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Some golfers may have heard the golfing terminology of a splash shot and a blast shot when referring to playing from a bunker. So what do these golfing terminologies mean?

The term splash shot is used to describe a relatively standard bunker shot, where you take a shallow amount of sand. The blast shot is a steeper, more aggressive swing where you take a deeper amount of sand. The splash shot flies higher and stops quicker, the blast flies lower and rolls out more.

So when should you use the splash shot?

To be able to play the splash bunker shot, you need a nice lie in the bunker where the ball is sat nicely on top of the sand. The splash shot flies higher and lands quicker than a blast shot, so the splash is the ideal shot to play when you need to elevate the ball quickly and dont have much green to work with.

How do I play the splash shot?

From a nice lie in the bunker, you need to play the ball forward in your stance with the club face opened 45 degrees. You then make a swing, entering the club into the sand a couple of inches before the golf ball. You need to take a shallow amount of sand, the length of a dollar bill. The club should slide nicely under the golf ball and the golf ball should pop up high, land softly on the green and even checking up on landing.

When you have a nice lie in the sand and need to hit the ball high and land the ball softly, elect to play the splash shot rather than the blast in order to hit the ball close to the hole.

When the ball is plugged in the bunker you need to get the club head to enter the sand much steeper in order for the club to slide under the ball. To get the club under the ball, you need to play a blast bunker shot. The blast requires a squarer club face, a steeper attack and a more aggressive swing.

To play a splash shot, you require a nice lie in the bunker where the ball is sat nicely on top of the sand. If the ball is in a depression, such as a rake mark, then you have to change your technique to that of a blast shot in order get the club head under the golf ball.

When you play a splash shot from a nice lie, the ball will fly high, land soft and maybe even check up on landing. If you want the ball to run you need to play more of a blast shot, where you have a squarer club face and take more sand in order to play a lower bunker shot with more roll.