If there’s one position I really don’t like to see golfers in after they have hit a bunker shot is this position here, where they’re leaning back. A lot of body weight onto the rear leg, the right leg for the right hand and golfer the chest leaning up facing the sky, watch in a hopeful wish that the ball would come out the bunker. Generally results in a ball that hasn’t come out of the bunker either a ball that was hit fat and stays in the bunker or a ball that was hit thin. Which might hit the leading edge or might shoot through the other side of the green and go too far. But this leaning back position after you’ve hit a bunker shot is not a good place to be. If you feel yourself finishing in that position here’s a great exercise to stop it.

What you’d like to see is as you hit through the ball, the hips and the chest work downwards and forward through the ball to a good follow through position, body weight finishing in a left leg, right leg getting quite light. Now if you’re still struggling to get forwards like that the exercise here will really encourage you to do that because right here you’re going to walk through the shot.

So we’re going hit the ball and then take a step after it and finish in this position, very different from the first position I highlighted, here everything has gone forward. I do stress this is a drill but for some people if you find that actually works so well for you, you might incorporate some of this into your real play. But as I set up to the ball here, I desperately want to avoid being caught leaning back, so I’m going to try and play this bunker shot out and actually walk after it. And as I splash it out on to the green there, it’s gone maybe 10 feet further than I intended which possibly tells you that turning through here is quite a good way of getting power into your bunker shots and making sure they come you, rather than leaning back and scooping on the ball. So practice that walkthrough drill if you’re determined to never quite on another bunker shot.