How to Play a Bunker Shot
March 10 - Written by Kyle Somers
An amateur golfer's toughest opponent on the course is the sand trap, from which they can barely escape without losing strokes. A golf pro, however, considers the bunker shot to be among the sport's most straightforward and easy shots. The technique of a bunker shot, the two primary components of playing out of a bunker, distance control out of a bunker, and how to practice bunker shots are all covered in this post.
Introduction
Bunkers are the only shot in golf where you are aiming to not hit the ball first. When hitting a standard pitch shot on grass, the ball goes high but too far for a bunker shot, so we hit sand first create a poor energy transfer to the golf ball but still maintain the height of a standard pitch shot. Therefore, we hit sand first in a bunker to make the ball go high in a short distance. Because the sand is sapping a lot of energy, we need to make sure we have a good 3 quarter length swing to generate enough speed in a bunker. At set-up make sure to dig your feet into the sand to lower your level, making it easier to hit under the golf ball. Make sure to have your ball position forward similiar to a driver shot, to give enough room for your divot to land behind the golf ball and hit the ball high. The position of where your divot ends up is extremely important. If your divot is too far forward then you will hit a low unwanted squirty bunker shot, but if your divot is too far back then your ball won’t go very far and you will struggle to get spin on your bunker shot. Ideally you want the start of your divot to consistently start at around 3 inches behind the golf ball, but depending on the amount of sand there is in the bunker, this can change. Good bunker players are incredibly consistent with where they produce their divots in a bunker. The more consistent you are with your divot placement, the better you’ll be at bunkers. You also want to make sure that you’re releasing your hands quickly through the golf ball, to create height and spin.
The Bunker Shot Technique
The two Main Components of Bunker play
When entering a bunker, there are two super important factors that you will definitely need to consider before playing your bunker shot. The first is how much sand is in the bunker that you’re playing in. More sand in a bunker will result in the ball going less further, while less sand in a bunker will result in the ball going further. The second factor is how far away the ball will need to travel. Ensuring that you go over these two factors before your bunker shot, will help you produce a better outcome to your bunker shot.
The most easiest way to control distance in a bunker is by maintaining the same swing (including swing speed), but changing how much the club face is open. This will allow you to keep your same consistent swing but still be able to change the outcome. If you have a short bunker shot and you need to stop it quickly then you will need to open the clubface right up. If you have a longer bunker shot, then you will need to square up the club face to be able to hit the ball far enough. You can also change how far you hit your bunker shot by changing club. Changing clubs in a bunker is a super overlooked and underated strategy.
Distance Control out of a Bunker
-Kyle Somers, 10 March 2024