Bunker Game

[ezra76]

I've worked a lot on the putting and now feel I've corrected the major problem, have a solid stroke I trust and a preputt routine down.

The next major revamp has to be the bunker game. There is a small range up the road I've heard about. They have a few bunkers around a "closely mown" area. Not really a green but it will suffice. They also have a pitch/putt green. I know they are the "1st tee" sponsor place for the area and heard they only encourage a donation to use the green and bunkers. I think I may have to donate a few hundred balls and a couple clubs. That should get me in for a while.

So, anyone have any bunker tips? I was in the greenside bunker in 3 on 2 par 5's today. Get this... I made 8 on both of them. I virtually shanked both shots off the back right of the green into serious crap. Maybe I just need an F2?

[LyleG]

For bunkers the key is to steepen your swing.
I like to open the club up, open my stance, play the ball forward of middle, and take a steep swing. Be sure to keep the club open as you follow through. I try and make contact between one and 2 inches behind the ball, depending on the firmness of the sand.
A tip I was given that helped was to imaging the ball sitting smack dap in the middle of a dollar bill. You want to sweep the bill out to the hole.

EDIT: Bounce also make a huge difference depending on the type of sand the course you play most often has. Low bounce for hard, wet sand. Lots of bounce for really soft, fluffy sand.

[chemboy2]

Not much to add to what Lyle had to say but I also make sure to keep my left side (I'm a righty) all aligned as if against a wall. This will keep some weight forward and also help with the steep swing path.

How far I hit behind the ball depends on how much carry/roll I'm looking for. Lastly, you should close the face a bit when your in an upslope as this will help the club dig into the hill and pop the ball out.

I use to struggle getting out of the sand but I had the opportunity to attend a short game clinic that focused heavily on bunker play. Ever since then I've never had a problem with the sand. Hell, I had three up and downs from greenside bunkers in my last round.

[VtDivot]

a very simple tip that I learned that works well for me, (and I would rate bunker play as one of the better points of my game) is to imagine the ball is sitting on a tee in the bunker, now try and cut the tee in half.

You'll hit a few inches behind the ball every time.

Once you have that down, you can learn to play the low skipper (in the firmer sand) or the high soft one (in the fluffy stuff - of which there is very little around here)

[gunning4u]

Lyle covered it very well. My thought process in the bunker is 1. Make sure I open my stance and the club face. 2. Move the ball forward in my stance and just take a little longer normal swing. Moving the ball forward is the key because you just have to take normal swing and you will almost always will hit two-three inches behind the ball and get it out.

[Eracer]

Gary Player, one of the best bunker players of all time, had a great tip that I've copied. At address, push both knees towards the target. This pre-sets your weight forward, like Chemboy talks about. Make sure the ball is well forward in an open stance. Swing DOWN and through. Remember that you aren't trying to hit the ball, you are trying to splash sand out of the bunker.

[MGP]

If you can get to a practice bunker, here's a drill I usually use to practice.

I take a golf towel and fold it in half and put it on the ground outside the bunker to give a landing target. It will end up being about 18" square. Then I toss about 6 balls randomly into the bunker and try to hit the towel with each of them. I move the towel, then repeat with another 6 balls. Repeat until you are sick of hitting bunker shots.

I've found this is a good drill in that it gives you a target to aim for and is much like what you'll be doing on the course. It also takes your mind off the mechanics of the shot and puts it on executing the shot and hitting a target.

When I get on the course and I have a greenside bunker shot, I imagine a towel on the green and try to hit it. Since I started doing this a few times a year I find I am hitting a lot of bunker shots inside 5-6 ft and leaving myself a lot more makeable putts.

[flomarilius]

This one makes you guage your distance pretty well but it works for me.

Ok well here it goes:

Take an open stance in relation to the hole. Open your club face so that it is basically sideways. Now cut across the ball like im talking about you want to hit a 90* slice. Pops up and out like nothing =D.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by flomarilius

This one makes you guage your distance pretty well but it works for me.

Ok well here it goes:

Take an open stance in relation to the hole. Open your club face so that it is basically sideways. Now cut across the ball like im talking about you want to hit a 90* slice. Pops up and out like nothing =D.

Dave Pelz says to set your stance aligned 17° left of the target, then aim the clubface at the target. One of the few things I took out of the class I took that actually helped. I haven't quite figured out how to aim "17° left" yet. Maybe once I hit "thousands of balls" like Dave does, I'll get it...

Until then I just aim a bit left and open the clubface.

[cabinessence]

The only thing I think about over a bunker shot is to "thump" the sand.

[ezra76]

Thanks guys. I've gotten in a few bunkers my few times out. I got out nicely each time. I'm just opening up stance and clubface, cutting across the ball steeply. I'm still going to try to get some serious practice in soon. I want to be able to control my distance a little better with them . Sometimes they spin like crazy and sometimes they run out. Not sure what or why but so far I've actually got the more correct one by accident.

[Jules150]

The thing that changed me from a terrible bunker player to a pretty decent one is first practice, do all the things these guys said, but what has helped me the most is i find the grain of sand that i want my club to hit and i dont stop looking at that grain untill after impact. that has greatly improved my consistancy.