Can't get out of bunkers

[Gopher]

My wedges are a 52* with 8* bounce which is brilliant from 80 yards in, and around the green.. love it.

My other wedge is a 60* with 14* bounce, which I thought would be great for that little soft, flop shot from a greenside bunker.

The problem is that I just can't get out of bunker with the 60* wedge. I know the image of taking a £10 note, an inch or so behind the ball.. but my shots are either fat or skimming it thin into the face of the bunker... either way it doesn't work and I'm left in the sand. I have no idea where the club will touch down in the bunker.

Help... is it me, or do I have the wrong club set up?

 

[BiMGuy]

Check out Dan Grieves.

A 60° is fine for bunkers, but you will need to swing harder to get it going forward rather than up..

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[HampshireHog]

I rarely see anyone struggling to get their ball out of bunkers who wouldn’t benefit from taking the club back further and swinging more smoothly.

 

[bobmac]

Assuming you have the ball well forward, aim left and point the face at the target.....
You need to go deeper into the sand.
Draw a line behind the ball about 3-4in. Practice hitting the line but also go 3-4in under the ball.
Use plenty of oomph and take plenty of sand as the harder you hit it, the higher it will go.

Here's an old boy demonstrating.... note the length of followthrough and how much sand came out.

 

[Maninblack4612]

The Stan Utley method works for me. Square stance, square face. Legs very wide apart, knees bent a lot and hands really low. This produces a really shallow path & the ball pops out beautifully.

 

[patricks148]

whats the sand in your Bunkers like? high bounce is good for soft plentiful sand, not so for compacted or not much sand.

 

[Orikoru]

I'm going to jump on board here because I have exactly the same problem. When I go in a greenside bunker I just have zero confidence of getting it out and on the green - knife into the face, fat it, knife over the back - all are possible.

whats the sand in your Bunkers like? high bounce is good for soft plentiful sand, not so for compacted or not much sand.

This might be where I've gone wrong. A few years ago I was really struggling with bunker techniques and bought a Callaway SureOut - the most bounce possible basically. It definitely improved things for a while but now I'm not sure if I wanted to persist with it or try something else. Our sand tends to be compacted and I didn't really realise less bounce was better for this. But the reason I got it in the first place is that I couldn't do the face-open style of bunker shot, I just kept shanking it.

I also think as others have said, I don't swing long or hard enough. It's really difficult to be bold when your brain is telling you you'll knife it 75 yards if you do that.

 

[Bdill93]

I'm going to jump on board here because I have exactly the same problem. When I go in a greenside bunker I just have zero confidence of getting it out and on the green - knife into the face, fat it, knife over the back - all are possible.


This might be where I've gone wrong. A few years ago I was really struggling with bunker techniques and bought a Callaway SureOut - the most bounce possible basically. It definitely improved things for a while but now I'm not sure if I wanted to persist with it or try something else. Our sand tends to be compacted and I didn't really realise less bounce was better for this. But the reason I got it in the first place is that I couldn't do the face-open style of bunker shot, I just kept shanking it.

I also think as others have said, I don't swing long or hard enough. It's really difficult to be bold when your brain is telling you you'll knife it 75 yards if you do that.

Someone should have attended the £5 bunker clinic.....

 

[Orikoru]

Someone should have attended the £5 bunker clinic.....

I prefer my trial and error approach that takes 2, 3 years to fix anything, it's more satisfying.

 

[patricks148]

I'm going to jump on board here because I have exactly the same problem. When I go in a greenside bunker I just have zero confidence of getting it out and on the green - knife into the face, fat it, knife over the back - all are possible.


This might be where I've gone wrong. A few years ago I was really struggling with bunker techniques and bought a Callaway SureOut - the most bounce possible basically. It definitely improved things for a while but now I'm not sure if I wanted to persist with it or try something else. Our sand tends to be compacted and I didn't really realise less bounce was better for this. But the reason I got it in the first place is that I couldn't do the face-open style of bunker shot, I just kept shanking it.

