Texas Children's Houston Open

Memorial Park Golf Course



Short Game

Leaving your sand shots in the bunker? You're actually on the right track

In this week’s edition of What The Heck Happened, Andrew from North Carolina has come at us with a very real, very common problem. Every time he’s in a greenside bunker, he finds himself taking more than one shot to get out of said bunker. The struggle is real.

Zach Allen, one of Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers says that while chunking bunker shots can be frustrating, it isn’t the worst miss you could have.

“After all, we are supposed to make contact with the sand before we contact the golf ball,” says Allen.

So, how do you go from hitting a chunk to hitting a good sand shot? Change you setup.

Allen bunker.jpeg

“Most people setup in a bunker the same way they would play a shot from the fairway: square face, and hands ahead of the golf ball. Which works great, and allows them to strike the ball and then the turf for maximum distance on a regular fairway shot. But it's horrible for a bunker shot,” says Allen.

Instead, Allen says to open up the clubface at address. To do this, you’re going to have to reposition your grip. Then, position your hands slightly behind the ball.

Allen says, “Making these setup adjustments will help you to utilize the bounce on the club, as well as the loft, for high and soft bunker shots.”

For more help on bunker shots, check out this video: