Up and down out of the bunker Part 1

Bunker Play is not a difficult shot.

Bunker play is a game in itself and is practically the only shot in the game where you try NOT to strike the ball first. Touching sand with the club before your intentional swing is considered “testing the surface”. Playing by the “rules” this is a 2 shot penalty. Therefore, players cannot make practice swings by making contact with the sand and players cannot set the club down on the sand behind the ball. That being said, if a player cannot rest their club directly behind the ball before the swing, how can they ensure that they will make good contact for their intended shot? When hitting a bunker shot, you MUST make a continuous motion making contact with the sand behind the ball, to then move the sand on to the green. You must remember you are moving sand and the ball flies out with the sand. If you take a moment and imagine the ball sitting in the center of a salad plate, your swing needs to clear the entire plate.

Choose the correct wedge

Generally a player will have at least 2 types of wedges, a pitching wedge and a sand wedge. Those of you with game improvement wedges would have a gap wedge which is between the pitching wedge and sand wedge, followed by a lob wedge which has more loft than a sand wedge. So, in order of smallest to greatest loft, you have a pitching wedge, a gap wedge, sand wedge, and finally a lob wedge. Now that we understand our various lofts available to us, we can put this into practice.

Example: The ball is on a level lie with your feet, which is slightly below the level of the green, so lets say your shot is 4 feet below the surface of the green. In this case because you need to clear 4 feet of an obstacle, this would require more loft than a pitching wedge. If the shot is only 2 feet below the surface of the green, then you could opt for a pitching wedge.

Now that you have selected the right wedge, you must flex your knees as you would any other shot on a level lie, your stance would be just outside shoulder width, and the ball will be placed off-center in direction of lead foot. Remember: Pace of the swing is most important. Feel the pace of an underhand toss and mimic that motion in your swing. You are moving sand and the ball goes with it, you are not striking the sand with aggression and hoping for the best. Disclaimer: Leave the bunker better than you found it.

I have created a simple tool which you attach to the grip. This tool forces the player to use their coordinated side to deliver the club, by making a Natural Swing through the ball to the target, it is called the "Swing King".