For a lot of golfers, the greenside bunker is the scariest shot in the game. It doesn't need to be. The bunker shot is actually the only shot in golf where you don't hit the ball at all — and once you understand that, it gets a whole lot easier.
The one thing to understand
In a normal greenside bunker shot, the club never touches the ball. You hit the sand a couple of inches behind the ball, and the sand throws the ball out. Your job is to splash a shallow patch of sand onto the green — the ball just happens to be riding on top of it. Once you stop trying to "hit the ball," the fear disappears.
The setup that makes it work
- Open the face first. Rotate your sand wedge open so the face points a little skyward — then take your grip. This exposes the bounce, the part of the sole that lets the club slide through the sand instead of digging.
- Dig your feet in. Wiggle your feet into the sand for a stable base. This also lowers you slightly, helping you hit the sand, not the ball.
- Ball forward, weight left. Play the ball forward in your stance and lean a bit toward the target. Aim your body slightly left to offset the open face.
The swing: commit and accelerate
Here's where most bunker shots die — deceleration. Because players are nervous, they slow down through impact, the club digs, and the ball stays in the sand. You must accelerate through. Make a fuller, more aggressive swing than the short distance seems to call for, and splash all the way to a full finish. The sand slows the club down for you.
Open the face, dig in, and accelerate through the sand to a full finish. Get those three right and the bunker stops being a hazard and becomes just another shot you know how to hit.