Don’t Scoop in the Sand

photo credit: nsaplayer   Scooping the ball out of sand usually ends in failure.  The player gets too wristy forcing them to hit the sand early, causing a fat shot.  Scooping can also cause a thin shot (hitting too close to the ball/or the ball itself) which sends the ball over the green. 

TIPS:  1.)  Draw a ring around the ball, a few inches wider than the ball.  2.)  Open the clubface so that it aims at the target and hover the club over the back of the doughnut ring.  3.)  Open your stance with your weight on your lead side.  4.)  Be aggressive and remove the sand from the middle of the doughnut.

The goal of every bunker shot is to get the ball on the green !

Don’t Quit On It

photo credit: star5112   Deceleration is one of the most common causes of missed bunker shots.  Decelerating, causes the club to take too much sand because there is a lack of power in the forward swing.  In order to be a good bunker player, it is critical to have a positive attitude.

When faced with a long bunker shot, simply do not make your backswing as steep as you ordinarily would.  Drive your arms and hands forward, allowing the club to sweep on a shallow path through the sand.  The ball will come out a little lower and run farther than a typical sand shot.

TIPS:  A)  Point knees forward.  B)  Keep weight on lead foot.  C)  Accelerate hard through the sand.  D)  Make a three-quarter length follow-through, for added control.

Flexed Knees on Bunker Shots

 
photo credit: www.theedinburghblog.co.uk   When playing a bunker shot, one of the most critical parts of the set-up is establishing the correct knee flex.  All great bunker players have a lot of knee flex, they look like they are preparing to sit down.  The good bunker player executes the shot with the arms accelerating through the ball and a full follow-through.  Very little movement occurs in the legs.

Using just the arms during a sand shot means that you will not very likely raise up or drop down during the execution of the shot.  Swinging with just the arms makes it easier to cut through the sand with the clubhead.  Once contact is made with the sand, the club’s bounce will do the rest.

Chipping From a Bunker

photo credit: danperry.com   If you are lucky enough to have a perfect lie and a shallow front bunker lip, a chip shot may be the best play.  This shot requires some good technique.

Use a seven-iron and play the ball in the middle of your stance at address.  Make sure your hands are ahead of the clubface and keep most of your weight on your lead foot.  This shot (as does a long fairway bunker shot) requires that you keep your lower body perfectly still throughout the swing.  Any movement with your legs can mean that you may be faced with the very same location with your next shot.  Your foremost thought, when executing this shot, is that your hands lead the clubhead through the ball.  The ball should be picked cleanly off the sand, unlike a typical explosion shot.

Buried Lies

photo credit: zachd1_618   Here are some tips to help you with your buried sand lies:  1)  Distribute your weight on your left side.  2)  Tilt your spine toward the target.  3)  Spread your feet by at least two feet.  4)  Play the ball well forward.  5)  For increased loft, set your hands low.  6)  Set the clubface open.  7)  Use a very wrist stroke.  8)  Keep your body still as you hit down into the sand about 1 inch behind the ball.  9)  Don’t try to scoop the ball out of the sand.  10)  Make a full follow-through and finish.  11)  Maintain a very weak grip with the right hand (right handed players)  turned counter-clockwise (to the left).  11)  Be certain to break your wrists early on the backswing and make a more upright swing.

Hybrid Bunker Shot

photo credit: bradleypjohnson   Some players are reluctant to use a hybrid out of a bunker but it may be just the club for you, especially if you have a long distance to the green. 

You can make a sweeping swing because of the longer shaft length of a hybrid and the rounded sole cuts through the sand much easier than an iron.  With an iron, amateur golfers tend to catch the ball too fat when executing this shot, not so with a hybrid club. 

TIPS:  1)  Embed your feet an inch or two in the sand.  2)  Grip down to compensate for your lower profile.  3)  Play the ball back in your stance.  4)  Don’t muscle the ball, swing easy and hit it thin if you can.  Good Luck !

Under the Lip

photo credit: foxypar4   When most  players are faced with a ball that lies just below the lip in a sand bunker, panic sets in.  What appears to be an impossible shot, is actually a very playable shot indeed. 

The important goal of this type of shot is to get the ball out of the bunker.  Do this by opening the clubface and taking a big backswing.  On the downswing accelerate down and through the ball but snap the clubface back prior to it reaching the lip of the bunker.  There will be a popping sound and the ball will float right out of the sand.  You can also use a mid iron for this type of shot if you have a long way to your target.  Try this method next time.

Fairway Bunker Shot

photo credit: Andrew Mason   A fairway bunker shot can be a worrisome but with the right know-how, success is just one swing away.  In a fairway bunker, your first concern is the lip height.  If there is a high lip, your biggest concern is getting the ball up and over it, therefore,  choose a club with the right amount of loft.

Playing the shot:  Do not dig your feet into the sand like a normal bunker shot.  With your feet dug in, you are more likely to hit a fat shot.  Keep your  legs very quite during the entire swing.  Hit the ball cleanly, taking little sand.  Many players, to be on the safe side, use one extra club (instead of a 6, use a 5 iron) for these shots.

Bunker Maintenance

photo credit: mandj98   Landing on the “beach” can be a real challenge for the inexperienced golfer.  The two things to be concerned with are getting out of the bunker and repairing the sand to it’s original condition.

On many occasions my golf ball landed in a sand trap that was not properly raked because of a downright lazy and/or careless golfer.  On every course, around every trap there are rakes.  Those rakes are there to level any divot marks in the sand and to make the bunker playable once more.  The rules of golf state that you cannot improve your lie in a bunker so you are left at the mercy of the groups ahead to repair the trap before you play the golf hole.

All of this seems quite elementary but it won’t be if you find your golf ball in the middle of an unrepaired sand trap.

Getting The Distance

photo credit: danperry.com   Because sand is much more resistant than grass, it is necessary to swing harder for bunker shots.  The rule of thumb is 3 to 1,  meaning that if you have a 20 yard explosion shot, take a swing that emulates a 40 yard pitch shot from grass. 

On every sand explosion shot, hit 4 inches behind the ball no matter what the distance to the cup.  Many instructors advocate striking the sand at various distances behind the ball, depending on the length of shot, doing so will breed inconsistency.  To determine the shot distance the only thing that changes (using the 4 inch rule), is the length and speed of the swing.  Using this technique will simplify and improve all bunker shots.

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