May 7

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How To Play a Soft Sand Bunker Shot

By Steve Gannon

May 7, 2018

Bunker Series, Bunkers, Soft Sand

[Bunkers] Don't Do This In Soft Sand!

As you'll discover, watching Steve tackle this lie in the bunker, not every shot from the sand is the same.

The sand in this bunker on the Par 3 17th hole at Stonecutters Ridge, is especially soft and deep! and we made it even deeper! Like our other bunker shots our goal is to splash a shoe-sized portion of sand. However, when the sand is deep, it's very easy for the sand wedge to 'dig' into the sand and absorb most of the club's momentum. With that in mind, many players try to enter the sand closer to the ball. This can work but with small margins of error, it can easily end in disaster.

Watch the Video Here!

By utilising the built-in bounce of the sand wedge, we can keep the divot to a manageable size and splash that ball out and onto the green. If the leading edge strikes the sand first, the club digs in and continues on deep into the soft sand.

As we showed you in our last Video, "Is the plugged lie the easiest shot in Golf?" There are a few things you need to change when hitting different bunker shots but some of the swing fundamentals stay the same.

FAQs - (Click on the Question to reveal the Answer)


Thank you so much for the tips on escaping from the sand. I have always been scared of bunker shots. On Wednesday, I was in two sand traps and I'm proud to let you know I got out of both first time! One of the bunkers had a massive lip too ... Thanks! "

Matt Quinn

18 Handicapper

Aim it at the Bunker, they said! The wind will bring it back, they said! Check out Aussie Golf Pros Video  " Don't Do this out of the Soft Sand!"

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Steve Gannon

About the author

Steve Gannon is an Australian PGA Professional and High-Performance Mindset Coach. Steve is passionate about Digital Marketing and is a self-confessed Personal Growth Fanatic.

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