Bunkers - What club do you use?

[Lord Tyrion]

My SW is 56 and it works well for me. The bunkers at my club are currently solid so I haven't used it there for a while, it just slides under the ball. I am basically chipping out of them right now and that means I'll use anything that is suitable for the job. Nothing more lofted than my 45 PW and sometimes a 7 iron.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

58 if I want height or spin,
54 if I want distance or run out

 

[Biggleswade Blue]

60 degree, with 8 degree bounce. I'm at a point where getting the ball out is the main objective and so I don't think too hard at the moment about getting the ball close to the flag from a greenside bunker.

 

[chrisd]

Usually 60° but in a lesson with Paul Foston recently he told me that I should normally use my 56°

 

[Fabia999]

56 everytime. I'm quite confident getting out until a diaster last week where I took 3 to get out

 

[Deleted member 21258]

60 lob wedge with low bounce.

Found it to be the most consistent out of the wet or heavier sand I normally play out of.

 

[USER1999]

56 for me. It's the highest loft I carry. I have never seen the point of carrying lots of wedges. I can hit pretty much any shot around the greens with either the 56, or the 52.

 

[Grant85]

I am talking about green side bunkers here.

Having a drink with one of my PPs post round at the weekend and I mentioned that I had just failed to get out of one bunker during the round as I had mistakenly taken my 58 degree wedge out of the bag, rather than the 54 which is my go to club for bunker shots. He looked at me incredulously and said you mean you don’t normally use a 58?

Personally, I much prefer the control I get with the 54. I will use the 50 for longer shots across a large green and the 58 when I need to get up and down quickly, but 90% of the time I use the 54.

Its got me wondering what clubs do you prefer and why?

I got 2 new Vokey wedges last year, a 50 and a 54. Couldn't afford a 60, but the 54 was specifically for playing off turf with very little bounce. So I ended up going to an old Cleveland 60 degree wedge, with 12 degrees of bounce, for bunker play.

I can't remember buying this or what I intended to use it for - my guess is it was an ex demo in an American Golf shop a few years ago. I had really only used it for flop shots and it was rarely used. My bunker club tended to be my 54 - stupidly using this as it was the traditional sand wedge loft, and for no other reason.

Anyway, going to to 60 deg exclusively for bunker play was a game changer for me. I stuck with the same club and similar mechanics of leaning forward, opening the face and hitting behind the ball.

I'm now really confident in my bunker play, sure I still have bad shots, but can clear reasonably high lips and give myself a chance to get up and down most times. Given the misery a lot of teen handicappers have in the bunkers, I feel I'm gaining on the field in this area.

I'd definitely attribute this to the additional loft and bounce I'm putting in my hands.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Like bobmac. 56 but no idea of the bounce. I just vary my set up slightly and how much I set the club back for steepness and how far I want to hit it. I can usually get out and stay on the green within reasonable putt distance. But that's about it tbh.

 

[Biggleswade Blue]

Usually 60° but in a lesson with Paul Foston recently he told me that I should normally use my 56°

Did he tell you why? Genuine question - I'd like to know.

 

[rksquire]

I'm a poor bunker player, been advised to concentrate on using my 60 degree now all the time and am getting out of all bunkers, distance control is more questionable - mostly short, sometimes long but I feel it's improving. I thought I was opening the clubface previously with my SW, but have been shown that I was mistaken..... there's times I play a bunker shot now and instantly I know the feel is just great. Hopefully with practice I'll be able to get myself a bit closer to flags.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Simple question open to all. How many actually practice their bunker shots regularly and from different lies and when the sand changes, eg from dry to wet and how that affects the shot

 

[Papas1982]

Simple question open to all. How many actually practice their bunker shots regularly and from different lies and when the sand changes, eg from dry to wet and how that affects the shot

I don’t. its a real weak part of my game. My home course until last year had such poor bunkers, be that lack of sand or the fact there were bunkers with 3 different types of sand that I guess I figured it was a lottery and just put it down to luck, or avoiding them altogether.

I try to practice now, even if just before my round. The times I don’t can be spotted a mile off mid round when I’m in one.

 

[Ethan]

I use a 58 degree, with a hand back conventional splash style shot. It sometimes works.

I think there is a vogue for using a 60 degree with a squarish stance and face angle and using less of a splash and more of a fat shot.

 

[Slab]

Simple question open to all. How many actually practice their bunker shots regularly and from different lies and when the sand changes, eg from dry to wet and how that affects the shot

Used to be in bunkers a fair bit, then I decided to practice avoiding going into bunkers… It’s a much easier shot than having to practice getting out of them

 

[davidy233]

Used to be in bunkers a fair bit, then I decided to practice avoiding going into bunkers… It’s a much easier shot than having to practice getting out of them

Interesting - when I'm out for a hit on my own and hitting irons well I'll sometimes aim for green side bunkers - much smaller target and you get to practice hitting out of them.

The other thing I've noticed in this thread is the amount of people posting that there's very little sand in the bunkers at their place - I'd be asking about what's happening if that was the case at my courses.

 

[Mandofred]

The other thing I've noticed in this thread is the amount of people posting that there's very little sand in the bunkers at their place - I'd be asking about what's happening if that was the case at my courses.

We've been waiting for new sand for months.....just not a priority for the suppliers. Just had a driveway guy in today to add some bits to the side of the drive he put in over a year ago. He can't get hold of a lot of the wood/pavers etc he needs to do the work. I think there are a lot of supply shortfalls for materials out there.

 

[davidy233]

We've been waiting for new sand for months.....just not a priority for the suppliers. Just had a driveway guy in today to add some bits to the side of the drive he put in over a year ago. He can't get hold of a lot of the wood/pavers etc he needs to do the work. I think there are a lot of supply shortfalls for materials out there.

Might explain it - we've got a beach next door.

 

[huds1475]

I used a 64 once to get out of the Road Hole bunker at St.Andrews. Somehow up and out to four feet and then boxed the putt for the best sandsave I'll ever make.

Bet that felt good ?

 

[chrisd]

Did he tell you why? Genuine question - I'd like to know.

Not any detailed explanation but that it's more versatile and with his method a 60° will never go very far