The Bunker

Bunker Shots

There are various techniques for getting out of sand, but using the same principle as the flop shot is very effective. The main difference is that you hit the sand first, not the ball. If you were to take a divot with a practice swing (which is not permitted during play) the ball would have been in the center of that divot.

Just like the flop shot, let the club do the work and keep the arms and center moving to a follow through. If you want to get the ball up faster, hinge your wrists in the back swing.

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A good rule of thumb for soft sand and good lies is to open your stance and your club face. For bad lies, wet or hard sand, square your stance and close your club face. Remember: hit the sand first and follow through keeping your arms and center moving.

Keep in mind it is against the rules to ground the club in a hazard and test the depth of the sand. You are permitted to take a fair stance, so moving your feet to get a balanced position is permissible.



A typical bunker shot calls for an open stance, an open clubface, and a nice shallow swing while taking a little bit of sand. That will not work with a plugged lie, regardless of how hard you swing. Your club will be approaching from too shallow an angle. You will hit the sand to the RIGHT of the ball, instead of hitting the sand UNDERNEATH the ball. Thus, your club will just bounce, or deflect into the ball. Worse yet, you will plow too much sand into the back of ball and it will go nowhere, just like the pro I saw on TV. You need to get below the ball somehow.

Here's what I recommend from a buried lie in a greenside bunker:

1. Set up with a bit squarer stance.
2. Square the clubface a bit also. This will allow for the leading edge to enter the sand first.
3. Pick the club up steeper, and then swing down steeper and stick the club in the ground. Hit about 1-3 inches behind the ball. You can swing hard, just don't follow through. You won't be able to follow through if you make the correct swing, because you will be coming down too steep. That's good!

This is not a shot that you will face a lot, but I still think it is worth practicing. Go to a practice trap and step on a couple balls to bury them a little. Then hit some shots. Experiment a bit. Especially get the feeling of that up and down "chopping" motion, and that no follow through release. By doing so, you will find that this shot is not really that hard to get out of the bunker.


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Here is a checklist for you when you enter the dreaded fairway bunker:

1. Take one or two extra clubs.
2. Place the ball a little farther back in stance than normal.
3. Dig in a little (sand is slippery if you don't get to the bottom of it!)
4. Now for the fun part'swing while keeping your lower body as still as possible.

A couple of good images to help achieve this are to "freeze your lower body like a camera tripod", or pretend like you are "playing on ice".

Use these thoughts on shots from about 80 yards and up. Anything less than that is a separate animal altogether and takes a few adjustments. I will get to that in a future tip.

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The Swing

Greenside Bunker

With a good lie, the ball should be placed left center in the stance. The stance itself should be very open, with you half facing the target. This allows you to open the face of the wedge and use the "bounce" or the flange of the club. Now aim at the area behind the ball (approximately 1 1/2") and swing through, taking a divot of sand. The ball will be in the middle of the divot and come out softly. The distance the ball will travel depends on the texture of the sand and how hard you swing.

With a buried lie, the ball should be addressed off the right foot, and should assume a square stance. The blade of the wedge will be hooded (or closed). You simply swing the club up abruptly and drive the leading edge of the wedge into the sand about 1" behind the ball. This chopping action will force the ball up and out of the trap. This shot is very unpredictable as to the amount of roll. Your expectations should be realistic.

Fairway Bunker

Fairway bunkers are as often placed for protection as they are for penalty. Often a shot that is hit astray will be saved from going into the woods or a hazard by a fairway bunker.

Club selection is the key: choose a club with enough loft to easily clear the lip of the bunker.

For good execution, the ball must be struck cleanly. Follow these three tips for good contact:

1. Take one extra club and shorten 1" on the grip.
2. Play the ball right center in the stance.
3. Try to strike the middle of the ball

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PGA top 10 Bunker Shots.....