume but keep the length, hold the comb so it's perpendicular to the floor instead.
- Pull the hair out from their head to the desired length. For longer hair, this determines the base length for the rest of the haircut. Keep your comb with the teeth pointed up and slowly pull it away from the person's scalp. When you're happy with the length, rest your ring finger against the person's head so you don't move your hand around.[11]
- If you're cutting the hair shorter, you can leave the base of the comb against the person's scalp.
- Tilt your comb away from their scalp if you want to taper the length. Clipper over comb is great for creating a fade or tapered hairstyle. Keep your comb still and slowly twist the teeth toward you. With the comb angled, you'll cut the hair near the bottom of their head shorter and leave some of the length as you get closer to the top.[12]
- If the person wants the same length rather than a tapered look, keep the comb's teeth pointed toward the ceiling.
- Move your clippers straight across the comb to cut their hair. Since you're using the comb as a guide for their hair length, don't use any guard or attachment on your clippers. Hold the comb steady so it doesn't move around when you make your cut. Hold the clippers in your dominant hand and press it against the side of your comb. Slowly move the clippers from one side of the comb to the other to cut any of the hair that's sticking out through the teeth.[13]
- If you're right-handed, cut from right to left. If you're left-handed, make your cut from left to right.
- Make sure you keep the clippers flat against the side of the comb. Otherwise, you'll cut the person's hair unevenly.
[Edit]Blending Their Hair - Comb out the section of hair just above where you cut. Working in vertical sections of hair makes it a lot easier to give the person a clean and even haircut. Run your comb up from the section of hair you just cut into the uncut hair right above it. Overlap the new section of hair with the top of the first section so you can use it as a guide for the right length.[14]
- Angle the comb until the shortest hairs don't extend past the teeth. You'll have some of the hair you just cut near the base of your comb so they'll be your guides. Pull the comb away from the person's scalp or tilt the teeth toward you until you can't see the shorter hairs anymore. The hair near the top of the comb will still stick through the teeth.[15]
- Be careful not to cut the guide hairs from the previous section since it will make the haircut look uneven.
- Trim their hairs with your clippers so they blend in with the lower section. Hold your comb steady and run the clippers over the teeth. Comb their hair down so the 2 sections you cut blend together and have a uniform or tapered look depending on the style they want.[16]
- If you notice some stray long hairs in the sections you cut, comb up through the section again and trim them to the same length.
- Keep working up their scalp until you reach the top. Continue cutting up the side of the person's head in small sections so you maintain a consistent length. As you're working, comb the hair down so you can see if there are any long hairs you missed so you can trim them down. Once you reach the top of the section, you can keep moving on.[17]
- Cut in sections around their head until you reach the other side. Place your comb at the bottom of their hairline to start the next vertical section of the haircut. Try to overlap the sections slightly so you can keep using the hair you already cut as guides for the length. Continue working in vertical sections around the back of their head until you finish on the opposite side.[18]
- Take a few steps back and check that the lengths are even on both sides of the person's head when you're finished.
- Cut off less off the length when you're first starting off so you don't trim it too short. You can always go back and trim off more if you need to.[19]
[Edit]Warnings - It can be really difficult to cut your own hair using the clipper over comb method. If you're trying to give yourself a haircut, use the plastic guards that come with your clippers instead.
[Edit]Things You'll Need - Spray bottle
- Towel
- Wide-toothed comb
- Hair clip
- Fine-toothed comb
- Electric clippers
[Edit]References |
| How to Trim Lucky Bamboo Plants Posted: 28 Dec 2020 08:00 AM PST When you think about lucky bamboo plants, you probably picture a small bamboo plant growing in a container. While this is usually the case, lucky bamboo plants can grow up to tall and the leaves can reach long! Fortunately, you can prune lucky bamboo whenever you like and even save the cuttings to start a whole new plant. [Edit]Lucky Bamboo Pruning - Disinfect pruning shears before you start trimming the plant. Lucky bamboo plants are hearty, but they can become infected if you don't clean the shears before trimming. Fortunately, it only takes a minute! Take your clean garden shears and dip a cloth in 70-100% alcohol like isopropyl alcohol. Wipe it across both sides of the blades and you're all set.[1]
- Don't have pruning shears? Regular scissors are totally fine as long as you disinfect them.
- To make it even easier to disinfect, keep a few packets of alcohol wipes near your garden supplies.
