A Beginners Guide to Sand Play
As with every other area of the game, quality shots stem from good foundations at address, this is a principle you will see repeated throughout our beginners golf guide, and I really want to stress this point in my beginners guide to bunker play. One of the most common mistakes I see is people setting up very open with their feet, hips and shoulders aiming well left of the target. This promotes a steep angle of attack that causes you to dig the club into the sand through impact. Often the speed in the head gets lost and the ball fails to clear the lip.
Instead, I like my pupils to be open, but not too much.
At address, start by taking a wide stance that is a little open to your target. The ball position should be slightly forward of centre (this helps you create a shallow angle of attack to help you take the right amount of sand) and again, the clubface should be a fraction open to your stance. You should now feel powerful, athletic and ready to go.
Crucially, try to strike the sand about an inch before the ball. This is the only shot in the game where you don’t have to hit the ball before the ground. Understanding this essential element is imperative and it actually gives you more margin for error with the contact. If you can strike the sand consistently an inch or so before the ball, your bunker distance control will help you get up and down more often.