Downhill Fairway Bunker Shot

Video Transcript

Well, you come out on the golf course and sometimes it all does not go according to plan. You can get lucky, but sometimes you get very unlucky, and this is an example of some really bad luck. Not only are we in the fairway bunker—that in itself is not ideal—but we are in a down-slope in the fairway bunker, the target is quite a long way away. We need to make up ground and we have a pretty tough shot. So how to go about it? Primarily it is done in the setup. Think about the problem. I am going to have to get my weight over here on the left side and try to get my body line so that I am sort of parallel to the angle of the slope. The ball is on this down-slope and I am going to want to sort of cut it out of this lie so I am going to aim left. So my weight is on my left side, I am aiming to the left and am going to have to cut it out. Now as I swing through, as I pick the ball off of the sand and I drive it through, I am going to have to drive down the slope and walk through. It is not a very pretty shot but it can be pretty effective. Let’s see if I can show you how. OK, it worked. But let’s see why. The three key points of this shot, set up, get your shoulders level to the slope and aiming left of the target. The shoulders level to the slope and aiming left because I going to try to make sure that I cut the ball out of the sand. I can not pick it cleanly off the sand; I have to drive it forward. So as I drive forward I walk through. It is not a very pretty shot but it is pretty effective.

Denis Pugh
The Wisley
Ripley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QU
United Kingdom
Tel: 01483 211213

Denis Pugh is creator of "The Swing Map" Teaching Theory and is Europe's most prominent golf instructor. He also taught Greg Turner, Peter O'Malley, and European PGA Tour Player of the Year Colin Montgomerie.

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