ABC GOLF INSTRUCTION

Written by Mark Officer - Australian AAA PGA Member
REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION © Copyright 2006
PERFECTSTROKE Mark Officer Version 1.2

TRAINING PROGRAM

1. The Grip
2. Alignment
3. Set Up
4. Power Sources
5. The Full Swing
6. Shaping Shots
7. Ball Flight Laws
8. Putting
9. Chipping
10. Pitching
11. Bunker Shots
12. Video Analysis
    Analysis & Performance

Section 11 - Bunker Shots

When playing normal green side bunker shots, it’s important that the swing remain almost the same as any other swing that you make. However, there are a number of different set up positions that need to be altered.
The clubface needs to be open in relation to the swing path at the moment of contact. So, the club should be rotated in the hands at address so that the clubface is facing well to the right of the target. 
This openness of club face will make the ball go to the right a little bit so it’s important to align slightly to the left and then swing along the body line. There’s no need to swing across the body as this will produce a steeper angle of approach.

You actually want the trailing edge of the sole to enter the sand first, not the leading edge. This allows the club head to keep going in the through swing rather than dig in and stop. With the club face open somewhere near 30° to 40° open in relation to the swing path, the ball position should be forward in the stance, just inside the left heel and almost directly underneath the left arm pit. This will encourage the club head to be going underneath the ball right at the very bottom of its swing arc.

With the ball position back in the stance, that will encourage the club to be still swinging down, which is going to increase the angle of approach which will make the ball come out lower and very likely make the ball be hit before any sand has been taken. With the ball too forward in the stance, the club head may bottom out before the ball and actually skid into the ball and bring about the same result as hitting the ball first.

  The weight distribution should be even – 50/50 on either leg, which is also going to help with the angle of approach. Too much weight on the left side increases this angle and more weight on the right side will make the club almost be swinging on the upswing when it is supposedly going underneath the ball.  For a normal green side bunker shot there should be some width in the arc, the same as with any other swing so there’s no need to break the wrists earlier than normal or to soften the arms up in the back swing because this too will increase the angle of approach. So there should be a wide and on plane angle of approach and along the target line swing path when playing a normal green side bunker shot.

The distance that a ball travels out of a bunker is going to be determined by the amount of club head speed developed during the swing which is regulated by the amount of backswing and through swing. So, for a small shot only a small swing is required. When the ball needs to go a long way a much bigger swing is needed. In the past many people would have regulated the distance the ball goes by varying the amount of sand that is taken. So, for a short shot you look to take more sand out before the club goes underneath the ball or for a longer shot less sand is taken.  This method is slightly complicated and much better results will be obtained by varying the club head speed to regulate the distance.

In any normal green side bunker shot the ball should come out on a cushion of sand so you should be looking at the ball when you play your shot and just be thinking that you want to slide the club underneath the ball and keep the club head going. When a mistake is made in the bunker it should be that you’ve taken too much sand before the club goes underneath the ball. Providing the follow through is long and the club head does continue, there should be enough momentum to get the ball to at least get out of the bunker. The biggest mistakes occur in playing bunker shots when the ball is hit first or when the angle of approach is too steep and the follow through is shortened and there is not enough momentum to get the ball  out. As with pitch shots, long and slow will make the ball go higher and land softer. Short and fast will generally make the ball come out lower and run more. 

With buried lies, embedded lies or when the ball is lying poorly, such as in a footprint, the angle of approach must be made steeper so that the club can get underneath the ball. So lots of sand is dislodged when this type of shot is being played and there needs to be some changes made in the set up position. The ball needs to move back in the stance a little bit to increase the angle of approach.

The clubface should remain open to help with the loft because the trajectory on the shot is still important, but perhaps not as open as normal. The weight can be slightly on the left side, also to increase angle of approach and the swing path should be from the outside on the backswing and from outside and in on the downswing.  Picking the club up quickly by breaking the wrists will also increase the angle of approach as the arc is much narrower. The follow through is going to be much shorter with this type of shot because the club is travelling down much more sharply. The ball is going to come out with much less spin, a little lower, so you need to allow for this. However, with correct technique, this shot is not as difficult as it seems. 

When playing the bunker shot in a down slope situation you need to try and play this shot as though it’s a normal lie. The same set up positions as  usual however, you need to lean down the slope and swing down the slope. The ball is going to come out lower in this situation but it is important that you try and swing down the slope, not try and lift the ball up.

In a green side bunker when the ball is below your feet, what’s going to happen is that the ball is going to come out more to the right than normal so you need to align yourself a little left and do everything the same as normal. However, you may want to grip slightly further up on the handle of the club. When the ball is above you, you need to align slightly right to allow for the ball to go to the left and try and treat the shot the same as any other. However, lowering the hands will help to get the sole of the club to bottom out correctly, rather than have the toe end of the club dig into the sand.