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Hardpan

Conquer Hardpan
By T.J. Tomasi, Ph.D., PGA
Regardless of where you play, you'll eventually face a tough pitch off hardpan.

Hardpan: Term given to an area of the golf course (not bunkers or hazards) on which no grass is growing. Shots from hardpan are among the most difficult as it requires a high level of skill to get the club under the ball from such lies.

Hardpan
A lie consisting of very hard turf.
Hazard
Any bunker or permanent water including any ground marked as part of that water hazard. Special rules apply when playing from a hazard.

Hardpan: Very firm turf.
Hazard: Can be either sand or water. Don't ground your club in hazards - it's against the rules!
Head cover: Protection for the clubhead, usually used on woods.

hardpan Area of the golf course (not bunkers or hazards) on which no grass is growing.
heel The part of the clubhead closest to the shaft.
hit a club Term to describe the distance a player can hit a particular golf club.

Hardpan: Any compressed hard surface, devoid of grass. Usually hard packed sand. Plays differently from a normal bunker.

Hardpan : Very firm, unyielding ground. Especially if there is little grass. Example: You can find a lot of hardpan on hot dry plains courses which often results in tons of roll.

Hardpan :
The key to playing off hard- pan is making contact with the ball first because you don't have the same margin for error that you do from soft grass. If you hit the ground first, the club will bounce into the ball and shoot it low and long.

hardpan

Bare areas (not bunkers or hazards) on a golf course where it is extremely difficult to properly hit a ball.

A hardpan lie, is when the ball comes to rest on the bare ground.
This can be under a tree, a worn area around a green, where everyone travels, when coming and going on and off the green, ...

From any sort of hardpan or firm lie, your best option is to punch the ball. The idea is to trap or pinch it, by pulling the club into the back of the ball.

Handling Summer Hardpan
"The Bare Facts"
For full shots from hardpan, a normal set-up and swing will be effective as long as you hit the ball before the ground.

hardpan very firm, unyielding ground (many times bare)
Example: You can find a lot of hardpan on hot dry plains courses.

I suggest if your lie is manicured light fringe, baked hardpan or a pressure situation, use the putter. The ball seems to generally get closer to the hole when it's running low to the ground.

ord=Math.random()*10000000000000000; on which no grass is growing. Shots from hardpan are among the most difficult as it requires a high level of skill to get the club under the ball from such lies.

On a course with lush fairways and noticeable rough, more bounce is likely to help. No rough and tight fairways (or even hardpan) means less bounce is desirable.