Bunker Shot Drills, What Is The Best Drill For Hitting Good Shots (Video) - by Pete Styles
Bunker Shot Drills, What Is The Best Drill For Hitting Good Shots (Video) - by Pete Styles

If you want to hit good and accurate golf bunker shots. One of the most fundamental things you need to do is strike the ball correctly. We know that the sand is going to be far more critical of your strike than the grass. It’s going to slow the club down; it’s going to slow the ball down, it’s not going to allow the ball out of the banker. It's one of the reasons why bunkers are classed as hazards. So, here’s a really great little drill and that exercise that you can practice to make sure you’re getting the best golf ball strike from the bunker, going to take the back of a rake. I’ve raked my area nice and flat and smooth. Take the back of the rake and just make a little line, little indentation there, that hopefully you can see nice and clearly on the camera. Now, that indentation, that line, that’s going to be the point where I’d like the club to enter the sand. That isn’t the golf ball, that isn’t where the ball would be.

The ball would only be placed around about two inches ahead of that line. But it’s quite important that I’m good at hitting this line, this is the line I’d want the club to enter the sand. So, I put that line directly in the centre of my feet, turn my setup, slightly open the face, slightly open the feet, little bit of body weight into that left side, and then go ahead and swing down. And you can see here I’ve made my indentation right at the start of that line, not a grain of sand before the line, but exactly on the line and after, walking forwards to the next golf ball, same thing, pitting down, striking down onto the line. They would be two good bunker shots. What things; that we’re looking for to avoid; is anything where the sand is hit far too early. This is going to a big problem. Way too much sand before we got to the golf ball that ball is probably is going to stay in the bunker, and likewise a swing where we either take no sand, or too much sand after. It's going to look like a top or a thin shot that chases off and goes too far. So, if you can get good at striking nice and positively into the front area of that line, practice that a few times when you start your bunker practice, then introduce a golf ball onto that second line, but importantly still focus on hitting the first line. Promise you, if you hit the first line well, these golf balls will come out nice, and lovely, and soft, and roll up close to the flag.
2014-11-10

If you want to hit good and accurate golf bunker shots. One of the most fundamental things you need to do is strike the ball correctly. We know that the sand is going to be far more critical of your strike than the grass. It’s going to slow the club down; it’s going to slow the ball down, it’s not going to allow the ball out of the banker. It's one of the reasons why bunkers are classed as hazards. So, here’s a really great little drill and that exercise that you can practice to make sure you’re getting the best golf ball strike from the bunker, going to take the back of a rake. I’ve raked my area nice and flat and smooth. Take the back of the rake and just make a little line, little indentation there, that hopefully you can see nice and clearly on the camera. Now, that indentation, that line, that’s going to be the point where I’d like the club to enter the sand. That isn’t the golf ball, that isn’t where the ball would be.

The ball would only be placed around about two inches ahead of that line. But it’s quite important that I’m good at hitting this line, this is the line I’d want the club to enter the sand. So, I put that line directly in the centre of my feet, turn my setup, slightly open the face, slightly open the feet, little bit of body weight into that left side, and then go ahead and swing down. And you can see here I’ve made my indentation right at the start of that line, not a grain of sand before the line, but exactly on the line and after, walking forwards to the next golf ball, same thing, pitting down, striking down onto the line. They would be two good bunker shots. What things; that we’re looking for to avoid; is anything where the sand is hit far too early. This is going to a big problem. Way too much sand before we got to the golf ball that ball is probably is going to stay in the bunker, and likewise a swing where we either take no sand, or too much sand after. It's going to look like a top or a thin shot that chases off and goes too far.

So, if you can get good at striking nice and positively into the front area of that line, practice that a few times when you start your bunker practice, then introduce a golf ball onto that second line, but importantly still focus on hitting the first line. Promise you, if you hit the first line well, these golf balls will come out nice, and lovely, and soft, and roll up close to the flag.