How To Get Out Of A Bunker - First Time Every Time

By Lawrence Bredenkamp

I am often amazed at how people struggle to get out of bunkers and I am going to show you how simple it is to get out of a bunker – first time every time.

Golfers have misconception that bunker play is difficult and yet if you watch and listen to the pro tournaments on TV you will soon realize that many players actually relish being in them.

So what makes them so difficult for us mere mortals? Well I think the fact that we very seldom practice bunker shots is a big contributor. The other possible scenario is that because it is labelled a hazard we naturally fear bunkers.

How would you like to get rid of that fear once and for all and become semi-proficient from bunkers? How would you like to get out of a bunker – first time every time?

Notice that I said semi-proficient because what I am about to tell you will get you out of the bunker – guaranteed, but if you want to get out and close to the pin it is up to you to practice. Please believe me it won’t take much practice either.

The first requirement I need from you is that you know what a pizza is. No I’m not nuts. We’re going to have some fun doing this and I need you to use a bit of imagination.

So you’re in the bunker. Now imagine the sand is the beach. What did you do as a kid when you went to the beach? You had fun didn’t you? So I want you to have fun in the bunker.

Imagine your ball is the center of a pizza the size of which depends on how far you need to carry the ball. If you have a long way to carry to get out of the bunker I want you to imagine a small pizza with a thin crust. If on the other hand you simply need to plop the ball out imagine a larger pizza with a slightly thicker crust.

Take a slightly open stance next to the pizza and imagine your club face is the pizza spade and you need to scoop the pizza up. Take a normal swing and enter the sand where the pizza’s crust begins and slide your club under the pizza exiting on the other side where the crust ends. Make sure you have a full follow through otherwise the pizza may stick to the spade. The entire pizza should come out in one piece with the ball floating on top.

To practice the shot put a ball in the bunker and draw an imaginary line representing the crust of the pizza around it. Now play your shot. Experiment with different size pizzas until you get a better feel for distances. Remember to follow through – this is vitally important – do not stab at the ball.

I guarantee that if you follow this simple little system you will get out of a bunker – first time every time.

As a qualified EGTF golf professional teacher I get great pleasure in helping people improve their game. Why not head over to Better Golfing and take up my challenge to reduce your golf handicap by 25% within 6 weeks?

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