Golf courses without bunkers are few and far between so at some point during your next round it’s likely that you will be faced with playing a shot from the dreaded sand trap.
Most golfers enter a bunker simply hoping to get the ball out, whereas some pros would prefer to be playing from the sand rather than a chip shot from the rough.
It’s impossible to cover all the intricacies of bunker play in one article, but here are some suggestions
that might just help to turn your sand “trap” experiences into a “stroll on the beach”.
From the first day you start playing golf you’re told to keep your eyes on the ball to ensure that the initial contact you make is ‘clubface-on-ball’. This holds true, until such time that you find yourself in
a greenside bunker. You’re then required to strike the sand first (behind the ball) in order to create an explosion that will propel the golf ball up and forward. A high percentage of amateurs attempt to do this whilst still focusing on the back of the ball. What I suggest is that you concentrate and focus on a point an inch or two behind the ball where you need your club to first impact and enter the sand (Pic 1 shows a line of my intended impact point).
Three other tips to help you strike the sand first are:
Wriggle your feet into the sand – this gives you a solid foundation but importantly lowers the arc of your golf-swing (Pic 2).
Don’t choke down the grip – golfers think that this gives them more control but in greenside bunkers it is detrimental to do so as it shortens the length of the club and therefore ‘raises’ the arc at the bottom of the swing.
Make sure that the ball isn’t too far forward in your stance – it should never be further forward than
the inside of your left heel and your impact point into the sand as mentioned should be an inch or two back of that point. (Pic 3 = ball is too far forward and Pic 4 = ball is in correct position).
Try not to “stab” or “dig “your club into the sand. Instead, make a three-quarter backswing and then smoothly accelerate the club into the ‘striking-point’ you have focused on making sure that you follow through. Your club should exit the sand at a point ahead of where the
ball was lying. The ‘wedge’ of sand that you will have exploded will have served to propel the ball upward and forward onto the putting surface.
Remember that only in a fairway bunker must you try to strike the ball before the sand – in greenside bunkers you MUST impact the sand behind the ball to create an explosion of sand.
Practise drill: Place a golf tee on the sand an inch behind your golf ball (Pic 5). This tee-peg
represents where your impact point should be. Set up to the tee and ensure that your sand wedge enters the sand at that point. Try to explode the tee out of the bunker. You will find that doing so will create an explosion of sand that sends your golf ball out of the bunker on a cushion of sand.
Practise these tips from a greenside bunker. I am certain that you will become more confident and will begin relishing the challenge of greenside bunker shots rather than fearing them.