inc0gnito
Assistant Pro
Curious as to why a bunker shot is treated differently than any other shot. I’m assuming the club and/or ball interacts differently with sand as opposed to turf. But I don’t know the details. Care to enlighten me?
Bunker play
- Thread starter inc0gnito
- Start date
GreiginFife
Money List Winner
With a bunker shot you are aiming to strike the sand and inch behind the ball so you hit the sand rather than the ball. Off of turf you want to hit the ball first. To hit the turf first would be to chunk it (or have the club bounce up and thin it if the ground is hard)
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
Pretty accurate description. With a bunker shot you are trying to explode the ball out on a blanket of sand. To do this you need to utilise the bounce on the bottom of the sand iron to create a shallow divot and carry the ball out. With practice it's not that hard a shot. After all you're not hitting the ball itself so there is a degree of a margin of error. Plenty of different techniques out there to do so
Beezerk
Money List Winner
Is the OP not asking WHY you hit the sand first with a bunker shot? Maybe a more scientific answer than just saying "hit the sand first because it's what you do" 
inc0gnito
Assistant Pro
Is the OP not asking WHY you hit the sand first with a bunker shot? Maybe a more scientific answer than just saying "hit the sand first because it's what you do"
Yeah exactly that. I’m not after a ‘how to’ answer. I’m after a why answer. What effect does sand have in the first place that a different type of shot is needed?
shortgame
Tour Rookie
That would mean reading the OPIs the OP not asking WHY you hit the sand first with a bunker shot? Maybe a more scientific answer than just saying "hit the sand first because it's what you do"
For me, the reason is that its the simply the best way to get some sort of consistency.
On grass the ball will still be above ground as such. It may have little grass around it (fairway) or surrounded by it (rough) but unless its plugged it wont be submerged. So your intention will be to hit the ball. Quite often in the sand it'll be below level, so hitting the bottom of the ball would be a lottery. Taking a bit of sand is the most reliable/repeatable shot
Orikoru
Tour Winner
I guess because sand is softer than ground. On the ground the bounce of the club would hit the earth, whereas in sand it cuts through. Hence aiming to cut through the sand actually produces a better shot which pops up and lands softly. You don't have to play a sand shot that way, as long as you can see the whole ball you could just play a regular flop shot if you wanted to. It's not that you NEED to hit the sand shot differently, it's more that the sand offers you the opportunity to play it better that way.
Could be wrong, just throwing my two pence in. At this time of year the bunkers are rock hard at our place anyway so you can't take any sand regardless. I just have to try and flop them out with the 60°.
Could be wrong, just throwing my two pence in. At this time of year the bunkers are rock hard at our place anyway so you can't take any sand regardless. I just have to try and flop them out with the 60°.
Pretty much what Orikoru posted. If you hit turf first then it blocks your club and there is no or limited power left to move the ball forward. If you hit the right amount of sand you can still glide through it. You are often also looking for a very soft landing when hitting out of a bunker, greenside anyway, so hitting the sand first and effectively lifting the ball out offers that. The sand gets the power transfer and the ball is almost secondary. If you hit the ball first out of a bunker (no sand), as you would do with a fairway bunker, then the ball flies out at speed and it stops when it wants to! That is how I see it anyway.
jim8flog
Journeyman Pro
In simple terms - hitting the ball first in a bunker, controlling distance and height, requires much more skill than hitting sand and taking the ball with it.
Redskins21
Member
I think it comes down to the launch angle needed to get the ball up and out and to stop on the green. Most greenside bunkers require a quick up and down and a normal chip shot often won't have the height required to get you out of the bunker, let alone stop it anywhere near the pin.
It's also a lot more difficult to pick the ball clean off the sand than it is grass.
It's also a lot more difficult to pick the ball clean off the sand than it is grass.
D
Deleted member 21258
Guest
Its the most forgiving way to get the ball out of the bunker with any consistency.
next time on the course, try just chipping the ball out of a greenside or pot bunker and see how you do, in comparison to the splash shot(assuming you can get out the bunker first time with a splash shot technique) and splash shot is far superior?
next time on the course, try just chipping the ball out of a greenside or pot bunker and see how you do, in comparison to the splash shot(assuming you can get out the bunker first time with a splash shot technique) and splash shot is far superior?
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
...and for some bunker shots such as those from fairway bunkers, you generally won't play a greenside bunker 'splash' shot (unless you are in a links-style 'pot' bunker) - you'll aim to pick the ball off the surface of the sand - usually to get more distance from the bunker. Your bunker shot technique employed depends upon the bunker; the state of the sand; and what you want to achieve in getting out of it. I'm usually just fairly happy getting out first time...
