Improve Your Bunker Play
POOR BUNKER PLAY can
ruin good rounds of golf quickly. Playing out of bunkers really isn’t too diffi cult once you have the right technique and prac- tice until you can hit the shot consistently. Most golf courses will have green- side bunkers to practice from. Practice from fairway bunkers is more challenging for players because many practice facilities don’t have them available. There are several ways
you can improve your fair- way bunker game without even practicing. If you’re in a fairway bunker that doesn’t have too high of a lip, try putting the ball back in your stance two-four inches. This will help you connect with the ball before the sand. Be aggressive through
impact; don’t try and help the ball up. Let the loft of the club in your hand get the ball up in the air. If you’re up against the lip the best thing to do is take a club with some loft and hit the ball back in the fairway and try to minimize the damage. A common mistake with
many golfers in a fairway bunker is once they set up to the ball they dig their feet in. This can cause you to hit the sand fi rst. You want to stay level with the
70 NCGA Golf SPRING 2010
ball in a fairway bunker. Another common mistake is choking up on the golf club. You want to set up to the ball just like you were in the fairway but with the ball back in your stance a little bit. When you’re hitting out of a fairway bunker you need to be very precise so you want hardly no lower body movement through the swing. Taking an extra club depending on the lie will help with solid ball contact as well. Playing out of a green- side bunker can be diffi cult but with proper stance and the correct golf club it becomes much easier. For a short greenside bunker shot use a club with loft like a sand or lob wedge. When you set up to the shot you want to have the clubface slightly open to help get the ball airborne faster. Remember that when you open the club it points the face to the right so you must compensate and aim a few feet left of your de- sired target. Unlike fairway bunker shots you want to dig your feet into the sand because you are looking to slide the club underneath the golf ball. Depending on the distance of the shot, draw a line in the sand two-four inches behind the ball and practice having the
By Scott Beville, Poppy Ridge Golf Professional
One of the most intimidating aspects of golf is playing out of bunkers.
Do not dig your feet into the sand when playing from the fairway.
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