Since I’ve been talking about sand play (and golf equipment) all week, I’m declaring this beach week. All sand, all the time.

Today, I figure it’s time to cover basic bunker technique. As with most of the short game, I take my cues from Dave Pelz. Specifically, I use the technique outlined in his Short Game Bible.

Before I cover that, I want to say something important: in my observation, basic sand play is fairly straightforward and simple, but many people can’t get over their mental anguish about it. This leads to poor bunker play and fear that seems almost paralyzing as they prepare to get their golf ball out of jail. At that stage, they’re just looking to gouge it out and are happy if the ball ends up out of the bunker, are elated if the ball ends up on the green, and are tickled to death if they’re in two-putt range.

Well, I’m here to tell you that there’s nothing to fear. With proper technique and a little occasional practice, you can banish the irrational bunker fear and start to hit quality shots from bunkers.

That leaves us only to talk about the technical details.

Dave Pelz provides a three step plan to properly adjust to a shot from the sand trap:

1. Set up your aim, body, and swing lines a little left of the target (for a right hander), about 17 degrees. That means that your shoulders, hips, knees, feet, eyes all should be aligned together a little left.
2. Set up with the club face extremely open, perhaps as much as 45 degrees. The lines on the club face should point a little in front of your left toe.
3. Position the golf ball just inside your left heel.

From there, you’ll have a solid setup and will be ready to hit the shot. All that remains is to take a normal 9 o’clock finesse swing that follows your body lines. The swing arc should not be directed at the target and the club should not be manipulated toward the target in any way. You swing as if you’re hitting at a target 17 degrees left of your real target.

I should mention something about the 9 o’clock finesse swing: that’s a core fundamental of the Pelz short game system. I can’t do it justice in a blog post, so really think about picking up the book. But the important things to remember are:

• The stance should be about shoulder width, with the left foot flared out about 20-30 degrees.
• Use the “dead hands” grip. Only grip lightly enough to hold on to the club and cock the wrists. The grip should be neutral to weak. A strong (or “hook”) grip is not optimal.
• The 9 o’clock swing refers to an imaginary clock face with the left shoulder at the center of the dial. On the back swing, the left arm gets parallel with the ground, or to a 9 o’clock position, relative to the imaginary dial.
• The finesse swing incorporates a synchronized turn, where the upper and lower bodies turn together in a synchronized fashion. There is no power-generating coil, like in a full swing.
• Swing at a nice, smooth tempo that matches your everyday body tempo. For instance, if you’re a fast walker you might have a fast swing tempo, and if you kind of lumber along like me, you might have a slower tempo. Never thought about the golf swing that way, did you?
• Achieve a full finish with almost all your weight on your left foot.

Intuitively, you might think that you should vary the length of the back swing to vary the length of the shot. However, Pelz differs with that. He has found the 9 o’clock swing length to be the easiest for players to reproduce consistently. He recommends carrying four different wedges for the short game: a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, a lob wedge, and an extra lofted wedge. For varying distance in a sand trap, just vary the loft of your club. He makes the point that there’s no rule that says you have to hit a club with an “S” on it out of the bunker. This assumes that your wedges have the proper bounce angle and depth (the width of the sole) to be appropriate in the sand. (Edit: I forgot to mention that gripping down on each wedge is another way to create a shorter shot without varying swing length).

Just like with anything else, practice makes perfect. Like we talked about Monday, you want to try and make contact with the sand about two inches behind the ball. But with the set up and basic finesse swing I described above, that should be automatic. It’s not something you should have to consciously try to do. Let your setup, finesse swing, and the bounce of the club do it’s thing, and bask in the glory of a perfectly executed sand shot.

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Further Reading:

Uphill and Downhill Lies in Bunkers (Life in the Rough)
In Sand, the Point of Entry is Key (Life in the Rough)
The Buried Lie: A Sandy Grave (Life in the Rough)
Fairway Bunker Shots (Life in the Rough)

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