Escaping the bunker

If you play golf at any of the courses in Bahrain, you will likely find yourself in a fairway bunker or ‘waste bunker’ before long.

In previous articles, we have discussed that it is essential to firmly hit the sand roughly two inches behind the ball in order to consistently escape from a greenside bunker. It is very important to understand that this is not the case in a fairway bunker.

In a fairway bunker, our goal is to strike the ball first, with a shallow angle of attack which encourages the ball to fly the correct distance. Below are some key points to consider when practicing your fairway or waste bunker shots.

*Set-up
In essence, a fairway bunker shot is a normal golf shot and your alignment should reflect that. Following on, ensure that you sink your feet into the sand in order to create a stable base. Then, grip down the shaft to compensate for the club head being closer to the ground.

Ball position should be slightly towards the front foot which will encourage a shallow angle of attack. Finally, it is sensible to take one extra club, allowing you to swing with more control which will likely result in more consistent striking.

*The Swing
In a ‘normal’ iron shot, we are taught to turn our lower body (or belt buckle) firmly towards the target in order to gain power. If you do this in a fairway bunker shot, when your feet can be up to two inches below the level of the sand (and ball), you run the risk of contacting the sand behind the ball. This results in a heavy contact where the ball barely has enough energy to get out of the bunker, let alone get up on to the green!

In a fairway bunker shot, it is important that we maintain our height and keep a ‘quiet’ lower body throughout the swing in order to produce a ball first contact.

Finally, resist the temptation to hit down steeply onto the back of the ball. You should be trying to ‘clip’ the ball off the top of the sand without taking too much sand with you. Remember, in most cases a slightly ‘thin’ contact is less destructive than a heavy contact.

If you can apply these ideas to your practice, long bunker shots will become less intimidating and you will be able to approach them with more confidence.