Bunker Play - Golf Tips and Videos

A full bunker shot travels about one third the distance of a regular shot, so when you have to clear 30 yards...

The two most common bunker problems are allowing your club to hit the ball instead of using the sand as a cushion...

When hitting bunker shots you are not hitting the ball you are actually splashing the sand around the ball out of the bunker

The most proficient bunker players on Tour get up and down about two out of three times from the sand. This is...

CHRIS TOULSON demonstrates how the speed of the swing and length of the finish play key roles in controlling distance

Show your kids that the sand wedge is the right tool for the job because it splashes sand out of the bunker and...

Kids love the sand. So do some adults, especially the ones who can turn bunker blasts into scoring shots on the...

Rotate your body as you swing and knock an area of sand out of the bunker

No good bunker player actually contacts the ball with the clubhead. Instead, they splash the sand with the sole...

Use your normal swing with just three basic adjustments

Controlling distance out of a bunker can be done in many ways, try all these methods and see which one works best for you

Tour pros thrive in bunkers, almost always giving themselves good up-and-down opportunities. Many will play their...

The key to a bunker shot is to eject the sand from the bunker and have the ball go with the sand

Have you ever struggled with the speed of your clubhead on sand shots? If so, the tips we've collected here should...

Choose a label for different sand shots to describe the sound, feel and vision of sand going up

Choke down on the club, make a three quarter swing and pick the ball clean

In the last 20 years, Las Vegas has cranked out several spectacular golf courses from which to choose that, like...

Setting up correctly to a greenside bunker is the most critical aspect of playing the shot correctly and becoming...

There are times when the game of golf begins to play us rather than us playing the game. Whether it's accommodating...

Don't make things more complicated than they need to be; use the same swing in and out of the bunker and take...

Play the ball off your front heel, open the clubface to one o'clock, balance slightly on your front leg and make...

You can either set up to a bunker shot square to the target for a lower trajectory and more roll or open to the...

It seems strange that so many golfers experience a sense of fear when faced with a shot from the sand, especially...

Bunkers are easy shots you just need to compensate for the fact that you are hitting sand not grass, plus John...

Usually you want to splash your ball and the sand out of a bunker, but when the ball is buried this will cause...

Bunkers add an endless source of diversion, excitement and strategy options to a golf course. Their position,...

Draw a line two inches behind your ball and another one six inches behind your ball and practice entering the...

Part of being a skillful player is "reading" the situation, choosing the right shot and then being able to execute...

Swing along your stance line with an open club face and ball forward

The rounded bottom of the sand wedge allows it to bounce off the sand

Bunkers elicit a reaction of fear from most golfers, who misunderstand how a sand wedge is designed to function....

Close the clubface and let the toe of the club dig into the sand, the ball go in the direction of the sand not the clubface

There aren't many shots that touring professionals fear, but if you had to choose one, the buried lie bunker shot...

Hit the ball harder with a tight grip and drive the club down into the sand

Play your bunker shots with the same stance as your pitch shots; set up square to the target line and square the...

Due to phenomenally successful marketing pioneered by local visionaries in the 1960s, Myrtle Beach has become...

Golfers generally have a hard time with greenside bunkers because the divot entry point is inconsistent, which...

Recreational golfers tend to have problems getting out of bunkers because their setup position is incorrect. Most...

Try these two new ways to hit this difficult shot with some spin for control

Square the club face, move the ball back in your stance and put your hands forward

Golf Tips Magazine Senior Instruction Editor and teaching professional Tom F. Stickney II conducts a frame-by-frame...

Long bunker shots sometimes require a different club than the sand wedge, generally the ball will travel one third...

Draw an umbrella in the sand and get your divots to start to the target side of the handle to stop falling back...

Golf course designers place hazards on their courses to penalize you for hitting errant shots. Fairway bunkers...

Play ball forward, place club open, use wide stance and short finish

Place the ball back, leave the club face open and drop down with the knees

For many players, a shot from a good lie in a bunker with a shallow face can be executed fairly consistently with...

Angle body more up the slope and swing a little harder

Stand slightly farther from the ball, widen your base, lower your hands and use a lob wedge or opened face sand wedge

Basic sand play should be one of the easiest parts of the game to master. You don't actually have to make contact...

