How Do You Hit The Ball Out Of The Sand In Golf?
Golf is a notoriously difficult sport, and nothing strikes fear into the hearts of golfers more than hearing that soft plump when their ball hits the sand. However, with proper education and practice, you can hit out of the sand like a pro in no time. We detail how to hit a golf ball out of a bunker below.
Soft Sand
Most bunkers you will encounter should be well-raked, with fluffy sand. If that is the case, follow the instructions below.
- The lofted club is the best choice for bunker chip shots: a sand wedge (or 56-degree wedge) is an excellent choice. However, a higher-numbered iron is probably the best option for far-out shots on the fairway.
- Make sure to have a good balance. The sand can be slippery. Widen your stance and dig your feet into the sand.
- Loft your club so the club face is more parallel to the ground. You want to get height out of a sand shot to easily get it out.
- Do not put your club face in the sand until you hit the ball. Instead, hover about an inch above the ground.
- Place the ball forward in your stance and aim a little left. The more you loft the club head, the more you have to aim to the left.
- Try to hit the ball about two inches behind it to make a dollar sign-length divot in the sand.
- Hit the sand first when taking your shot. You want to scoop the ball upward by hitting the sand underneath it.
The key to having a successful sand shot is that you are not hitting the ball; you are hitting the sand underneath it.
Hard Sand
Hitting off hard sand takes the opposite approach as soft sand. When sand is hard, it is more like concrete and less like grass. Therefore, you want to barely skim the ground's surface when you hit the ball. Other than that, hit the ball as you would normally. Use the same club as you would if you were on the fairway. However, since you are attempting for sole contact with the ball, you may want to club up: the ball may go farther than you anticipate.
Be careful not to break your club head. Use the hard-sand technique when the sand in the bunker is extremely dry or if you are hitting hard sand outside the fairway.
Wet Sand
Hitting off wet sand is the trickiest to master. First, you must analyze how wet the sand is. If you are hitting out of a puddle of water in the sand, treat the ball as if it was in the water: use a lot of force and try to hack it out of there.
If the sand is damp, make as little contact with the sand as possible. Hitting the wet sand is equivalent to making a massive divot as you hit the ball, which will cause you to make bad contact, and your ball will not go far. You can use the same steps as you would for hitting out of soft sand. However, try to barely skim the surface of wet sand, and do not loft your club.