You're Correct!

Most of us have seen the pros on the television coverage of Tour when they are in a bunker. They all get in the bunker, address the ball, and then wiggle their feet a few inches deeper into the sand.

So why do the pros wiggle their feet before playing the shot? Here are the reasons:

• Feel the sand: Wiggling your feet at address gives you a perfect opportunity to test the surface of the sand in a legal manner. You cant ground your club, dig your feet, club or make practise swings, so wiggling gives you your only opportunity to test the sand. From the feet wiggle, you can gauge how soft or hard, and how deep or shallow the sand is.
• Lower yourself: By wiggling your feet, you are setting yourself a couple of inches below the level of the sand and the golf ball. This is ideal as you want the golf club to enter the sand before the ball and slide shallowly a couple of inches underneath the ball in order to elevate the ball high up and out of the bunker.
• Solid base: As the sand is a loose material, there is a possibility that the feet may move or slide. If you dont wiggle the feet there is a chance the feet will move when you make your swing. By wiggling the feet, you are creating a couple of craters for your feet to sit in. These craters make for a solid, stable base which is essential to good bunker play.

If you arent wiggling your feet in the bunker, you are at a disadvantage. Incorporate some wiggling to help improve your bunker play.

If you decide not to wiggle your feet before playing a bunker shot, you are missing an opportunity to legally test the sand. From wiggling, you can gauge the depth and the consistency of the sand. Gaining this knowledge gives you a huge advantage of how the sand is and how the club will react upon entering the sand.

From wiggling the feet, you can gain a good idea of how the sand is. You can get an idea of how deep the sand is and if the sand is either firm or soft. Purposely wiggling the feet outside of making a stance is illegal.

When watching the golf on television and observing a better player, you can learn a lot. The chain of actions in a players pre-shot routine is to gain information to help them decide how to play the shot. Wiggling your feet in the bunker is part of this process of gaining information to help you play the intended shot.