Golf sand trap tips: how to never get stuck in the bunker again!

Bunker shots are some of the toughest shots in golf. Beginner and intermediate players especially have trouble escaping the sand trap. Furthermore, the basics of a good bunker shot are unintuitive for many players. Fortunately, with enough practice, it’s possible to consistently hit good bunker shots. Enhance your game with these golf sand trap tips so that you don’t stay stuck in the bunker.

Steps for hitting a great bunker shot

#1. Choose a sand wedge for your bunker shot

It’s important to pick the right golf club when preparing your sand trap shot. The default choice for this is the 56 degree sand wedge.

The sand wedge is a great choice for a bunker shot. It has the loft that golfers need to escape the sand, while still being very forgiving. Bunker shots are very tough for the average golfer, so make things as easy on yourself as possible. The sand wedge has enough loft to escape the sand trap, while being easy enough for the average golfer to control.

Some people may recommend a 60 degree loft wedge for this type of shot. While this comes down to personal preference, for the average golfer the sand wedge is more forgiving and more likely to get you back on the green.

If you’re an advanced golfer, then you might carry both wedges with you. In that case, use the loft wedge when you have only a small amount of green in front of you. Use the lower loft sand wedge when you have more green to cover after your shot.

#2. Set up your shot

Keep a wide stance for bunker shots

The first thing that you want to do when setting up your bunker shots is to use a wide stance. A wide stance will ensure that your hit the ball low. This allows you to get the club under the ball and pop it up, rather than digging the club into the sand.

You will want to position yourself in a open stance. A good check that your stance is open is that your front toe is slightly further back than your back toe. This will allow you to hit an outside-in swing path.

Make sure to keep your feet grounded into the sand when setting up your shot. Sand traps tend to have uneven terrain, so push your feet in until you have a stable base. This will also give you a feel for how deep the sand is.

Open your club face on bunker shots

Make sure to keep your club face slightly open when hitting your bunker shot. To do this, rotate the face of your club so it faces away from you slightly.

Open club face shots tend to dig into the sand less than a regular shot. It also helps keep the foot of the club from digging into the sand. This will help the ball you hit to go further and higher than it would otherwise.

Position your ball by your front foot

When setting up for a bunker shot, you want to keep the ball forward as much as possible. Get behind the ball so that your the golf ball is at your front foot.

Staying behind the ball will help you hit it at an upwards trajectory. Hitting the ball flat may be useful in some situations, but most sand shots need lots of loft to escape the bunker.

Lean in heavily when hitting bunker shots

Once you’re behind the ball, you want to lean forwards heavily towards the ball. Position your weight about 80% forwards. Unlike a normal shot, avoid rocking your weight forward and backwards.

Leaning forwards and keeping your shoulders level will help splash the ball out of the bunker. It will help you stay low, increasing your control at the low point of the swing.

#3. Take your swing

Hit the perfect swing with these golf sand trap tips

A good swing will use an outside-in path, which will help loft the ball into the air. The swing itself will be slightly steeper than a normal shot.

Go back about 75% of a normal backswing, and then don’t be afraid to accelerate through the ball. The ball needs a lot of pace and energy to escape the sand trap. A good sand shot will send the ball high into the air, so make sure to put some real energy into your swing.

Gripping your golf club

The grip on your sand shot should be similar to that of a normal shot. The main difference will be the the grip should be slightly weaker.

A weak grip will allow your wrists to hinge earlier than they would otherwise. This will help to loft the ball so that it goes higher. The ball will also stop faster on the green.

Hit the sand just before your golf ball

Most bunker shots should have you aiming at the sand before the ball, rather than the ball itself. Aim one or two inches behind the ball, and then drive forward towards ball.

The shot should take a modest amount of sand with you, but never feel like it’s digging down into the sand.

The exception this rule is if you need the ball to go particularly far. In those cases, you should be getting a little more ball and a little less sand.

#4. Follow through

Good bunker shots require a lot of follow through. Since you’re leaning forward and not shifting your weight like you normally would, its important to focus on a strong follow through.

Make sure to stay down a bit longer than you normally would, and hit a full swing through the ball. Stopping early at the point of contact will not give your ball the energy it needs to escape the bunker.

