How to hit from a Fairway Bunker, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles
How to hit from a Fairway Bunker, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles

So now if we picture ourselves, we're in a fairway bunker this time. Generally fairway bunkers, they got to be a little bit flatter, a little bit smoother. Maybe not with such a high lip on the front. So if I was to play this sort of fairway bunker shot, it might be maybe more of this kind of shot going out of a slightly flatter lip of a bunker. One of the things you got to consider when you're in a fairway bunker is it isn’t immediately obvious which club to use. The greenside bunker, you'd normally go for a sand wedge unless it was a very long greenside bunker. But in a fairway bunker, there's lots of different clubs that you can use varying from a sand wedge. Possibly right about to a five wood or even a three wood. Depending on how far you've got to go. But also what's in front of you, what this lip looks like.

Now if I was playing a shot that was going this way over this lip, I'd have to look at how high the lip is and also how far I've got to go. But let's say I'm 200 yards away. 200 yards away you might think well I need a four iron or a three iron to cover that sort of distance. But the lip on this bunker simply isn’t appropriate for using that club. So I would suggest is you'll always look at how much loft do you think you need. And then take one or two clubs extra. Because the worst shot you could hit from a fairway bunker is a decent strike that bounces off the top of the lip and then come back. So you've got to make sure you get out of the fairway bunker, that's key number one really. So take a little bit more loft than you think. So for this sort of shot, maybe a seven iron might clear the lip, a six iron might clear the lip. I'm actually going to take an eight iron here and be able to play the ball much more cleanly out up and over that lip. I'm then going to play the ball in the center of my stance. I'm going to grip down on the golf club a little bit which just gives me a bit more control. A very small shuffle of the feet, I don’t want to sink my feet in too deep. Because I don’t actually want to dig underneath the golf ball too much, I want to play the ball quite cleanly. The difference with normal greenside bunker shot where you'd be looking at taking quite a big splash of sand and hitting down underneath the golf ball by a couple of inches. This time I'm going to get a little bit more on to my left side, hitting down. I'm always going to play like it's on the grass.

So if I was going to take a divot on the grass, you would never take a divot before the ball, you would always take a divot after the ball. So I'm going to try and get my body weight, length into my left side a little bit more, striking down. It's going to be a slightly shallower divot and much more forward than it would be for a greenside bunker. Greenside bunker I'd be behind the ball, fairway bunker, I want to be a lot more ahead of the golf ball. Now because I'm restricted by a room here with how far my outfield goes. I can't actually hit this ball full power. But I would show you that I would have the ball in the center of my feet, I'd grip down for control, I'd get my body weight into my left side and I try to make a nice good clean contact down on the golf ball taking ball. And ten taking a nice little divot after the golf ball. So think about fairway bunkers. They're different from normal greenside bunkers, your approach needs to be different. Your club selection is to be different. Try and play it like it was on the turf taking a nice divot after the golf ball.

 2012-05-08

So now if we picture ourselves, we're in a fairway bunker this time. Generally fairway bunkers, they got to be a little bit flatter, a little bit smoother. Maybe not with such a high lip on the front. So if I was to play this sort of fairway bunker shot, it might be maybe more of this kind of shot going out of a slightly flatter lip of a bunker. One of the things you got to consider when you're in a fairway bunker is it isn’t immediately obvious which club to use. The greenside bunker, you'd normally go for a sand wedge unless it was a very long greenside bunker. But in a fairway bunker, there's lots of different clubs that you can use varying from a sand wedge. Possibly right about to a five wood or even a three wood. Depending on how far you've got to go. But also what's in front of you, what this lip looks like.

Now if I was playing a shot that was going this way over this lip, I'd have to look at how high the lip is and also how far I've got to go. But let's say I'm 200 yards away. 200 yards away you might think well I need a four iron or a three iron to cover that sort of distance. But the lip on this bunker simply isn’t appropriate for using that club. So I would suggest is you'll always look at how much loft do you think you need. And then take one or two clubs extra. Because the worst shot you could hit from a fairway bunker is a decent strike that bounces off the top of the lip and then come back. So you've got to make sure you get out of the fairway bunker, that's key number one really. So take a little bit more loft than you think. So for this sort of shot, maybe a seven iron might clear the lip, a six iron might clear the lip. I'm actually going to take an eight iron here and be able to play the ball much more cleanly out up and over that lip. I'm then going to play the ball in the center of my stance. I'm going to grip down on the golf club a little bit which just gives me a bit more control. A very small shuffle of the feet, I don’t want to sink my feet in too deep. Because I don’t actually want to dig underneath the golf ball too much, I want to play the ball quite cleanly. The difference with normal greenside bunker shot where you'd be looking at taking quite a big splash of sand and hitting down underneath the golf ball by a couple of inches. This time I'm going to get a little bit more on to my left side, hitting down. I'm always going to play like it's on the grass.

So if I was going to take a divot on the grass, you would never take a divot before the ball, you would always take a divot after the ball. So I'm going to try and get my body weight, length into my left side a little bit more, striking down. It's going to be a slightly shallower divot and much more forward than it would be for a greenside bunker. Greenside bunker I'd be behind the ball, fairway bunker, I want to be a lot more ahead of the golf ball. Now because I'm restricted by a room here with how far my outfield goes. I can't actually hit this ball full power. But I would show you that I would have the ball in the center of my feet, I'd grip down for control, I'd get my body weight into my left side and I try to make a nice good clean contact down on the golf ball taking ball. And ten taking a nice little divot after the golf ball. So think about fairway bunkers. They're different from normal greenside bunkers, your approach needs to be different. Your club selection is to be different. Try and play it like it was on the turf taking a nice divot after the golf ball.