How to Hit a Bunker Shot: 3 Simple Steps to a Beach Exit

Thanks for checking out the Golfer Performance tips on how to hit a bunker shot.

I’ve been there as a beginner when you are starting to put a few things together in your golf swing and hitting drivers and irons better, only to get into a greenside bunker and have it derail your round because it is an absolute foreign territory with no complete understanding of how to get your ball out.

I will specifically focus on how to hit out of greenside bunkers. This is slightly different from hitting out of fairway bunkers. The greenside shots need a different setup and finesse to them. 

It’s actually a lot easier than it seems!

Keep reading for a great footprint tip that has massively increased my success rate in getting out of greenside bunkers.

Key Takeaways

• Ground your feet in the sand firmly, aiming them (and your body) slightly left of the target, while having an open club face.

• Hit the sand 1 to 2 inches behind the ball with the leading edge of the open club face, causing the ball to splash out with the sand. 

• Follow through and don’t decelerate your swing to be sure that the force is enough to have the sand buoy the ball out of the bunker.
  

What is a Greenside Bunker?

For those VERY new to golf, it is a sand trap (hazard) built in different formations beside the putting green on a golf hole. 

Unfortunately, yes, it gets worse.

They are not always the same in terms of design and difficulty. And, to make it EVEN WORSE, depending on the course you are playing, the upkeep and quality of sand used can also make it more challenging to hit out of.

Around the green, there can be differences in bunker depth, lip height, overall size, and whether the bunker is above or below the green/hole. All of these will slightly adjust your strategy on hitting out. 

What Club Should I Use To Hit Out of a Bunker?

For greenside bunkers, again, it will depend on how long the shot is or how high you have to get it quickly, but for the most part, I would practice getting comfortable using your sand wedge and any lob wedges you have (e.g., 58 or 60 degree wedges).

I sometimes use my pitching wedge to hit out of a greenside bunker if I play a course with big greens and the pin is far away from my bunker location. It gives more force in the sand and carries the ball further.

Take a look at the lie and also how deep the bunker is/how high the face of the bunker is that you need to get out of. If it is pretty high, use a lob wedge to get the trajectory very high and give yourself a chance to get out of the bunker.

How to Hit a Greenside Bunker Shot

Once you have the right club, here are some easy steps to get yourself out of the bunker!

Step 1: Stance and Set-up 

When I line up to take my bunker shots I really plant my feet firmly in the sand (basically doing some twists with my feet) to make sure I have a firm base in the sand. 

I always have the ball further up in my stance; my left foot is pointing a bit outward, and my body and both my feet are aiming slightly to the left of where I want the ball to end up. This is because we are going to use an open clubface, and the ball will usually come out a bit right from the sand. 

I grip my club normally, but this is IMPORTANT: make sure that your clubface is open when it is aligned behind the ball in your stance (without grounding/touching the sand). 

Finally, it is important to keep your weight more forward and on the front foot, almost leaning forward on it. It feels easier to hit proper contact with the sand because of the forward lean that creates a steeper attack angle with my wedge. 

Step 2: Starting the Swing

For my most successful bunker shots, I usually have a steep angle of attack when I start my swing. Another big part of my success is not taking a FULL backswing all the way up; at most, I probably go about three-quarters of a swing. 

It’s probably better to go just past halfway what you would for a normal swing before starting the downswing.

I hinge my wrists relatively aggressively to get the steep angle of attack, understanding that the goal is to splash the sand with the open club face so the ball rides out with the sandy wave. 

Step 3: Downswing and Follow Through

On the downswing, you need to swing along the line of your feet, promoting a more outside-in path and allowing the bounce of the wedge to slide through the sand and DO NOT decelerate at any point during the swing.

The most important part is to make contact with the sand 1 or 2 inches behind the ball with your open club face. 

The best tip I can give to help you visualize and aid in hitting behind the ball successfully is to put a footprint beside your ball that is in line with your overall target (see below).

FOOTPRINT TIP

This is something I started doing on my bunker shots, and it has worked wonders in making sure my mind knows that I have to hit the sand behind the ball with an open clubface in order to let the sand do the work and lift the ball out. 

My goal with the footprint beside is to wipe out the same space of sand adjacent to my footprint, starting in line with the back of the footprint in the sand (which would be a few inches behind the ball).  

Remember to accelerate through the sand during your swing and not stab at it (which would decelerate). Something that I have used to make sure I don’t stop my swing is almost to do a walking finish with my right leg. 

By that, at the end of my bunker swing I take a step forward with my right leg/foot to continue the momentum. I have found this to be very useful in committing to a full bunker swing and preventing deceleration, which will absolutely kill the sand shot. 

How Do I Hit Out of a Plugged Lie?

The plugged lie is more playfully called “the fried egg”, and does pose a bit more of a challenge to get out of. 

If you end up in this unfortunate situation, remember that you will want to set up pretty similarly to how I described above for a bunker shot with a normal lie.

There are, however, 2 main differences to note. 

The first difference with the plugged lie is that instead of aiming 2 inches behind the ball, you will want to aim for your sand contact point to be 3 inches behind the ball. 

The second difference is to keep the club face more square (not AS open/blade like with standard bunker shots). 

Because the ball is in a more precarious “indented” lie, this lets you really get the club face in early and completely force all that sand surrounding the ball in a fried egg-like lie with a square face to splash out and take the ball with it. 

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