Watching the ball land in a greenside bunker leaves most golfers feeling frustrated and discouraged. Hitting out of that bunker proves to be an even more frustrating task.
However, following these steps should help take the fear out of bunker shots, and help you develop a consistent bunker shot — which is, in fact, the easiest shot in golf because you don’t need to actually hit the ball.
1. Setup:
The sand wedge is designed to bounce through the sand rather than dig in. Set yourself up open to the line of the shot. See the photo — the arrow points along the line parallel to your body and the line shows the path the ball will follow. Practice hitting sand out of the practice bunker. Get used to the feeling of hitting a large dollop of sand out of the bunker.
2. Top of the backswing:
As you can see in the photo, the shaft of the club points at the ball. This will help you make better contact with the sand without manipulating the club.
3. Impact:
Don’t hit the ball; hit the sand anywhere from 1-3 inches behind the ball. If you try to hit the ball out of a bunker like you were out on a fairway, the ball will likely sail over the green (and most likely into another bunker!).
4. Follow-through:
You will notice as you practice this shot that your swing follows the line of your body and does not go toward the target. In this photo, you will see that the ball has moved down the other line toward the target. If you swing toward the target, more often than not you will fail this test.
Demonstrating each step is David Flynn, a sophomore at Wheaton Academy who has competed in the U.S. Junior Championships at ages 13 and 14 and was one of the youngest players ever to qualify for the Matchplay Competition at 13.
Source: Ian Grant, whose columns appear in GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers. He is a PGA teaching professional and a member of the teaching faculty of the PGA of America. He can be found at Oak Brook Golf Club in the summer and White Pines Golf Dome in Bensenville in the winter. You can contact Ian at (708) 917-8951, or by e-mail: iansgolf@aol.com.