A sandy (sandie) is when a player gets up and down from a sand trap.
Up and down means a player only took two shots to get the ball in the hole from where they were.
The exact rules of the game you are playing will dictate precisely what counts as a sandy.
In most gambling games, a sandy must result in a par or better to count.
Sandy Par vs. Sand Save
On the PGA Tour, if a player gets up and down from the sand, it counts as a sand save (the more professional way to say sandie), regardless of whether they save par or not.
For example, say Rory McIlroy is playing a par 4, and his 3rd shot ends up in a greenside bunker.
Rory then hits a great sand shot to 2 feet and taps in for bogey.
This will count as a sand save for his official PGA Tour stats, but in most casual gambling games, this would not be a sandy because he didn’t make par or better.
Ways To Make A Sandie
From A Greenside Bunker
Hitting your 2nd shot on a par 4 or your 3rd shot on a par 5 in a greenside bunker will give you the opportunity for a sandy.
From there, you must get your ball in the hole in two shots: typically a sand shot on the green and a one-putt.
From A Fairway Bunker
These are more likely to happen on Par 5s, although they can occur on par 4s.
Typically, a player hits their 3rd shot into a fairway bunker (likely 30-100 yards from the green), hits their 4th shot on the green, and one-putts to save par.
Sometimes, fairway sandies are worth extra points.
What Is A Sandy Birdie?
There are two main ways to make a sandy birdie.
- Hole out from the sand for birdie.
- Hit your second shot (par 4) or third shot (par 5) onto the green from a fairway bunker and then one putt for a birdie.
There are many other ways to make a sandy birdie.
You could hit your second shot on a par 4 from a fairway bunker into the greenside rough and hole out for birdie.
Or you could hit your second shot on a par 4 from a fairway bunker into a greenside bunker, then hole out for birdie.
As with a regular sandy, as long as you get up and down from a sand trap, it counts.
Related: What Does Up And Down Mean In Golf?
What Is A Double Sandy?
A double sandy is when a player hits the ball in two different sand traps and still makes par.
On a par 4, it can happen when a player hits their tee shot in a fairway bunker, their second shot into a greenside bunker, and then gets up and down for par from there.
On a par 5, it can happen when a player hits their first or second shot into a fairway bunker and then either hits another fairway bunker or a greenside bunker and gets up and down out of the second sand trap for par.
Related: Greenies In Golf. What Are They?