Bunker Shots in Golf Can be Really Easy
Most amateur golfers are afraid of the bunkers that they see dotting the golf course – mostly because they haven’t spent much time practicing how to get out of them. If they took some time to work on their bunker game, they would quickly find that it isn’t all that hard to get out of the bunker most of the time, and it can actually be better than getting stuck in the long rough. If you are one of those golfers that lives in fear of the sand, it is time to do something about it.
Following are three basic tips to help you solve the bunker mystery. Use these tips when you head to the practice range next time and spend a little bit of time rehearsing out of the bunker. With good technique and a little practice, bunkers will quickly stop being such a scary place to find your golf ball.
- Hit the sand, not the ball. By far the most confusing part of getting into a bunker for most golfers is the fact that to get out easily, you want to hit the sand and not the ball (for a short bunker shot). Ideally, you want to slide your wedge cleanly under the ball and through the sand. That sand will lift the ball up into the air and toss it onto the green. Once you have gotten comfortable with this technique, you might be surprised at how easy it really is.
- Take a big swing. Even though you might only be a few yards from the hole, it will take a large swing to do the job (because you are swinging into the sand). This is why practice is so important – you need to hit some shots to get comfortable with how hard you need to swing in order to send the ball flying the proper distance. This is something that can only be learned through experience, so the more bunker shots you can hit, the better you should become.
- Wiggle your feet. You don’t want to slip while you are making your swing in the bunker, so wiggle your feet into the sand before you hit the shot. You don’t need to dig too deeply into the sand – just enough so that you feel like you have good footing and can make the swing confidently without losing your footing.