Greenside Bunker Shot

l will now describe to you how to play a greenside bunker shot with the ball lying well (not plugged).

This shot can be played from up to 30 yards away from the pin, and if you learn how to play it correctly, it will save you many shots. The idea of this shot is not to hit the ball first, but to hit the sand first and let the ball float out on a layer of sand. Most greenside bunkers have a lip at the front, therefore depending on the severity of the lip we have to make adjustments in the way in which we set up to this shot.

First of all decide on how much you need if any, to open the face of the sand iron in order to gain the extra loft on the club to get the ball up in the air quicker. Once you have decided upon this you set your grip as normal, even if the club is layed wide open. Your stance and body alignment is adjusted to the left of parallel to the intended ball to target line until the clubface is correctly re-aligned at a 90 degree angle to the ball to target line. This sets the clubface open to the body alignment but square to the ball to target line. The ball should then be positioned well forward in your stance, almost opposite your left heel. By doing this it helps you to strike the sand first (as shown in the video clip).

In the video clip watch how the ball reacts when it hits the ground. The left to right spin that is imparted on the ball due to the body alignment, clubface and line of swing takes the ball to the right of the hole.

This is somthing that You should take into consideration when aligning for the shot - especially if you are playing on fast greens!

Your posture should remain the same, although it is best to wriggle your feet into the sand, just enough to cover the soles of your shoes. this provides two key benefits:

1. It helps you feel the texture of the sand
2. It gives you a good firm foundation

While conducting the swing you should try and focus on the area of sand that you are going to hit, this will be approximately 2 inches behind the ball. The club should then be swung back and through along the line of your body (feet, hips and shoulders), it is important to do this in order for the ball to come to come out on the correct line. You should feel as if the clubface is pointing at the sky on the followthrough, as our Pro has demonstrated below.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• golf
• greenside
• bunker
• shot