Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
Bunker shots are some of the most difficult shots recreational golfers face in any given round. Often, it’s not about getting the ball close to the hole from the bunker, but rather just getting it out of the sand.
Pros on the other hand make bunker shots look easy. In fact, sometimes their “bail out” shots are into bunkers because they know they can get the ball closer from the sand than they can from the deep rough. That’s not to say pros are automatic on their up-and-downs from the sand (PGA Tour average is just over 51 percent), but in certain situations, a bunker shot is easier than the alternative.
So, why are pros so comfortable from the sand while weekend warriors dread it? Other than the obvious (they’re really really good at golf), much of their success is simply a product of more practice and proper technique. Pros have the technique of bunker shots down to a science, while recreational players typically have no idea what they’re supposed to do.
In the video below, Parker McLachlin — aka the Short Game Chef — shows us the pro-approved technique for bunker shots. Follow his lead, and you’ll see your bunker game improve in a hurry.
The pro-approved bunker technique
Conventional golf instruction over the years has taught that the standard bunker shot needs to be played with the stance well open in relation to the target line. Then, you’d swing along your feet line to splash the ball out of the sand.
But over the last half decade or so, that technique has been changing — especially at the PGA Tour level. Now, players are lining up with a their feet more square to the target line.
If you were to just make this change with everything else in your technique staying the same, your clubface would be aimed well to the right of the target. That’s where another key technique change comes into play as you want to drop your hands very low at address.
“That’s how the modern Tour players is doing things,” McLachlin says. “They’re getting much further away from it and lowering their hands.”
This lowering of the hands coupled with the open face points the clubface directly at your target. And from this position you are able to make a swing with a much more neutral path (as opposed to the severe out-to-in path) and still escape the sand.
ShortGameChef.com, created by PGA Tour winner Parker McLachlin, provides golfers with a comprehensive resource to improve their short game. Through personalized tips, drills, and expert insights, Parker helps players of all levels gain more confidence and a deeper understanding of their short game to lower their scores. You can browse membership options here.
