Bunker play: the technique that actually works
Open the face before you grip, enter two inches behind the ball and keep accelerating. Plus fairway bunkers, plugged lies and revetted faces.
The bunker shot is the only shot in golf where the ball is not meant to be struck. That is precisely where most amateurs come unstuck — and on three details that half an hour of practice will fix.
Open the face before you take the grip
The order matters: open the face first, then grip. Grip normally and rotate afterwards and the face closes again through the swing. The open face lets the sole of the wedge skid rather than dig.
Two inches behind, and keep going
The club enters the sand roughly two inches behind the ball and pushes a layer of sand that carries the ball out. What matters is finishing the swing: decelerate and the ball stays in. Accelerate to a full finish, every time.
The set-up
Feet worked slightly into the sand for stability, weight forward, ball slightly ahead of centre. And crucially: the body follows the feet, the face points at the target. Forgetting one of the two is the commonest error.
The drill that teaches it
Draw a line in the sand, no ball. Ten swings so that the sand flies from the line onwards. Only when ten in a row work does a ball go two inches in front. This drill beats any video analysis.
Fairway bunkers: the opposite
Here the ball is struck first. One club more, ball slightly back, feet barely dug in, quiet legs, clean contact. Attacking the green from a fairway bunker instead of regaining the fairway costs a great many shots over a season.
Plugged lies
With the ball half buried, close the face rather than open it, drive the club down steeply and abandon the finish. The ball comes out low and runs a long way: that is normal and must be planned for.
Wet sand, and revetted faces
After rain the sand is firm. Stand closer and use less loft, or the sole will bounce off the hard base and the club will thin the ball. On links courses with revetted faces, the only sensible question is whether the front lip allows a shot at the flag at all. Frequently it does not, and sideways is the shot that saves the hole.
Where to practise
Not every driving range has a practice bunker. Municipal courses and pay-and-play centres often do, and county-run facilities usually allow short-game practice for a small fee. Failing that, rehearse the motion on grass without a ball: the sand contact is missing, the acceleration is not.
