Setting Up
Ball and Feet on Different Planes
Introduction
The bunker is one of those places that we as golfers, just don't want to be. It is one of the hazards that are placed on the golf course to make our game more difficult, yet all the books that I have read, say that hitting out of the sand is easy and shouldn't be worried about! Whether it is easy or not, is not the question at hand. What we are here to talk about is how to hit out of the sand.
Setting Up
Setting up for the shot out of the bunker, is just like a normal shot although there are a few minor differences. Firstly, in the setup you center the ball between your legs (much like a 9-iron shot.) Then you slightly dig your feet into the sand to establish a foundation that will support your swing without a loss in stability. Your swing should impact the sand about 1 to 2 inches behind the ball and should slightly dig into the sand. This will help to "spray" the ball out of the sand and on to the ground.
The swing is about a 75% of a normal swing's power. Again, your arms should remain rigid and your wrists should only bend on the upper half of your swing. It is important that your grip be tight and your arms and wrists locked as you swing through the sand because the sand decelerates the club very much.
Ball and Feet on Different Planes
In the sand, there is often a lot of contour. It is because of this contour that we discuss how to hit balls that are on a plane above or below that of the plane you are currently standing on. What I mean by that is that your feet are physically lower or higher than the ball that you are hitting.
On a lie where your ball is above your feet, you will have to first choke up on your sand wedge because the ball is close to your hands (because of the ball is on a higher plane.) Also, to further compensate, you will find that you are standing physically straighter in your stance. The rest of the swing is exactly the same.
The exact opposite is true for a ball on a lower plane than you. You will have to hold your hands further out on the club handle (extending the length of the club.) You will also find that you are more hunched over in your setup stance because of the lower lie. And like the lie where the ball is higher than your feet, the rest of the swing is exactly as described above.
