What To Do When You’re In The Bunker
posted in Uncategorized |Golf professionals find getting out of the sand fairly easy,
and you will to when you have the right golf swing mechanics
in place. T he following step by step golf swing methods will
help give you the right mechanics to help, and with a little
practice will become a natural thing for you, and give you
the unfaltering base that you need to improve your bunker play.
Please note that the steps I’m giving you apply to normal
sand. For techniques in different sand, read my post “Bunker
Shot – How to Adjust Your Swing According to The Sand’s
Texture” published on October 10 2009.
1) Get more control of your club by choking down on it to the
point where your right index finger is just about one inch from the
bottom of the grip. This allows you not only to hit the shot,
but to feel it which is very important.
2) To aid in controlling your shot, narrow your stance from
your normal position, and make sure that the ball is forward
in it.
3) Get comfortable, and dig your feet down into the sand a
bit.
4) Do not twist your hips at all during your swing. make sure
your body stays still.
5) While starting your swing with your arms, make sure that
when you are at the top of your swing, that the butt of your
club points right at your ball (put a tee in the end of your
grip to help you see this). normally you want to
bring your club straight back. Not here, steeper is better.
6) At the top of your swing, your left arm should be straight, and parallel to the ground.
7) When you start your down swing, remember to hit the sand one inch behind your ball. Remember focus
on that spot and not the ball. The ball will come out!
As the ball leaves the sand, remember that your arms and
body follow the ball.
9) The main lesson in all of this is the steep angle of your
down swing. But, you don’t want to be swinging too hard. You’re
just trying to out the ball, not kill it.
Try This Exercise
Take your Sand, Pitching, and Lob (if you have one) Wedges
with you into the bunker. Realize that you may be more
comfortable with something other than a Sand Wedge, and
therefore make better outs.
Hit a few shots with each of your clubs paying attention to
what happens, and pick out the best one for you. Keeping in
mind a steep downswing, and hitting the sand one inch behind
the ball.
Remember wherever you practice this, to keep in mind the steep
down swing, and that your grip is pointed down at the ball at
the top of your swing. Practice this for a few days, and you
will be pleasantly surprised at the advance in your game