Golf Tip: Bunker play

Everyone who has played golf has heard that a bunker shot “is one of the easiest shots in the game.”
For the players on the PGA Tour this holds true. As a matter of fact, under tournament conditions it is often easier for the players at the top level of the game to get the ball up and down out of the greenside bunkers than the adjacent rough. The shot at hand becomes very straight forward if the player understands the dynamics of the club, impact, and swing.

Set up for bunker play:
• set the clubface slightly open and position hands on the club using full swing grip
• set alignment slightly open with weight favoring left foot
• ball position should be approximately 2 inches forward of center in stance
• hover the club head over the sand approximately 2 inches behind the ball with the shaft and hands in line with the club head.
• focus eyes on the spot at which the club should enter the sand

Todd Sinclair is the Director of Instruction at First Coast Golf Academy. Sinclair gives lessons at both The Orchards at Egg Harbor and Meadow Ridge Lodge at Cherry Hills in Sturgeon Bay. He can be reached at 904.338.7107 or at firstcoastgolfacademy.com.