I also think as others have said, I don't swing long or hard enough. It's really difficult to be bold when your brain is telling you you'll knife it 75 yards if you do that.

my SW is like the op 14 deg of bounce, but not a 60. the sand in our bunkers is soft and lots of it, lots of bounce is whats needed. when we have been on our Autumn jolly which is usually to parkland courses in Scotland, the bunkers all tend to have much less sand and are compacted more often than not. for those i use the square method and try and pick it clean or something with less bounce. this i i used my 50 deg which has 10 deg of bounce. around the old Torvean the local parkland to me guys used to put out more often than not

 

[Deleted member 23270]

One of the biggest problems I have seen with people failing to get out of bunkers is a lack of tempo. They seem to smash the club as hard as they can down into the sand leading to inconsistent strikes, either burying the club or knifing it into the face. Make sure you have a smooth even tempo.

 

[Brownie22297]

I once worked with an old school golf pro. His secret to bunkers was not to hit into them.

I think if a bunker lip is too much for me. I will even think about hitting out sideways.Instead of tacking on too many shots.But the bad thing about bunker play.The more you practice it.The more I tend to to hit my normal irons fat

 

[clubchamp98]

Our bunkers have felt liners and about 1” of sand.
You can’t really play a proper splash shot or you hit the lining.
It has totally ruined my bunker game .It used to be very good .
Now it’s just about getting out.

I use a 4 degree bounce 56* this after lots of trial and error worked best.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Someone should have attended the £5 bunker clinic.....

Still working is it? Hopefully…

 

[garyinderry]

I've posted this technique on here before. Not sure if many have tried it in wet bunkers.

You really need to let loose and commit to driving that heel of the club into the sand under the ball. Get STEEP into the sand.

If you do it right once, a light bulb will go off in your head. It did for me.

 

[garyinderry]

Similar technique used here. Hands super low. Literally chopping down on that ball with the heel of the club. Face open for a bit of loft.

The old school face hooded shot would not have stayed short of the pin.

 

[Orikoru]

I've posted this technique on here before. Not sure if many have tried it in wet bunkers.

You really need to let loose and commit to driving that heel of the club into the sand under the ball. Get STEEP into the sand.

If you do it right once, a light bulb will go off in your head. It did for me.

Maybe I'm not understanding but that just looks like the normal bunker technique that most people teach, to me. Whenever I used to try and open the face and chop the ball out I'd either bounce into it and knife it, or hit the sand too far back from the ball and the ball only jumps about one yard and stays in the bunker.

 

[jim8flog]

I am reminded of one of my playing mates who suffers with bunker problems.

He went for specific lessons for bunkers and the pro sold him a new sand wedge.

He still cannot get out of bunkers.

He has been told by several of us what his fundamental problem is (quits swinging just after the ball ) but it is still there time after time.

As per several others the correct club is the start. I carry a 52/08 all the time and a 54/05 in winter and a 54/14 in summer . The 52/08 and 54/05 are used when the sand is compacted or just a very small depth of soft sand and the 54/14 for when the bunkers dry out and the sand gets raked /topped up to leave a fairly deep fluffy layer. However I am of an age when bunkers shots were played with open stances and open club faces hitting from out to in so the 52 and 54 will have much more loft in a bunker .

I do not hit the ball long enough to justify a 60 degree wedge being in the bag.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Best one I've seen is the Padraig Harrington class at the British Masters. If the link doesn't work, google Padraig Harrington bunker masterclass.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=192629434626958

Works for me, particularly for bunkers around greens.

 

[Orikoru]

Best one I've seen is the Padraig Harrington class at the British Masters. If the link doesn't work, google Padraig Harrington bunker masterclass.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=192629434626958

Works for me, particularly for bunkers around greens.

Nice one. Biggest takeaway from that is to keep my weight more on the left leg - I mean he said that about six times so it must be important.