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The dreaded sand trap!
For many beginner golfers, it’s a scary and uncomfortable place to hit your ball. Deep bunkers can be impossible to get out of and sometimes require the hand wedge after multiple failed attempts with the sand wedge. This is all understandable. The proper technique on sand shots is unique and difficult to trust at first. But if you learn about strategy, the faults you should avoid and take a little time to practice, you should be able to get your ball from the sand to somewhere green in just one attempt.
Here we have compiled 5 great bunker tips for beginner golfers that will help eliminate the fear of sand traps.
1. Bunker Fundamentals
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The fundamentals on bunker shots are more important than any other shot. Aimee Cho quickly runs through the setup and strategy needed to get out of the sand. She also demonstrates a drill to help you turn your upper body through the ball after impact to make sure you don’t de-accelerate.
2. Stop Chunking Bunker Shots
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You may have heard you need to hit an inch, or even 2 inches, behind the ball on bunker shots. As Nathalie mentions, that advice comes from good intentions, but too much sand will lead to chunking bunker shots over and over again. Keep your hands back at setup and “toss the club under the ball” to improve your bunker shots.
Hitting closer to the ball with a fast swing can be scary. We don’t want to launch a ball towards the group standing on the next tee or the folks enjoying their lunch on the patio behind the 9th green (yes, that example is personal and makes me cringe when I think about it.) Given this, I encourage you to practice bunker shots on a hole where there is nothing worrisome behind the green. Take a big swing and vary the amount you hit try to hit behind the ball. It will be quite enlightening.
3. Bunker Keys with Clay Ballard
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Clay gets a little advanced here, but all 5 of the tips he provides will help you get it out of the bunker. I especially like the tip where he references swinging as hard as you would on a 70-yard shot from the fairway on greenside bunker shots. It can be confusing to hear that you need to take a full swing in the bunker and hit behind the ball and this clarification is beneficial.
4. Stand In the Sand
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As always, Martin uses some great imagery to help you understand bunker play. By using a hula hoop, he demonstrates how the deepest part of the divot should be directly underneath where the ball lies. Martin also has great tips for beginners regarding how to get your feet dug into the sand and where the club should rest at address if you want to get the ball out of the bunker more easily.
5. Bunker – Too Much Digging
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This tip from Andrew Rice’s Breaking Bad Habits: Short Game is very similar to Nathalie’s tip above. I added it to emphasis the importance of releasing the club and using the bounce on bunker shots. Doing this with confidence is the key to great bunker play! Andrew also elaborates on how to release the club with a tip about what the trail wrist should do through impact.
Bonus:
Bunker Rules
Bunkers also have some strange rules since they are considered a hazard. Martin Hall goes through them all here in this segment from his series Build A Better Game: Bunkers. The rules are important to know, but if you are just getting started playing, I don't think you should worry about them too much yet. Just have some fun and try to get the ball out of the bunker.
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How to Rake a Bunker
It's important to do your part in keeping the course in great condition for the players behind you. Here Alex Riggs gives a quick demonstration on how to properly rake a bunker after you've escaped.
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