What Is A Chunk-And-Run In Golf?

A chunk-and-run shot

A chunk-and-run shot is favoured by pros as a way of playing from a bunker that is away from the green. When playing from greenside bunkers a high floaty wedge shot with plenty of backspin and played with an open clubface is normally just the ticket. But if you are playing from a bunker which is further from the hole this type of shot requires you to fly the ball all the way to the target and leaves little margin of error.

Hit too much sand behind the ball and the ball will just plop out near the bunker. Take too little sand and the ball will be clipped clean off the surface and fly off into the distance, quite possibly airmailing the green. So instead the pros employ the chunk-and-run shot as that gives them a greater margin of error. A chunk is when the club strikes not the ball but the ground behind the ball. It can look something like this:

Normally this is to avoided, for obvious reasons. But in a bunker what can happen is that a chunk pushes sand towards the ball and that sand in turn pushes the ball out of the bunker. This technique does not impart backspin to the ball so, when the ball lands, rather than stop quickly or come back towards you it runs on.

Sometimes this shot is not played with a wedge, but a 9- or 8-iron. Rather than open up the clubface, the clubface is lined up square on to the ball and, with the player’s weight predominantly on the front foot, the intention is to hit the sand about three or four inches behind the ball and push the ball out of the bunker and running towards the target.