Embrace the shame: The best golf tips for putting out of bunkers

SAN JOSE, Calif. — We've all been there.

Your bunker game is in shambles. Your confidence is shot. You just need to get out of the sand ... how doesn't really matter.

So why not putt?

Just last week, I hit a bunker shot at my home course, the Santa Teresa Golf Club, that flew 50 feet past a tucked pin to the fringe on the far side of the fourth green. My buddy, who regularly putts out of bunkers, implored me to try again with the flatstick. The result wasn't great. But it wasn't terrible, either. My ball ended up about 12 feet below the hole, a much more manageable par putt than my first attempt.

I don't EVER consider putting out of bunkers, but maybe I should start. Good players mock high handicaps who putt out of bunkers; I've been on both sides of that conversation. I've tried hard to get my putt-loving buddy to embrace the sand wedge. And yet, there was that infamous round at Royal Melbourne in Australia where my caddie convinced me to putt out of the bunker after watching me fail one too many times. I'm sure I lost some respect and a few Instagram followers that day.

Now, I'm here to tell any golfer who will listen: There is no shame in putting out of a bunker. Sometimes, it is the right play.

Even the best players in the world putt out of bunkers. You just don't see it too often. Haotong Li recently tried, although he wasn't too happy with the result. I'm sure it's a shot he never practices.

Or does he? It seems Li is experimenting with this technique more than a pro would care to admit. Here's another putt from a bunker by Li at the DP World Tour's Nedbank Golf Challenge last December.

A quick online query found a few other notable examples from other pros. Ewen Ferguson holed this putt from a bunker at the 2023 Porsche European Open on the DP World Tour. The PGA Tour's Ryan Palmer putted out of a bunker at the 2021 BMW Championship to escape the sand at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland.

It doesn't always work, even for pros. This putter stroke from Lee Hodges led to a disastrous double bogey at the Honda Classic in 2022, but I'd argue this is a text-book example how NOT to hit a bunker shot with a putter. It was all force and looked like a smash-and-hope.

So when should you putt out of a bunker? There's a time and place for this strategy for every level of player.

The best tips are simple, common sense executions:

1. The first thing to evaluate: Will using putter increase my chances to escape the sand? Certain conditions will dictate the answer. Firm sand, a good lie that's not a fried egg and a small or non-existent bunker lip are all ideal conditions for putting it out safely. Putting off a severe down slope in the backside of the bunker or hitting to a tucked pin are other green lights that might make the decision for you.

2. Hit the ball harder than you would putting on grass. It's a feel shot. You don't have to smash it, but a firm, committed effort is the best mindset. As a general rule, bulkier mallet putters work better than blades. Remember, your only goal is to make sure the ball gets out of the bunker. Anything timid or too soft will leave you with the same shot again.

3. Try to hit it just like a normal putt. You don't need to hit down on the ball. Just make sure you hit ball first. Any sand in between the ball and putter face will ruin the shot.

4. Perhaps the most important advice is to make sure to hover your putter in the air above the sand and the ball before the shot. No one wants a penalty stroke should the putter head touch the sand or the ball first before the attempt.