It is an area of the game that most golfers struggle with but, once you know how to play bunker shots, it is surprisingly easy. In this video and article, Top 50 Coach and PGA Professional Alex Elliott, shares his 5 best bunker tips for golf to help you find the right loft, speed and strike.
Best Bunker Tips For Golf: 1 Nail The Set Up
If your address position is all wrong, you’ll struggle to hit good bunker shots. Start by opening the clubface. You need to do this in the correct way - by opening the face BEFORE you set your grip. The video with this article shows exactly how to do it. Then take a wide stance, copying what you would do in your driver set up and set your ball position a clubhead’s width inside your lead heel. Next, shuffle your feet into the sand to provide you with a stable base. And finally (but most importantly…) introduce some additional knee flex and place your weight onto your lead foot. This will bring your hands down towards the sand and is one of the key components here that will help you find additional loft on your greenside bunker shots.
2 Line Drill
Now it is time to get the strike right. My favourite drill here is to draw two straight lines in the sand (you can use the bunker rake and alignment sticks to help with this) - one represents where the ball sits and the other is where the bounce of the wedge hits the sand first. There should be a golf ball’s width between the two lines. Place one ball at the top of the line and stand with the club next to the other end of the line. Make a series of swings, moving up the line towards the ball, judging where the club enters the sand. You’ll naturally make micro-adjustments with each swing and by the time you arrive at the ball to hit a real shot, you should have much better control over where the club is entering the sand.
3 Strike The Match Drill
Draw on the sand an oversized matchbox, as shown above, and draw a line across the middle. The middle line is what you are looking to strike (the point before the golf ball that we’ve just been working on). This drill is about using the momentum of the clubhead in the swing to create the speed you need. I want you to start by swinging with just your left hand on the club. Try to hit the line and check that the clubface is pointing back at you, half way into the finish position. Now do the same with just your right hand on the grip. You should get a feel for the weight of the clubhead, striking that match, at the bottom of the arc of the swing. Now place both hands on the club and replicate what you’ve just done.
4 Two Ball Drill
This drill is quick, easy and effective. Place the first ball on the sand - give yourself a good lie. Now use a second ball to create an indentation in the sand, just behind the first. The aim here is simple - get the club striking the sand at the start of the indentation mark. Crucially, lock your focus in on the start of that indentation - that’s what you should be looking at, not the ball!
5 Loft On Drill
The best bunker tips for golf so far have shown you how to set the foundation, find the strike and create the speed. Now it is time to work out how to keep the loft on the club throughout the swing. Get your wedge and shuffle some sand onto the face. Now make a practice swing but stop at the top. The aim is to keep the sand on the face for longer in the swing - it should only fly off, once you have reached the top. Get it right and the sand will fly over your lead shoulder. Any earlier than this and you’ll be closing the face and losing helpful loft.
My best bunker tips for golf are designed to help you set the basics while making your practice sessions as enjoyable as possible. Give them a go, they should work!
