Buried lies in bunkers are always a challenge as the ball is nestled down in the sand, or plugged and to hit bunker shots effectively you need to create height in the shot for the ball to escape the bunker.

However, once you understand how to approach a buried lie most effectively, with some hard work during practice you will have no problem playing the shot well.

It is really important with a buried lie in the bunker that you get the club face working correctly for you. Because you need height to get the ball out of the sand and over the lip of the bunker, instinctively you will want to open the club face, that is, turn it to the right, to increase the loft or create more club face angle. However, this is completely the wrong thing to do. To play shots well from a buried lie you actually need to close the club face, turn it to the left. This will actually take the loft, or club face angle, off the club and will look like you will never get the ball out of the sand which is why it is counter intuitive to do this. But what you are working on achieving with this is to hit the far end of the club face, the toe of the golf club, into the sand first. By doing this, as the toe impacts with the sand it will slow this part of the club down. The other end of the club face, the heel, is not impacting with anything at this point and so it will continue to travel at speed which will result in the club face twisting in the sand and digging into the sand so that it scoops under the ball. As a result of this action in the club head, the ball will be forced from the sand.

To play an effective shot, from a buried lie in the sand, work on the following. Close the club face, turn the handle of the club to the left, so the club face aims left, then hold the handle. Set your feet so they are parallel to the target line rather than aiming left because of the club face position. Take your stance up so that your feet are shoulder width apart and wriggle your feet into the sand. This helps you achieve a good, firm, stable base to play your shots from and helps to lower you into the sand encouraging you to strike down into the sand. Aim to strike the sand two inches before the ball. You are not going to hit the ball with this shot, the club head is going to enter the sand and then scoop the sand under the ball and as a result move the sand and the ball, allowing the ball to fly from the buried lie and bunker. Make your backswing, hinging your wrists, and then aggressively swing the club head downwards so that you strike the toe of the club face into the sand two inches before the ball.

This will force the club head into the scooping action that we previously discussed and the ball will escape from the buried lie.