Best Way to Increase Your Bunker Shots in Golf

The key to playing good bunker shots near the green is to take sand. You need to take the right amount of sand as accurately as possible. If you listen to the contact with a bunker shot you should hear the club take the sand but not strike the ball itself.

To make your striking of the sand as accurate as possible, keep your shoulders level at address. Remember the golden rule of keeping a high right shoulder in the short game. With the right shoulder held high and the shoulders level, the backswing should feel to be an up and down action, without having to use the wrists. This makes it as easy as possible to enter the sand 5cm (2in) or so behind the ball. But still keep in mind that you have to hit the sand torwards onto the green and not simply dig into it.

If you have any problems with your grip it is likely to be at its worst with bunker shots! Make sure your right hand never slips underneath the club as though trying to scoop the ball up and out. All this will do is to close the clubface and reduce the height.

As in all short shots, the grip should be really firm. This keeps the clubhead moving slowly. Try using the reverse overlap putting grip. Make sure the left hand is turned well round to the left so you don’t see the logo on your glove. This firms up the left hand and will help you keep the clubhead moving slowly and the clubface looking face-up beyond impact. It tends to take out the speed of unwanted wrist action.

Remember, a loose action produces long shots – and you don’t want that in a bunker. A stiff action produces short shots. That is what we do want.

Keep swinging slowly in the bunker to make the club travel through the sand. If you develop too much speed, the clubhead gets caught. It would be quite easy to push a pencil slowly and easily through the sand.

By contrast, if you fired a bullet at it the sand would grab it and stop it. A slow swing travels through the sand more easily than a quick, chopping action.

To practice the feeling of a slow swing for a bunker shot, take hold of three clubs altogether – say your 9, pitching wedge and sand wedge. Just hold them the best you can. Now try to make a swing and feel how slowly you have to move them to keep any sort of control. This is the feeling of the timing of a bunker shot. Make it feel ridiculously slow. It will still be a lot quicker than you imagine!

Practice your bunker shots from a good lie to encourage confidence and a good technique before you are faced with less forgiving lies out on the course.