How to Regain Your Touch From the Sand
By Steve Silverman
Playing the ball from the bunker is completely different than playing the ball from the fairway or rough. Greenside bunkers are often quite deep and require a high shot that lands softly on the green. Fairway bunkers are somewhat easier because they don't require a special shot, although many golfers are intimidated when they have to play from the sand and they are 150 to 200 yards away from the green. You know how to hit it from the bunker and here's how to regain your touch.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Dig your feet into the sand by twisting your spikes three or four times when you are hitting the ball from the sand. This will keep you from slipping when you attempt to get the ball out of the depth of the trap. If you don't dig in, you will most likely slip when you transfer your weight from your back leg to your front.
Grip down on the club. When you are in the bunker, you need to choke down 3 or 4 inches from the top of the club so you can "feel" the ball as you can make contact.
Don't try to hit the ball cleanly when you are in a greenside bunker. Instead, you need to hit 1 1/2 inches behind the ball to take sand. When getting the ball out of the bunker, the sand actually hits the ball before before your club face does. The sand propels the ball out of the trap.
Try to hit the ball almost cleanly when playing from the fairway bunker. Don't think of this shot as being similar to the greenside bunker. If you have a good lie, you can hit from the fairway bunker and send it toward the green by hitting just 1/2 inch behind the ball as long as there is not a high lip blocking your shot.
Go to the practice bunker and work on your stroke. Greenside bunker play takes hours of practice to master. It is not overly difficult, but it is quite a bit different than a fairway shot.
Tips & Warnings
Relax your hands when playing in the bunker in order to rid your upper body of tension.
About The Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.
