Simplifying Bunker Play 

Most amateur golfers are simply in awe when they watch how easily a touring PGA pro blasts the ball out of a bunker with perfect direction, distance, height, and a delicate landing to get down in two. The common thought is to hit behind the ball and hope for the best... and that rarely works with any degree of success or consistency.

Common Mistakes: There are two mistakes people typically make in getting out of the bunker:

1. Squaring the club face to the ball
2. Hitting the sand too far behind the ball

Here's how to solve each of these mistakes when the ball is sitting on top of the sand:

Squared Club Face: Righties - align your body and swing path slightly left of the target. Open the club face so its leading edge is perpendicular to a spot just about the same distance to the right of the target as your swing path is to its left. This will place the target between your swing path and the clubs leading edge. Then, if you execute the shot properly the ball will fly to the target and travel towards the pin. High fives and chest thumps will immediately follow this feat. Lefties should align just the opposite.

Hitting Too Far Behind the Ball: This comes from being uncomfortable in the sand and trying not to pick the ball clean so as to avoid flying the green. The results of this shot are either "chunking" the ball and leaving it in the sand or "skulling" it only to wind up with a variety of unpredictable results - none of which will help your score. This ugly shot occurs when the clubface enters the sand so far behind the ball that it strikes it on the upswing while exiting the sand.

Address this by drawing a line in the sand perpendicular to your target in the middle of your stance and long enough to straddle. Now take your normal bunker swing and notice where the club enters the sand. Take several more natural swings until the entry points become consistent. Then move your stance so the entry point hits the line and place a ball 2 - 3 inches in front of the line. Now swing, still straddling the line, and you should get the ball out of the bunker with a clean shot.  

The PGA touring pros make bunker shots look easy because they practice them endlessly. They are not easy to execute properly with accuracy. If you want to improve your bunker play and accelerate the process spend time with me in some of our bunkers and learn how to do it correctly.

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