Hitting Those Tricky Bunker Shots
By Jack Moorehouse
Most weekend golfers hate buried bunker shots. At least, that's the feeling I get from students taking my golf lessons. They lack the confidence needed to hit these shots well, the result of a lack of practice and confusion over technique, so they dread hitting them. While we can't force you to practice more, we can provide some golf tips on hitting bunker shots. They'll not only get you out of the bunker in one, they'll also minimize the impact of buried balls on your golf scores and golf handicap.
Most weekend golfers know the basics behind bunker shots. You hit the sand slightly behind the ball. The tapped sand forces the ball forward and up. The sand wedge, with additional bounce, assists in the process. By opening up your stance and aiming left of the target (for right-handers), you get the ball to go in the proper direction. At impact, the club slows down considerably, forcing the golfer to pay close attention to the follow-through. Some teachers recommend digging your feet in the sand, others don't.
Here are five keys to the shot:
* Assume a slightly open stance.
* Place the ball opposite and in the middle of the front foot.
* Rotate the face of the sand wedge open by 20 degrees
* Take a backswing about three times as long as a pitch shot
* Hit the sand about an inch or two behind the ball
This approach works well on standard bunker shots. But what about bunker shots where the ball is buried or "trapped"?
Slightly Buried Ball
It depends on how deeply buried the ball is and how high the bunker's edge is. Basically, if the ball is slightly buried and the bunker's edge is high, open the face of the sand wedge. If the ball is slightly buried and the bunker's edge isn't high, the clubface must be upright or slightly closed. With a deeply buried ball, you might have to hit the ball laterally or even backwards to get out in one.
With a slightly buried ball, open the club face about 10 degrees. Play the ball off your back foot, so that it's just slightly to the left of the center of your stance. The club will hit the ground slightly before hitting the ball. Since the player's center of gravity is somewhat above his front foot, the club hits the sand a bit more steeply, carving out a shallow divot. When the ball is only slightly buried, use a slightly longer backswing and follow-through than you would for an unburied bunker shot.
Buried Ball
With a really buried ball, the clubface needs to hit the sand at a steeper angle to lift the ball in the air. But be careful. If the clubface hits the ground too early, it slows the clubhead too much and the ball never makes it out of the bunker. With more sand to push out of the way, you need more clubhead speed. Positioning the ball closer to your back foot helps.
The position of the hands remains unchanged from a standard bunker shot. They should be in front of the ball, as seen from the target. This assures a steeper angle of attack, assuming the hands are in the same position when the club meets the ball. This position also allows the clubhead to cut deeper into the sand.
At impact, the clubface is straight. If the ball is really buried, though, you may even want to close the clubface even more. This brings the front edge of the club head behind the lower edge, so that it digs deeper into the sand. (Flex the wrists earlier, too.) Since the clubface is in an upright position, it must be parallel to the intended target line and should follow the hands during the follow-through.
Because of the large amount of sand involved, the backswing must be even longer than for standard bunker shots or slightly buried balls. When compared to your standard bunker shots, the ball will start out on a much flatter curve and roll farther after hitting the ground.
Here's a final golf tip: Forget about holing out! Because of the difficult lie, figure on three shots at a minimum—the bunker shot and two putts—to complete the hole. Even the pros stay conservative with this type of shot. They average two and a half shots from all lies in the bunker, which means that half the time they need two bunker shots to hole out. Practice these techniques and you'll find that bunker shots won't hurt your golf scores or golf handicap.
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.
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