Bunker shot tips video

Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach Andrew Jones offers his bunker shot tips video to help you escape sand every time

Bunker shot tips video

When playing from sand you need to forget about this as shot, delicate shot and understand that to get the ball out you need to be explosive and swing the club at what feels like driver pace with plenty of acceleration through the ball.

Beginners guide to bunker play

Obviously the most important thing is to strike the sand before the ball with a depth of divot and the point at which the club strikes the sand being the same every time. The key to this is mastering the two areas of stability in the swing, horizontal and vertical.

Make sure you don’t sway away from or towards the target during the swing – this will create fat and thin contacts. The main error I see here is when players lean away from the target to get the ball up in the air. So concentrate on covering the ball through impact.

Equally, ensure your upper body doesn’t lift or dip during the swing. This is much the same as with your normal giolf swing in that you want to maintain the posture you set at address through to impact.  Set your knees at the right level at address (you should have more knee flex here than for a normal shot) and then hold your height through the swing.

I want you to feel that you are playing this shot 'in the basement' rather than on the ground floor. So flex your knees more than usual and then stay at this level through the shot.

More top golf tips

From there make a full swing with plenty of speed. The adjustments we have just discussed will certainly help you strike the sand consistently. The ball will pop up and out leaving you with a simple attempt for par.

Head to the practice ground and use this bunker shot tips video to help you groove an action that is repeatable and reliable. Your sand save stats will go through the roof!