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Golf Bunker Tips - Tackling a Bunker Shot

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In the game of golf a bunker, is a golf term that player use to refer to a trap. It is a small area of ground on the golf course were the turf has been removed, and is replaced with sand, water, or tall grass. A bunker that crosses the line of play, is referred to as a cross bunker.

The secret to over coming, and tackling a bunker shot lies with-in the golfer. If you should find your self in a bunker, the first thing you should to is establish a firm base, this should be done in conjunction with a solid footing stance that will support your golf swing without causing you to slip. After establishing this base, and before taking your swing, you need to make sure that you were careful not to dig your feet into the sand. If you dig your feet in to well you run the risk of making your legs rigid, and encourage you to take too strong of a shot. The very essence of this shot lies in your lower body. You need to keep your lower body still with very little movement in your legs.

When taking a bunker shot a player should stand so that their body weight focused on their left side (however if you are left-handed, your body weight should favor your right side) with their stance opened slightly wider than normal to restrict the backswing and steepen the swing. A golfers knees should be turned slightly inward, so that the majority of their weight is placed on the insides of their feet.

Whenever you are take any kind golf shot it is very important to remember to maintain a firm, but light grip. If you grip the club to tight, your wrists will become rigid, and when this happens, it might be difficult to slide the club under the ball and into the sand. You should also change the way you grip the club when taking bunker shots. Your hands should come to rest slightly farther down on the shaft of the club than they normal do, about half an inch should be sufficient, not only dose this make it easier for you to make the shot, it will also discourage you from trying to bury your feet in the sand. Finally, you should hinge your wrists, slightly earlier than you normally would this encourages a steeper angle of attack on the downswing.

In a sand trap a player should shorten their backswing by about a quarter of their swing, and then they should mirror a three-quarter swing on follow-through. Whenever you find yourself playing a bunker shot remember that the goal is not to strike the ball with the head of the club, but instead to aim for a point that is about two or three inches behind the ball. This will cause you to scoop up sand that is behind the ball, which will then in-turn make contact with the ball and shoot it up, and out of the bunker.

If you happen to be taking your shot on an uphill slope of the bunker you need to make sure that you are careful to keep your shoulders level, and avoid the natural tendency to tilt them with the slope. If you are taking a shot from the downhill slope on the bunker, widen your stance just a little, steepen your backswing, and swing slightly more aggressively than you normally would. Make sure that you are careful, not to close the face of the club and accelerate through the ball.