Hitting A Wood From A Fairway Bunker

What do you use to hit out of a fairway bunker? Many golfers use an iron or a hybrid, with more and more golfers these days choosing the hybrid over the iron. Not many golfers would think to use a fairway wood instead. But you can use it to escape a fairway bunker in the right situation.
Here are the keys to this shot:

1.  Check out your lie first
2.  Make a full backswing
3.  Keep your feet quiet
4.  Take a shallow divot
5.  Finish in balance

The goal here is catch the ball cleanly with a level-to-the-ground swing. Thanks to the wood’s design the wide sole helps prevent the clubface from digging into the sand.
But you can only use it when you have the right type of lie and the right type of bunker. So check out your lie and the bunker first. Make sure the ball is sitting up on the sand and the bunker has little or no lip to it.
Then take a normal fairway wood stance. But don’t ground the club. It’s a 2-stroke penalty in medal play and a loss of hole in match play. Otherwise, take a normal set and swing for hitting a fairway wood.
Don’t be afraid to take a full backswing. But keep your feet quiet through the downswing. And try to take a shallow divot. Ideally, you’d like to make a shot that barely creates a divot. Finish in balance on the left side just as you would normally do.
You can get more distance with a fairway wood than you can with and iron or hybrid from a fairway bunker. So it’s a good club to use on a long par 4 or par 5. Just make sure your have a perfect lie and a bunker with no lip to it.