Uphill Bunker Shot

Video Transcript

The uphill bunker shot. I’m in one of the new bunkers on the blue monster golf course at Doral and I’ve got a very severe uphill lie so I have to make several adjustments. 1) First, I need to get my body angles on the line of the bunker; that means my right shoulder down, left shoulder up, which will allow me to swing more up the slope. I won’t dig into the bunker, which will cause the ball to go a very short distance. So I adjust by putting my angles more up the slope. 2) Next I’m going to place the ball forward in my stance like I do on all normal bunker shots. 3) I’m also going to get the club up on my backswing, but as I go through I’m going to have to swing a little bit harder to adjust for this slope. 4) You might want to use your gap wedge a 52 or 53 degree wedge rather than your regular sand wedges which is probably 56 to 58 degrees. Certainly not a 60 degree wedge for this shot. So, play the ball in the same position as a normal bunker shot, angle your body more up the slope, swing a little bit harder, and make sure that you finish. That’s how you get out of the uphill lie.

Jim  McLean
Jim McLean Golf School
Doral Golf Resort and Spa
4400 NW 87th Avenue
Miami, FL 33178
Tel: 800-72-DORAL

Jim McLean runs the Jim McLean Golf Schools, considered by some the world's finest. He is listed as one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers and Golf Digest's #3 instructor in the world.

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