Dan Grieve 25 Handicap Lesson: Better Bunker Play

The main problem Golf Monthly reader Richard Baker struggles with is fairly typical of a high handicap golfer in that not only does he find a lot of bunkers, but he also has trouble getting out of them first or second time. Whether it’s a chunk where the ball stays in the sand or a knifed shot over the green, inconsistency from the sand is leading to some high numbers on the scorecard - something he was desperately hoping Top 50 coach and adidas brand ambassador Dan Grieve could help with.

WATCH: Dan Grieve explains the technique required on bunker shots

Luckily for Richard, both bad shots that Richard hits stem from the same incorrect set up position. It's something we also saw with Jess Ratcliffe's struggles from the rough and Ben Tadman's chipping yips.

“In Richard’s set up, he isn’t creating the platform that he needs to play good bunker shots,” Dan explains. “Successful bunker shots are 90 percent address, 10 percent swing. His stance is too narrow and he has the majority of his weight on his trail side. Often in bunkers the temptation is to lean back away from the target and try and help the ball out, especially if the bunker has quite a tall lip.”

To help Richard feel the correct set-up position, Dan set up to the ball, wiggled both feet into the sand and then asked Richard to step into his footprints. The result was a stance that was much wider, with his feet further away from the ball and by pushing Richard’s pelvis more towards the target, he was then in a much better position to hit more consistent sand shots.

“I wanted Richard to feel more stability in his legs,” Dan added. “This helps get his hands lower and enter the sand two inches behind the ball more consistently. Once we got his set up right it was just a case of getting his chest to turn towards the target into the finish and feel like the loft was pointing more towards him, which helped to activate the bounce and ensure the club didn’t dig too much.”

The results were almost immediate with Richard hitting some high, soft-landing bunker shots that stopped quickly next to the flag. As Dan pointed out during the lesson, there’s no reason why anyone can’t stand to the ball like the world’s best players. Getting this right then set off a chain reaction in terms of how he then moved during the swing.

“Before I came to see Dan my short game was a lottery, lots of duffs and thins,” Richard explained. “The focus on how to set up right and let the swing take care of itself was really helpful. I had no idea what I was doing wrong so being able to reliably get the ball out of the bunker will be really helpful. Actually feeling what a good set up feels like is the real benefit of spending time with Dan, and then experiencing the impact of getting it right is just so much better for the memory.”

A big thank you to Dan Grieve for giving us his time and to adidas for the opportunity. Both Dan and Richard were wearing the Ultimate365 8.5 inch shorts from adidas to improve their shorts game.