Bunker Strategy

Video Transcript

Bunker strategy is just as important as bunker technique. I like for my students to think of three strategies every time they get into the bunker. The first is the easiest out. You just want to get the ball out of the bunker and you do not want to hit anymore shots. The second is to go for the fat of the green where you have to most green to land and stop your ball. The last one is to take dead aim. Now in this scenario you can only take dead aim if you are an accomplished bunker player. There are a lot of things that can go wrong here. If you hit it short it is maybe still in the bunker or maybe the grass. If I hit is short but maybe a little longer it is going to roll onto the right hand side of the green anyway. And if I carry it to the back green area it is so small it is going to be hard to stop the ball on the green. So in this scenario I do not even have number three as a choice, I really only have number one and number two, easiest out and fat of the green. Now for fun let's go for the pin and show you what you should not do. If I take dead aim at the pin and the ball lands short we are really not going to like our shot. If the ball goes long it is because you really did not have any room to fit that ball into the landing area. That is a common thing that is going to happen on a long bunker shot to a small area. Let's try one more. Great shot, too short, the ball just runs down the hill. Let's go for what I should have done in the first place, safely out, fat of the green. I would rather be there in one than have to risk all those other scenarios by going for the pin. Think about your bunker strategy, look at what the ball is going to do when it lands and you are going to become a much better bunker player.