The fact that the flag is quite close to us causes the biggest problem. Why? A proper bunker shot requires a fairly big swing, and it’s almost against our human nature to do that with the flag only a few meters away. So naturally we want to chip the ball out with pretty much a half swing.
Remember something, in order to get the ball up in the air you should hit the sand and not the ball. So in actual fact, the club never makes contact with the ball. Now you should see the ball as part of the sand, and that means the ball will travel as far as the sand does.
Now back to our full swing and half swing scenario. How far does the sand travel with a chip shot or half swing? Maybe not even out of the bunker. That’s why the ball won’t go out either. Try the following in a practice bunker. Make a practice swing without the ball and note how far the sand travels when you hit the sand with a full swing. 10 meters approximately. Try the same shot this time with a ball and you’ll be quite surprised to see how close the sand and the ball land from each other.
So how do we use this information? Still on the practice area, establish where you would like the ball to land, perhaps you should place a ball on that spot. Then try to hit the sand hard enough to land as close as possible to that ball. If you get the feel for the right strength try a few with a ball.Then you should pick another distance and repeat the same procedure.
Word of advice though, when it’s a short distance, don’t make your swing smaller. Rather make a softer swing, but still fairly big.
Always think full swing and hit the sand to where you want the ball to land with a certain amount of strength.
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Golf Tip by Carlo Kok, Kenako Golf Academy
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