When playing a bunker shot play the ball off your front heel and make sure that you hit only several inches behind...

Don't worry about the fairway bunker shot, especially if you have a decent lie. Because golfers assume they need...

Vary the openness of your stance and clubface to control distance out of the bunker

Square the clubface, pick the club up quickly and dig under the ball with a steep approach angle

When you desire a softer type of explosion shot out of the bunker from this normally "hot" lie, you need to employ...

Turn your 8-iron into a sand wedge by opening the face and playing the ball like a normal greenside shot

Beyond his 14 Tour victories (including a Masters title and two wins at THE PLAYERS Championship), Fred Couples...

Your choice of shot is dependent on what kind of lie you have in the bunker and how high the lip is

Adjust you ball positioning, shift weight forward and lean the shaft forward to allow the club to dig under the ball

There are times when you want spin on the ball out of the bunker, but there are other times when you need a soft...

If you have a big trap with not much lip then taking a fairway wood from a fairway bunker is possible, just grip...

Your sand wedge is not always the correct club to use in a greenside bunker, always test out the weight and depth...

How far you swing through a bunker shot determines the distance it will travel so work on controlling your follow...

For many players, playing a shot from a greenside bunker is a terrifying experience. The terror usually results...

Take the club back on a steeper plane and fold your left arm in as you swing

Believe it or not, one of the easiest shots in golf is the bunker shot. All that's required to achieve success...

When faced with a buried lie in the bunker you must create a concussion in the sand in order to drive the ball...

Create a balanced position that allows your sand wedge to get under the ball and onto the green

The key to hitting the semi-buried bunker blast is to dig beneath the ball and let the sand lift the ball toward...

Although not a very pretty shot if you level your shoulders to the slope, aim left and walk through the shot it...

In case you thought it wasn't possible to hit a fairway wood from the bunker, think again. If you face a fairway...

Hitting a fairway bunker shots requires adjustments to your set up and swing

Setting up correctly and knowing to hit behind the ball and splash the sand will get you out of the bunker more easily

When it comes to bunker shots, what you see on the PGA Tour doesn't work for everyone. Often, golfers exaggerate...

With a buried lie you must use your sand wedge as a digger to get below the bottom of the ball so square the clubface...

Don't know how to escape from tight bunker lies? Playing this shot using the club's "bounce" (as you would a...

Keep the club face square to the target and play it like a pitch shot

Ball back in your stance, weight forward, closed club-face and hit down on the ball

The most effective way to execute a good shot from a fairway bunker is to hit a draw. That's right, a draw. You...

Teach kids according to their ability; when they’re ready, show them that the technique to fairway bunkers is...

Use a steeper swing plane so that you can dig in to the sand and most importantly keep your weight forward throughout...

Bunker shots are easy shots when you know the right technique and teaching a junior how to do it is simple

Here's the scenario: On a mid-range approach, you fail to carry the lip of a greenside bunker by the length of...

Keep your chin up throughout the entire shot to assure contact with the ball before you hit the sand

Tiger Woods leads the Tour in Ballstriking and is second in Total Driving. He's tops in Putting. Oh, and in case...

Hit closer to the ball using a normal backswing and accelerate the club on the way through

Get your yardage, take an extra club, verify that you can clear the lip in front of you, grip down, dig your feet...

Copying Rory Sabbatini's technique when playing explosion shots from the sand will get you close to the hole more...

Play the ball back of center, weight forward and pull your left arm in as you swing

Between the tee and green, we have to surrender to the course and "play the ball as it lies." That means adjusting...

Use an open faced 8 iron and blast it out like a normal sand shot

Utilize the bounce of the club, square the clubface and body line and play it like a pitch shot

Like any aspect of the game, improving your bunker play takes practice. But practicing the wrong technique will...

Learn the basic techniques of hitting the standard bunker shot

Often referred to as the "Home of Golf," Scotland is generally perceived as the place where the best links courses...

Open up the club face to increase loft and swing into the lip

Use a tighter grip and more left side pull on the way down

Although uphill sand shots seem easy, they can get tricky if you aren't paying attention. The key is to stay balanced...

Lean the shaft of the club back at address to increase the clubface loft while maximizing its hitting area, then...

It is easy to make a number of small mistakes in the sand, any one of which can ruin your chance to get up and...