You're Correct!

When you find yourself in a fairway bunker, there are a few things to consider when deciding the best choice of club to play the intended shot.

Firstly, you need to get the ball out of the bunker, the last thing you want to do is leave the ball in the bunker. You need to weigh up the lie of the ball. Is the ball sitting cleanly on the sand or is the ball nestled down. You then need to consider how far you have to get to the green and then weigh up the size of the lip on the bunker. If you need to hit a 4 iron to get to the green and there is a lip to the bunker, then you wouldnt be able to elevate the ball over the lip. You need to look at the lip and decide which club would elevate the ball over the lip, and then maybe add a club to make sure you dont hit the bunker lip. For example, a 7 iron may just about get the ball over the bunker lip, but if the shot isnt struck sweetly then the ball may still crash into the face of the bunker, so an 8 iron would be a wiser choice.

When you hit the fairway bunker shot, you need to play the shot closer to how you would play a shot from the fairway. In a greenside bunker, you want to hit sand then the ball, whereas in a fairway bunker you want to hit the ball then sand. Grip down on the club a touch, moving the ball slightly further back in your stance and the weight a little more forward to encourage the ball then sand contact. Clean contact is king when playing from the fairway in order to hit the ball the desired distance.

Weigh up your lie, the size of the bunker face lip, your yardages to the green or any hazards and then choose an appropriate club. ....And always remember priority one - getting the ball out of the bunker!

The sand wedge is a great club to use when you are in greenside bunkers, but you dont always need to use this club when you are in a bunker. The sand wedge doesnt hit the ball a great distance and sometimes in fairway bunkers you can progress the ball further by hitting a lower lofted club.

If you try to get too greedy when playing fairway bunker shots you could find yourself playing your next shot from the same bunker. If a perfectly struck 5 iron would just clear the lip of the bunker, take a 6 or 7 iron to make sure the ball would elevate out the bunker even on a less than perfect strike.

Sometime you need a strong, lofted club in order to hit the ball the required distance to get to the green. When you are in a fairway bunker with a substantial lip, hitting a 4 iron or similar loft club isnt achievable. You sometimes have to splash the ball 20 to 50 yards back on to the fairway if you have to.