Many golfers use the standard technique and a sand wedge to escape a greenside bunker from buried lies. They dig their feet in, strengthen their grip, toe in the club about 30 de-grees, play the ball back, and make a steep downswing. This technique works well for some but not for others. For those it doesn’t work well for, it usually costs them a stroke or two. Below is a different approach to playing this troublesome shot.
Here are five keys to this shot:
• Select the right club
• Open the face about 30 degrees
• Position the ball forward
• Place your weight on your front foot
• Make a steep downswing
Generally, you want to use a club with a lot of bounce when hitting from a greenside bun-ker. The bounce helps you skim the club through the sand and pop the ball out. But with buried lies you need to dig into the sand, not skim through it. So selecting the right club for the job is paramount.
The choice of club depends on how long a shot you have. Use a pitching wedge or 9-iron with the standard bunker shot technique with longer shots, if you think you can clear the bunker’s lip. The pitching wedge and 9-iron don’t have the bounce that a sand wedge has, so it’s easier to dig into the sand with them. The ball comes out and rolls, which is exactly what you want.
Use a sand wedge for shorter shots but change your technique slightly. Weaken your grip, open the face about 30 degrees to get the leading edge to dig into the sand, and position the ball forward of center, with your weight on your front foot. Take a hard, steep swing.
You need to swing hard here to produce enough speed to generate a soft shot that stops fast. You can even leave the club in the sand. The ball lands softly on the green after the shot and doesn’t roll much.
