Q: I am quite good at playing greenside bunker shots, however I can never get my fairway bunker shots out more than 50 yards. Should I be using a different technique to that of greenside shots?

A: Yes. The technique for fairway bunkers should follow this procedure:

1: Pick a club with one more loft than you think can get you over the lip.

2: Stand on top of the sand rather than wriggling your feet in, as this will encourage a cleaner strike.

3: Position the ball opposite the left heel, again to encourage a clean strike.

4: Finally, make a three-quarters swing to minimise wrist action.

All of the above are geared to encourage a clean strike out of a fairway bunker. If the club digs into the sand at all then your length of shot will be greatly reduced.

Q: Why do most golfers take their gloves off when putting/chipping?

A: This is simply because the glove is only worn to improve the player's grip on the club. Because this is not such a major factor when chipping or putting, more "feel" is achieved by taking it off. A notable exception to this is Jack Nicklaus who always putts with his glove on.

Q: I have developed a mental block when playing the 18th hole on my home course. It is a long par four with trees on the right and deep bunkers on the left. No matter how hard I try, I end up in one or the other and invariably take six or worse. What can I do?

A: Through my own experiences, I have found that there are two ways you can deal with this situation. The first is the usual cop-out method which involves taking a shorter club from the tee to stay out of trouble. This can be effective but, as it is a long par four, you'll be struggling to reach the green.

This is a sensible method to employ if you are on a good score. The second solution is much more fun and will tackle the problem of your mental block: the key is to take the result of your shot out of your thought process when preparing for your drive. When you get overly concerned about the result of a shot, it leads to tension and the usual result is a steered or rushed shot which ends up in the wrong spot. So, the drill is as follows:

1: Take the driver out and make the two smoothest swings you can.

2: Pick the best line down the fairway and picture the ball flying down that line.

3: Address the ball and say to yourself that you are going to concentrate on making the smoothest swing you can. That is the only thing that matters.

If the ball sails down the fairway, then great. If it still ends up in either hazard, at least you focused on something you can control rather than worrying about the result and your chances of hitting the fairway next time are greatly increased.

Q: How do golfers qualify for the European Tour?

A: Amateurs have to prove that they can play to a handicap of scratch or better before they enter Stage I of the school. If they reach the final stage, then they have to turn professional. There are three stages to the European Tour School:

Stage I - held on three courses in England and one in France with about 125 players at each venue - comprises all golfers who have no significant ranking on the tour during the current season.

The top 20 per cent from each course advances to Stage II which is held in the Barcelona/Gerona region where they compete with those players who have average rankings on second tier tours such as the Challenge Tour.

Again there are 125 players on each course with about 20 per cent going through to the final stage. The final qualifying school is made up of players who have qualified from stage II and those who have finished outside the top 115 on the European Tour and between 16 and 45 on the Challenge Tour.

This is held in San Roque in the south of Spain at the end of November and is played over six rounds with a cut (top 70) after four rounds. The top 35 players win a tour card for the next season and the remainder get playing rights on the Challenge Tour. So, all in all, there will be about 1,200 players competing for 35 cards.

Golfing queries should be sent to sports@irish-times.ie or Ask The Pro, c/o Sports Desk, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2.