Long Range Bunker Shot

photo credit: D.Hilgart   Making a clean strike, without hitting the sand with your clubface, is the key to executing a long range bunker shot.  The first priority is to make sure that you can get over the front lip of the bunker so choose a club with the appropriate loft.  it does no good using a 4 iron if you slam the ball into the bunker’s edge. 

This shot requires precision.  Arrange your stance so you are comfortably seated in the sand and square to the target.  Digging-in slightly with your feet, will lower your center of gravity so choke down on the club about 1 inch.  Once in the address position, play this shot no differently than you would an ordinary fairway shot.

Sideslope Bunker Lie

photo credit: nsaplayer   Just about any shot from a bunker can be very intimidating especially on an uneven slope.  If your ball is on a sideslope and above your feet, try these tips:  1)  Use a square stance and aim slightly right of target (typically, you would use an open set-up and aim left of target).  2)  grip the club with your right hand nearly touching the shaft.  This compensates for the higher level of the ball.  3)  Make your backswing more rounded, taking an inside path which is more behind you than upward.  4)  Swing down on the same path you went back on, moving the clubhead from inside the target line to right of this line through impact (referred to as an in-to-out swing path.

Soft Sand

photo credit: foxypar4   Not all sand found in sand traps is the same because not all sand is created equally, for instance:  The sand found at Augusta National Golf Course (home of The Masters Championship) is made from crushed marble.  Sand can be coarse or soft or fluffy.  If you find yourself in soft sand try the following:

1)  use a sand wedge with extra bounce (bounce is when the sole of the club protrudes well below the leading edge of the blade).  2)  Make contact about 1 inch  behind the ball, if you strike the sand too far back, your club will bounce up and strike the ball in the center and “skull” the shot.  3)  maintain an open clubface and bring the club in a much more upright fashion.  4)  maintain a quiet lower body.

Escaping Hard Sand

photo credit: Zach Dischner   There are several requirements to be successful getting out of a bunker that contains hard sand.  The first requirement is to use a sand wedge with less bounce so that the sole is relatively flat.  With little or no bounce, the leading edge of the blade contacts the sand first, digging in and under the ball.  If your sand wedge has too much bounce, try using your pitching wedge instead.

Square the clubface at address and contact the sand a little closer to the ball than an ordinary explosion shot.  Keep in mind, this type of shot will fly lower and run farther once it lands on the green.  If the sand is super hard, use a pitching wedge and pitch the ball out as you would on hardpan.

In Sand and Under the Lip

photo credit: D.Hilgart   Chi Chi Rodriguez says, “whenever you are buried under the lip of a green-side bunker use your putter instead of the sand wedge.  Turn your putter (if it is a thin, blade style) 90 degrees and “knife” the ball out with the toe of the club.  Aim the toe at a spot behind the ball and set up open.  Make a very steep swing coming down hard so the toe makes contact about a half inch behind the ball:  Hit any closer and the ball will fly over the green;  hit too far away and the ball won’t escape the trap.”

This is, obviously, a shot that takes great courage to play but extremely poor lies sometimes call for extreme shots.

Buried in Sand

photo credit: jurvetson   If you find your ball is buried two-thirds in the sand don’t panic, try the following technique:  1)  Stand with your feet at medium width ( a bit less than shoulder-width).  2)  Open stance slightly (lead toe towards target).  3)  Tilt body towards the target.  4)  Keep most of your weight on lead foot.  5)  Position ball off of your lead heel.  6)  Open your clubface wide.  7)  Keep the clubshaft pushed slightly forward during set-up. 

Your swing should be very upright with a steep downward path.  Keep your weight on lead side and make sure your lower body remains very still throughout the swing.  The open clubface will pop the ball out of the sand for a soft landing.

Playing the Bunker Shot

photo credit: D.Hilgart   Playing a sand shot, using the correct fundamentals, is not difficult.  Follow these tips for better sand play:

1)  Grip your sand wedge high on the handle which encourages a high follow-through.  Don’t quit on the shot.  2)  Grip the club tightly with the ring and little fingers of the left hand (for right handers).  This prevents the clubface from closing as it enters the sand.  3)  Open your stance and dig in slightly with your shoes.  4)  Open the clubface so that it points directly at the target.  5)  At address, the shaft should be pointed at your zipper with hands slightly ahead.  6)  Maintain more weight on your left side.  7)  For the normal explosion shot, hit 2 inches behind the ball.

Bunker Shots Made Easy

photo credit: star5112   Most high-handicappers don’t allow the clubhead to do the work in a bunker, instead they try to scoop the ball.  The sand-wedge is made with what is referred to as “bounce,” which allows the club to cut cleanly into the sand creating an explosion shot.

Address Position:  1)  Hands ahead of the ball.  2)  Weight favoring lead foot.  3)  Play ball off of lead heel.  4)  Open stance.  5)  Don’t ground the clubhead, hover it behind the ball.  6)  Feet flat and solid.  7)  More upright backswing.  8)  Full wrist-cock.  9)  Very little body turn.  10)  Full follow-through.

The sand shot is more of an arms and hands shot.  Maintain minimal body movement.  Follow-through is critical.  Many players give up on the shot and leave the ball in the sand.

Plugged Sand Shot

photo credit: nsaplayer   Nothing strikes fear, in the average golfer, more than a buried lie in the sand.  There are two ways of executing a successful shot:  1)  Place about 70% of your weight on your lead side which will help you hit through the sand.  B)  Shut down the clubface a little. . . Pros open their clubface but they have enough clubhead speed to do so.  Most amateurs do not have that kind of clubhead speed so shutting the clubface helps to ”dig” the ball out.  C)  Hover the clubface two inches behind the ball and aim for that spot.  D)  Since a sand wedge is made to “bounce” off the sand, it would be more beneficial to use a pitching wedge for a buried sand shot.

Hitting From the Bunker’s Edge

photo credit: danperry.com   Facing a shot on the bunker’s edge, where your only stance is in the bunker, is a difficult shot to play without the proper technique:  Try the following:   1)  In your address, stand taller than you normally would.  2)  Bend slightly from the hips at address.  3)  Feel as if you are raising your collarbone which will give you room to swing the club around your body, preventing a chunk.  4)  Widen you stance by moving your forward foot six inches towards the target.  5)  As you swing down, you must allow your head to swing slightly to the left; doing so delays the release of the clubface.

Be sure to practice this shot, although this type of lie is not that common, there will come a time when you need to play it.

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