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Solving the Mysteries of the Dreaded Greenside Bunker Shot

Good set-up position for a standard decent lie, greenside bunker explosion shot. Here I’m using my most lofted club, a 60 degree sand wedge. The more loft, the easier to elevate the ball, but more importantly is the “bounce”of the club (leading edge angle to the trailing edge) will strike the sand first. All this means that instead of the club digging into the sand, the club will bounce through the sand. Most amateurs try to hit the ball first instead of relying on the club to hit the sand first, with the sand acting as a cushion to make the ball come out high and land softly on the green. Also notice my weight favoring slightly left, which helps hitting down onto and through the sand and not lifting or scooping!
Another view (down the line) of my set-up. Notice my feet and body position is aligned left of the target (see lines in sand).My club face is open, aligned to the right of the target. Take a look at the photos below for close up alignment of the feet and body, club swing path, club face alignment, and ball flight toward the target.
“Down the line”set-up. Feet should be firm in the sand, and remember a bunker is a hazard so you cannot ground the club! Notice the ball position (red line) is forward in the stance just inside the left heel.
“Face on”set-up. Black arrow is club swing path, which is parallel to feet and body alignment. Blue arrow is open club face alignment to the right of the target. Green arrow is target line for the ball. Red arrow points to a 2”x 2”box around the ball. The idea being to hit approximately 2”before the ball and exit the club 2”after the ball!
The next three photos show the length of swing needed for this shot. You can see that I made roughly a “half swing”, not a chip or a full swing blast. Its all about confidence in the correct set-up, the technique is the same for a Chip shot and the full shot.
Follow through longer than the backswing. Remember to swing smoothly and through the ball.
Complete follow through, weight has transferred to my left side, good body turn facing the target, and a full swing finish.
The next two photos show the correct amount of sand taken to “splash” the ball up to the pin. Notice that the club entered the sand approximately 2” behind the ball as I noted in one of the previous photos. You can also see the sand “divot” follows the club swing path.
Hopefully this tip will help you next time you find yourself in a greenside bunker. It’s not as difficult as you think. With the proper set-up and technique, just swing and hit the sand behind the ball and let the loft and bounce of your sand wedge do the work. Pass this tip along to your co-workers and be sure to check us out for future “Simon Says”golf tips

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"Simon Says" Golf Tips > Bunker/Sand Shot

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