​4 Hacks to Improve Your Bunker Game

None of us like playing from the bunker—the sand can bog down any player of any level, turning a solid round into a disaster. It also, of course, means the previous shot was a missed shot in the first place! Some may neglect the intricacies of sand play to focus on fitness or the overall approach to the hole, but every golfer should spend time learning how to play their way out of trouble.

We gathered some tips from seasoned professionals and coaches about how to safely and accurately hit your ball out of a bunker.

1)Footwork

very bunker you play in will vary—and whether the difference is slight or vast, the overall setup play is a vitally important. Without preparing properly, the very foundations of the shot will most likely be erroneous. When shooting from the bunker, everything needs to fall into place; one way to reduce this margin of error is to have the correct footwork.Coach Malcolm Young’s first tip is to familiarize yourself with the bunker. Every bunker will be different, so take the time to get a feel of the sand’s texture. When setting up, placing the feet a little under the sand is advisable to get the club under the ball during the swing.
Young’s second piece of advice is to tighten up the stance—opening it up too much can cause difficulty with the motion of the swing and the direction of the club. His advice for a right-handed player is a slight left foot turn coupled with added pressure on the left knee, which can help with the motion of the hip rotation—a common problem for casual golfers.

2)Swing

After setting up properly (and taking out your specialist sand wedge), it’s time to take the swing. Opening your club face, the swing should come from “out to in” and the player should have a wrist hinge at the top—the farther back the wrist, the farther the ball will go, so it’s important to adjust accordingly.
It may sound counterproductive but, when hitting the ball, don’t make contact with the ball. Hit the sand around an inch behind the ball to get optimal yardage and accuracy.
To compound this and truly create a prime swing, the follow through must be noted— and for sand shots, the follow-through and the “stay down” is longer. The timing must be right—come up too early, and you’ll catch the shot thin—but too late, and power will be lost.

3)Mental Preparation

You’re three shots into a par five hole, but, instead of your ball laying nicely on the green, it was shanked into the greenside bunker. Even before you’ve started to think of the difficulties of sand play, you must deal with the frustration of the mishit.
Of course, this is the difference between a casual player, however talented, and a professional. While the former may lose their composure, the latter will, for the most part, maintain a calm mental state.
Even if the player manages to do so, there remains the daunting task of the bunker shot. In this case, the key issue is overthinking—and, with so many cues about footwork, the swing, and the follow-through, it’s easy to do so.
Many golfers at the more casual levels see the sand as a restrictive obstacle to getting around, and, in doing so, go into the shot with the intention of putting excess power. Naturally, this is counterproductive, as a more measured approach often leads to increased accuracy.
The advice here is to cool yourself down, after hitting into the bunker, and remain that way when taking the bunker shot—using a measured approach and remembering your cues.

4)The Case of the Trapped Ball

Playing the next shot from a plugged lie is intimidating and calls for a special hack. Considered one of the toughest shots in golf, the plugged lie is when the ball is seemingly half buried in the sand.

Due to the nature of this shot, there are a few adjustments that must be made to your standard bunker play. First, the club should strike the sand around three inches behind the ball, as opposed to just the one. Second, the club face should be kept square, as opposed to opening it up, and the grip should be tight on the club. Last, swing aggressively—the ball will come up against a lot of resistance. Remember—the aim of this shot is to get out of the bunker and in the general direction of the green.