Many  golfers might think that every bunker shot is a shot from hell. There is one particular bunker shot that produces feelings of anxiety and at times have you reaching for the calculator to work out your score for that hole. There are three options available when faced with this shot.

1) Play the shot as it lies.
2) Declare the ball unplayable.
3) Attempt to hit to the side.

Attempting to hit the ball to the side doesn’t necessarily guarantee the ball will exit the bunker and declaring the ball unplayable means you have to take a penalty stroke.

With all my years experience of coaching the problem with this shot begins with the pupils expectation. As much as the golf ball is against the lip of the bunker and you are an up hill slope (which helps you play the shot) you will probably be only 3 or 4 feet away from the green or fairway. A very short distance and yes a very challenging shot.

For me the best option out of the three has to be Option 1.

Photograph 1 displays the golf ball against the top lip of our practise bunker at Tri Golf. Nasty!!!

Photograph 2 displays the position I need to get myself in to correctly execute the shot. Nearly all my weight is on the bottom foot and I have made a conscious effort to make sure that my shoulders and hips are aligned parallel with the steep slope of the bunker. This feels very awkward and I have to work hard to maintain my balance but this correct position of the body it vital if I am going to execute the shot successfully.

The good news from this position is that nasty slope which makes your balance difficult because you have had to set your self parallel to the slope has increased the loft of your sand iron or lob wedge. It will almost appear flat to you at address. The increased loft will help you hit the ball up.

Photograph 3 displays the same set up from a down the line of the target. There is no need to adjust your alignment even though that is possible. It will be easier to stand square to target and making sure the balance and angles are maintained. As I have already mentioned the slope has increased the loft of the club greatly. The back swing should be short ½ or ¾ in length anymore you will lose your balance.

Photograph 4 displays the follow through just after impact. The slope has served me well by increasing the loft of the club at address but I still have a problem with the lip. If I try a conventional follow through I could hit the lip of the bunker very hard and this could damage the club or me. I also need  to create power to move the golf ball forward.

The Magic Move

To create the energy to move the golf ball forward I need to move my weight into my left knee or front leg in the downswing. This forward move pushes the body weight into the steep face of the bunker. The timing should be almost at impact and by that I mean as you strike the golf ball your weight should be moving forward. The arms and wrists in the downswing should not be too firm as this could be jarring. Let the arms wrist react to the momentum of the body moving forward. I call this shot a players shot and by that I mean it will need practise. The club selection for this shot should be sand iron or lob wedge.

Success would be landing on any part of the green and a compromise would be getting the ball out of the bunker. Please practise this shot and let me know how it goes.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 5:15 am and is filed under Bunker Shots. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.