Golf Tips » May 2001: Great bunker play!

Watching the touring Pros hitting the ball out of a greenside bunker makes it look like an easy shot. However, to the average golfer who attends my golf schools, this is a difficult and intimidating shot. We need to clarify the technique to make the process a little easier.

Like Real Estate agents who say the key to success is Location, Location, Location, the key to good bunker play is Technique, Technique, Technique. Without good technique you will never be a good bunker player, and with poor technique you will very seldom get the ball out of the bunker, never mind close to the hole!!

Here are the keys to good technique:

Address Position

1. Weight is slightly on the front foot
2. The ball position is about 2” inside the front foot.
3. The stance is slightly open

Backswing

Control the distance of the ball flight by controlling your backswing. Try swinging the club to various positions on the backswing using the same “clock” technique I use in my pitching article ( see Pitching – Try the Clock Method) and see how far the ball flies with each position. This will help you determine the correct strength for each particular distance.

Downswing

This is where things start to unravel for most amateur golfers. The biggest key is

START THE DOWNSWING WITH THE TORSO AND NOT WITH THE ARMS!!

If you start down with the arms there will be a tendency to hit too far behind the ball causing the ball to stay in the bunker.

The second biggest key is

KEEP THE LEFT ARM STRAIGHT THROUGHOUT THE IMPACT AREA!!

If the left arm breaks down, you are shortening the distance between you and the ball and a “sculled” shot results, with the ball either slamming into the face of the bunker, or screaming over the green.

Follow-Through

Finish your bunker shots with an abbreviated follow-through, again to control the distance. But – there must be a follow-through. If the club stops in the sand, again the ball will stay in the bunker.

Practice

The one area of the game most amateurs never practice is bunker play and the most common excuse I hear is “The practice facility I practice at does not have a bunker.” If this is the case, find out when the last tee time is at the club you play, go out onto the course when there is no one behind you, drop two or three balls into a bunker on each hole and hit some bunker shots. If you do this for 9 holes you will have had about 27 practice shots in a bunker. Do this once a month working on the techniques discussed, and not being too concerned about results, and I can assure you, you will be a better bunker player.