Advice - pressure proof bunker game...

I will start by saying I am a 2 handicap - so I know all the basics of a bunker shot, but it is the weakest part of my game are bunkers. I can hit great shots with no pressure, but my bunker game tends to fold under pressure.

Like most better players I do have go-to shots under pressure for most parts of my game that I can rely on . These shots tend to compromise something on the reward side, but eliminates risk of a truly bad shot. ie a tee shot that I know will find the fairway but gives up some length.

However out of the bunker I don't have a go-to technique. Something that simplifies the shot and may not result in hitting it preciously to the hole, but takes out the potential for a really poor shot under pressure.

Any advice?

Square face, square stance, ball forward, normal golf swing

Hit a baby draw with a vertical-pointing face out of the bunker-keeps things shallow and accelerating!

Callaway Sure Out, address the ball forward in stance and take a normal swing.

With bunkers two things are key: Hitting the sand first and committing to the follow-through. For the latter, just before the swing I often think 'If you don't want to lose golf balls, don't play golf'.

The advantage of the Sure Out (especially the 64* version) is that there's no need to open the club face. It also works well getting the ball out of knee-high rough. I have both the 60* and 64* and they are also quite good for chipping. I also use them with a full swing for approaches but most people think that's a bad idea :)

I use the traditional method (open stance open face) but the main key that helped me was the feel through the ball. You don't want to feel any sort of dig with the leading edge, but more like you are splashing the sand with the back of the club. From there I tweak distance with speed/length of swing or go down to my sand wedge. Doing this I'm not even really thinking about how far behind the ball I'm hitting, but that comes with a lot of practice.

> @andrue said:

> Callaway Sure Out, address the ball forward in stance and take a normal swing.

>

> With bunkers two things are key: Hitting the sand first and committing to the follow-through. For the latter, just before the swing I often think 'If you don't want to lose golf balls, don't play golf'.

>

> The advantage of the Sure Out (especially the 64* version) is that there's no need to open the club face. It also works well getting the ball out of knee-high rough. I have both the 60* and 64* and they are also quite good for chipping. I also use them with a full swing for approaches but most people think that's a bad idea :)

I am not sure I ready to go to specialty wedges just yet. My wedge game is very strong otherwise and I would not want to mess with it. I also find I do need my 60* for full shots as it my 95-100 yard club.

I was a really terrible bunker player, usually either bladed over the green or left short in the bunker frequently. I always tried to follow the standard advice of open face wide and set up stance to the left so the face points at the flag. Then swing up and cut across the ball. Never worked for me, and some of that could probably be attributed to some issues with my full swing.

After watching Monte's Use The Bounce 2.0 and also attending a clinic where he demonstrated his, my bunker game improved quite a lot. I'm not a world class bunker player or anything and I don't have all the specialty bunker shots but I'm getting out on the first shot frequently inside 12-15 feet and almost always inside 20 feet (not counting fried egg and buried lies of course).

Open face, square stance. Shallow long divot. With this method you can either hit it close to ball to fly further and spin more or hit more behind it, fly it less and roll more. So it has built in margin of error

When under pressure the simpler you keep it the better. I echo the comments above...square stance, normal swing, and face depends on sand texture and how much is there. The more sand the more open...if hardpan then square to maybe even a touch closed. If you are like most people and speed up when under pressure then you will need to control your speed. Try to leave the ball in the bunker and you may be surprised. This is my primary thought on hard pan and it works wonders.