How to Hit Out of Fairway Bunkers: From Bunker to Birdie

This is the Golfer Performance breakdown of dealing with when you think you hit a nice drive/tee shot only to find yourself in a fairway bunker! 

Facing a fairway bunker shot can be intimidating. You're generally far away from the green, and you have to worry about making square contact and hitting a good distance.

As read further below about how to hit out of fairway bunkers, there is one great tip that I follow which has really helped my contact on these shots.

Key Takeaways

• Understand your lie and the characteristics (depth, lip, etc) of the fairway bunker you’re in.

• Use the same club for your fairway bunker shot distance wise as you would the same shot from the fairway (may adjust depending on lip height and lie).

• Stance should be wider/slightly taller than regular shots for better foundation in the sand.

• Make sure your swing glides over the sand to make flush ball contact, and avoid digging the club behind the ball in the sand.

How Do I Know What Club to Use for a Fairway Bunker Shot?

It’s not overly complicated, and you can get away with using whichever club you would normally use from the fairway for the distance of the shot you have in the fairway bunker. 

Times when you may have to “club up” and go one more (e.g., If you normally hit 8 iron from that distance, use a 7 iron) could be if the lie isn’t great or there is some headwind coming at you. 

If the fairway bunker is a nice shallow one with minimal lip height, you can take the club you normally would hit from that specific distance. BUT, if you are playing a course that has deeper fairway bunkers with higher lips, depending how close you are to it, you may have to suck it up and take a higher lofted club to make sure you clear the lip and get out of the bunker. 

Also, grip down, if required, so that you can get the ball at least out and onto the fairway. 

Yes, this may end up costing you a lot of distance, but there is nothing more deflating than taking your next shot from the same fairway bunker!

How Do I Set Up for a Fairway Bunker Shot?

Although club selection for fairway bunker shots, in terms of what you would usually hit distance wise, is pretty similar to normal fairway shots, the setup and stance are a bit different.

I usually have a slightly wider stance than usual iron shots to give myself a stable foundation when grounding my feet in sand that is less steady than fairway grass.

That secure base is needed for balance to have a smooth swing process that ends up with clean ball contact and not digging deep in the sand with the club because of an imbalance in your stance. 

The grip is also a bit different than it would be on a normal shot. I recommend gripping down just a tad on the club to have better control and prevent yourself from getting too deep into the sand behind the ball on your swing. The more controlled swing and less depth still give enough power to get the ball out of the bunker down the fairway to where you want. 

Lastly, ball position in your stance should be fairly center when you are taking a swipe out of the fairway bunker. You generally want to play it as close to a normal shot as possible.

This ball positioning helps promote clean contact, ensuring you hit the ball first instead of digging the club into the sand behind the ball, which will be incredibly frustrating (trust me!) and might hinder the overall trajectory of your shot.

How Do You Hit Out of a Fairway Bunker?

Once you have everything that was covered above for your club pick, stance, and grip, we get into the fun part.

The swing!

If I am using an iron, which most times will probably be the case, I generally take a pretty normal iron swing with the caveat that I try to keep my lower body a bit more stable than when I am on the fairway using my lower body for extra power.

This is because I don’t want to have too much leg movement, as it gives me a higher chance to mess up my balance, decelerate, and end up with crappy contact or digging into the sand behind the ball.

*TIP*

One technique that I use and have found AMAZING when hitting out of fairway bunkers is visualizing the ball being on top of a thin pane of glass.

When hitting the ball, unlike a greenside bunker where you have to hit 1 to 2 inches behind the ball into the sand, I do my best to keep my legs relatively firm and grounded (less movement than a fairway iron shot) and use more upper body to make a smooth swing that would essentially glide across the top of the pain of glass without breaking it, while making contact with the ball.

This technique has worked well for me, and I have been very successful in making consistent contact out of fairway bunkers using any club for the lie and lip situation, from hybrids to shorter irons.

The benefit of using this technique is that it becomes ingrained into your mind the idea of not digging into the sand for fairway bunker shots, just a nice, strong, smooth swing that glides right over the sand, making solid contact with the ball.

How Should I Practice My Fairway Bunker Technique?

This should go without saying, but by dedicating time to work on your fairway bunker shots, you'll soon become more confident and successful in them.

The technique of visualizing a thin pane of glass under the ball in the sand and gliding the club during your swing so that you make contact with the ball and not break the glass worked wonders for my fairway bunker game.

To reiterate important points, be sure to focus on the key elements of a successful fairway bunker shot during your practice:

• Assess the lie and select the appropriate club.

• Adjust your grip, stance, and ball positioning.

• Maintain proper posture throughout the swing.

• Swing with full commitment, avoiding any hesitation.

Uphill fairway bunker lie from ~160 yards to a well protected green from all sides, including an approach over water. Strategize wisely.

When practicing, don't just focus on perfect lies. Instead, also practice hitting from different situations, such as uneven lies or with the ball partially buried in the sand. You rarely get a perfect lie that you don’t make for yourself.

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