Since this is an outside-in shot, you be finishing with the swing coming towards your body. This will be an exit left for right handed golfers, and exit right for left handed golfers. Exiting properly will prevent the club foot from digging into the sand, and help keep the club face pointed upwards.

Sand trap tips for common golf course scenarios

Greenside bunker shot

Greenside bunker shots are the most common bunker shots on the golf course. These shots are for bunkers that are located close to the putting green. These can be separated into far shots (greater than 15 years from the green) and close shots (less than 15 yards from the green).

Greenside bunker shots (close)

Close shots are for bunkers that are located less than 15 yards from the green. These are the most common greenside bunker shots.

Make sure to emphasize the following things for one of these shots:

  • Get as much loft as possible. You want the ball to travel up and over a small distance and land without rolling too much.
  • Keep a good open stance with your feet firmly planted. Lean forward and hit with an open face club.
  • Make sure to aim for the sand one or two inches before your ball
  • Keep a slightly shorter backswing (75%) than usual

Greenside bunker shots (far)

Far greenside bunker shots much much less common than close ones. A far greenside bunker shot is similar to a close one, with a couple of subtle differences.

For this shot want to:

  • Keep a similar stance and swing to the short greenside shot
  • Hit a little less sand and a little more ball on this shot
  • Hit the shot slightly lower, which will help the ball to travel further with slightly less loft
  • Consider using a slightly less lofted club, such as a pitching wedge

The plugged ball (fried egg) shot

Plugged balls are dreaded by many golfers. These balls land firmly in the ground so that they are partly embedded. The half-ball sticking out of the ground looks a bit like a fried egg.

Plugged balls are much more common in sand traps than they are on the fairway or green. They are most commonly the results of high winds and very soft sand.

Plugged balls are easily the hardest bunker shot to hit. When faced with one of these, just try to get out of the bunker in one shot. Don’t worry as much about distance, simply getting out of that scenario in one shot is good enough.

To hit a plugged ball bunker shot, do the following:

  • Hit behind the ball, deep in the sand to get under it
  • Use a lot of power when hitting the shot
  • Hit a very steep shot so that the leading edge of the wedge digs into the sand
  • Use a golf club with a lot of loft to it

Fairway bunker shot

These bunker shots mainly occur when your miss the fairway and land in one of the sand traps on the side. These shots are different from a greenside bunker shot because the ball still has a lot of distance to cover after escaping the trap.

Keep the following things in mind when hitting a fairway bunker shot:

  • Since you have a lot of distance to travel, hit more ball and less sand to send your shot low
  • If you’re skilled and want to get to the green quickly, consider using an iron instead of a wedge. Beginners and intermediate players should stick with a wedge.
  • Choke up on the club a couple of inches
  • Lean a little less forward than you normally would
  • Take a full swing instead of a 75% swing

Waste Bunker shot

Waste bunkers are large, naturally sandy spots on the golf course. The sand is usually very dense in these areas, making the shot similar to a normal swing.

Consider the following for a good waste bunker shots:

  • These shots can essentially be treated like normal fairway shots, so use the same club that you would from the fairway
  • Hit with a square stance, rather than an open one
  • Don’t lean forward in this case

Concluding thoughts

Sand shots are some of the toughest shots in golf. They are particularly tough for beginner and intermediate players. Fortunately, with enough practice and adjustment, it’s possible to get out of the bunker with consistency. Round out your golf game with a strong bunker shot, and never lose a round because your got stuck in the bunker.

FAQ

How to you get out of the sand trap every time?

Use a sand wedge, and focus on leaning forward in an open stance with an open club. Hit the sand a bit before the ball and use a lot of power.

How do you hit the ball with a sand trap?

Hit the ball using an outside-in swing with a lot of power. Hinge your a bit wrists early and aim for the sand slightly before the ball.

What golf club do you use to get out of a sand trap?

A 56 degree sand wedge should be the default for most players, although some players like even more loft on their club.

How do you hit a fluffy sand trap?

For fluffy sand, make sure that you get firmly under the ball by aiming for the sand slightly before the ball. Use a lot of power to drive the ball our of the sand.

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