- Cut off leaves that have yellowed tips. The ends of the leaves can turn yellow if the plant's not getting enough water or it's getting too much sunlight. Instead of yanking the leaves off, take disinfected shears or scissors and cut the leaves off where they meet the stalk.[2]
- It's really important to cut the entire leaf instead of just the yellow part. This is because partially trimming the leaf can introduce bacteria and make your plant sick.
- Don't forget to address the cause of the yellow leaves. Always keep of fresh water in the container and put it in indirect light.
- Pull away dead leaves as the plant grows. It's easy to panic if you notice dead, dry leaves on your plant, but don't worry! Dying leaves are normal because the old leaves die off as new growth comes in. If the plant is putting out healthy growth, the leaves simply dry up, so you can pull them down and off of the stalk.[3]
- Your plant will look better and put more energy towards growth once you trim the dead leaves.
- Cut straight across the top of your plant if you want to shorten the lucky bamboo. Topping just means that you cut off the leaves and top of the stalk. It also encourages the bottom of the plant to put out new shoots and leaves, so topping is a good idea if you want the plant to fill out. To top your plant, take disinfected shears and straight across the top. It's totally up to you how much you want to cut off.[4]
- Cutting the stalk stops it from growing, but it will send up shoots right below the cut you made.
- Want to give your lucky bamboo a slight trim? You don't have to cut off the top of the stalk. Just cut off the leaves from the top of the plant instead.
- Trim offshoots that look straggly. Lucky bamboo puts on leafy shoots from the main stalk as it grows. If your plant is looking too bushy for your liking or the offshoots are growing crookedly, clip off the shoot from the main stalk.[5]
- Don't want the offshoots to grow back? No problem! Just cut the offshoot where it meets the main stalk.
- Throw away stalks that are brown or mushy. Although lucky bamboo plants are easy to grow, they can start to rot if you forget to change their water. If this does happen, work fast! Take out any stalks that are brown, black, or squishy since you can't nurse them back to health and they could make other stalks sick.
- If the stalks aren't too bad yet and you think you can heal them, cut off yellow parts and stick the stalks into a separate container with fresh water.
[Edit]Propagation - Cut a leafy offshoot from a stalk of lucky bamboo. Choose a healthy, green stalk of bamboo that has at least 2 nodes and a leafy offshoot that's at least long. Then, take disinfected shears and cut the offshoot where it meets the stalk.[6]
- Nodes look like rings or joints around the bamboo stalks and offshoots usually grow near them.
- Trim the bottom of the offshoot to give it a straight edge. If your cutting has a lot of leaves near the base, pull off the leaves near the bottom so you can see the new stalk. Then, use shears to cut straight across the bottom so the stem isn't at an angle.[7]
- Don't forget to do this step or you'll have trouble getting your new lucky bamboo to stay upright in its new container!
- Put the cutting into a jar with distilled water and pebbles. Fill a clean jar or container with of distilled water, then add a layer of pebbles to the bottom. Stick the cutting straight down into the pebbles.[8]
- The pebbles anchor the cutting so it stays completely vertical and the roots grow evenly.
- Change out the water every week. Stick your cutting in a spot where it gets indirect light and leave it alone until you see roots grow out of the bottom. The only maintenance you need to do in the meantime is to switch out the water once a week. In about 2 months, you should see a few roots growing from the bottom of your lucky bamboo![9]
- Feeling impatient? It's totally fine to remove the cutting if it's put out shoots after a month. The amount of time it takes for the cutting to grow roots is really variable, so your cutting may be ready a lot sooner than an older cutting.
- Transfer your cutting to a vase with water once you see roots. Once you see a few roots from the bottom of the cutting, you're ready to display the lucky bamboo! Place your new lucky bamboo plant into a decorative vase or container that has pebbles in the bottom. Remember to pour of distilled water into it before you stick the lucky bamboo down into the pebbles.[10]
- For a fuller display, put the new bamboo into a vase or container that has older, established lucky bamboo stalks.
- Don't forget to change the water! Replace the water once a week so it's always fresh for your plant.
- Use a cute mug or small jug as a vase for your lucky bamboo. You can pick up unique containers at garage sales or thrift stores.
[Edit]Things You'll Need [Edit]Lucky Bamboo Pruning - Pruning shears or scissors
- 70-100% alcohol like isopropyl alcohol
- Cloth
- Lucky bamboo plant
[Edit]Propagation - Pruning shears or scissors
- Container
- Pebbles
- Lucky bamboo plant
[Edit]References |
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