Playing From a Sand Trap

The shot that most weekend golfers tend to fear the most is the dreaded sand shot. The mere thought of hitting a shot from a sand trap often sends trembles right through a golfer’s knees.

It does not have to be that way, a shot from the sand, especially one from a green side bunker, is a relatively straight-forward shot. The key is a basic understanding of what must be done to hit the proper shot.

When in a green side bunker, the theory is to blast the ball from the sand. To do so you must strike the sand directly behind the golf ball and itis the sand that actually forces the ball out of the trap.

The key to executing the shot is the amount of sand you take with the swing. Too much sand and the ball will not move a great deal. At the same time, if you hit the ball first or the ball and sand simultaneously you will propel the ball a long ways.

When in a green side bunker, think about “splashing the sand” underneath the ball with a very open faced wedge. First, lay the club face open. Next, dig in with your feet, using your stance to try to get a feel for how soft or hard the the sand is. If it is very soft, you will likely dig into the sand very easily when you swing. If the sand is firmer, then you will likely hit the ball more cleanly, taking less sand when you swing.

Next, line up to the left of your target with an open stance. We prefer the weight on the front side stance as with all chips (See second photo). As you begin to take your swing, try to take the club up vertically - do not take the club backward along the ground, instead lift it vertically. Lastly, take a full swing with a follow through, always with the intent of taking some of the sand just behind the ball. 

Depending on the distance you are looking for, the contact point with the sand can be from one half-inch behind the ball to a full two inches. Try to splash the sand towards the hole - if you do so, you will get a shot that has a great deal of spin and the ball will not roll much once it lands on the green.

If the ball is sitting up then the shot is even easier. If you practice taking the club back vertically and coming down into the sand you can adjust the position of the ball in your stance to ensure the amount of sand you take is in line with the desired distance.

In all cases, be sure to keep your head down and still. The slightest movement of your head will cause swing variations and a tendency to be out of balance. To hit the spot you want you must be focused directly on the point of impact. Also, pick a spot in the middle of the green as the target to start with - focusing on the hole alone is too much when you are first trying to master the shot.

In contrast, when you are in a fairway bunker, the key is to strike the ball with as little sand as you can. It is important that you hit the ball as you would in the fairway, striking the ball first before you touch the sand at all.

To ensure a quality shot, reverse the swing take away. At first you may want to keep an open club face but take the club back low. As you take your swing, be sure to try to pick the ball as cleanly as you can. If you tend to stay too high you may hit a skulled shot but at least you should get some yardage and be out of the dreaded sand. If you take too much of a divot you will find you get almost nothing out of your shot distance wise. For this reason, you may want to use the more open club face - a poor swing with a closed face will dig deeply in the sand.

When you begin to get the feel of the sand shot, you will find that you have very little discomfort with the shot. In fact you will move very quickly from being satisfied with simply extricating yourself from the bunker to being more confident that you can advance the ball in the proper direction with at least a basic distance consistent with your goal.