It might be the scariest shot in golf. Here’s how to pull it off

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — If you’re into golf instruction, you could do worse than be a fly on the wall at GOLF’s Top 100 Teachers Summit, an annual gathering of the game’s most respected coaches that this week was conducted at Cabot Citrus Farms, about an hour’s drive north of Tampa.

I, for one, absorbed all kinds of wisdom in the two days I was onsite, including but not limited to: why chipping is more difficult today than it was a generation ago (new grasses, tighter lies, etc.); the importance of hand and grip strength in generating power (it matters!); and the problem too many amateurs unwittingly have with their putter shafts (too long).

But there’s one tip that most stuck with me: How to play a short-sided bunker shot from a downhill lie. If you’re like me, this shot keeps you up night; if it’s not the scariest shot in golf, it’s right up there. No matter where I position the ball or what club I use or what kind of contact I make, I never seem to be to get the necessary loft to launch the ball high and softly or enough spin to stop it quickly. The most common result: a soul-crushing blade into the bunker face.

Enter Parker McLachlin, a former Tour winner who, in his post-playing days, has rebranded himself “the Short Game Chef.” (Check out his stuff here.) For about 45 minutes Tuesday, McLachlin stood in the depths of a cavernous greenside bunker at Citrus Farms as more than 100 of his fellow teachers and other assorted attendees peered down at him as Romans did on their entertainment in the Colosseum. McLachlin dished all kinds of smart nuggets about how to master bunker shots, including the importance of proper club selection, but I leaned in hardest when another teacher asked McLachlin for his thoughts on how to play bunker shots off….yep, downhill lies.

Off a downslope, McLachlin explained, the ball naturally wants to come out low and fast, but you can counter these forces of nature in your setup. Start by fully opening the face on your highest lofted wedge, then setting your hands low to create even more effective loft. You’ll also want to slightly slide back your trail foot to give yourself room to swing the club around you.

Every part of your being is going to want to “help” the ball up, but, McLachlin said, it’s essential that you resist this urge. In fact, instead of tilting your right shoulder below your left as you would in a driver setup — a mistake I have been guilty of making — you’ll want to do the inverse so that your shoulder plane is parallel with the downslope.

“That’s counterintuitive, because we want to hit it high, and every time we want to hit it high, we want to look like this,” McLachlin said as he lowered his trail shoulder. “But again, I’m going to get all my loft at setup, clubface, handle position.”

The Chef’s final ingredient for executing one of golf’s hardest shots: trust. As in, trusting that your technique and tools will do their jobs. Fully commit, then go.

McLachlin then put his words into action.

From what was a horrid line on a downslope at the back of the bunker, the coach settled in and, as he had been doing throughout his session, dazzled his audience by making a hard shot look easy.   

I can’t wait to try the technique for myself.