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Do You Ever AIM For the Bunker?

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MonroeBob1955

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With several threads lately on the topic of bunker play, I have to wonder do you ever aim for the bunker. You hear about it with the pros fairly often.

Last year I played a two day tournament. On Saturday, one particular par 4, bunker front, trouble long. 3H hits front of the green, no stopping it on that green, and puts me in a mess behind the green. Short answer, double bogey.

Next day, almost exact position on said hole. Knowing long was dead, I chocked down and took aim for the front bunker. Up and down for a sandy.

Since then, I have no issue putting the ball in the bunker when anything other than a miracle shot could spell disaster.

Do you ever purposely do the same?


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I wouldn't say I intentionally aim for a bunker, but if a miss in a bunker is less of a penalty than another miss (eg water) then I will favour whichever side the bunker might be
 
Nope, I don't aim for bunkers. Normally I overestimate my abilities and don't grab enough club and wind up short of the green for a botched chip/pitch over the green.
 
I will sometimes aim AT a bunker either knowing I can't reach it or the ball will move off of it but gives me a good target and I have a pretty good bunker game so I'm not scared of that shot.
 
I do. Especially if I'm at that odd longer distance where a ball won't stop on the green and roll off the back. I don't trust my ability to stop something on the green or roll it up onto the green as much as getting myself out of a bunker.
 
Never! And it's because I SUCK out of the bunker...

I plan to take care of that as soon as the new practice bunker gets built at our home course; but even then, I would only aim at one very rarely and that would likely be on a 2nd shot into a par-5 with thick rough or water looming.
 
It depends on the quality of the sand on whether I want to put the ball in the bunker, or not.

If it's playable sand, and it's the best situation for that pin location, I won't mind playing out of the bunker.

If the bunker sand is suspect, or non existent, I will layup in front of the bunker, and flop shot over it.

PGA pros like sand because it's a preferred lie for them.
 
Depends on the situation but there are definitely times where a bunker is preferred to the rough. On a long hole I may play toward a bunker if misses elsewhere are bad.
 
Never. The bunkers I generally see are all terrible. If I had nice soft bunkers that had been raked and prepped beautifully.... Still probably wouldn't. I don't think tour pro aim for bunker either for what it is worth. That is just bad commentary. They may aim so that a miss finds a certain bunker. Then it is an easy up and down for them. But aiming for a bunker.. I do not think happens that often.
 
I have plenty of times
 
Yep, if the hole design calls for it I don't mind being in bunkers that much. I'm typically not aiming to end in a bunker though, but they do make good aim points, and if I end up in them then that's fine.
 
Only time I ever aim for a bunker is while accounting for a stiff wind and some help steering the ball back to my intended target. Less frequently, if I plan to work the ball one way or the other.

There have been times when going for a par 5 with a heavily bunkered green that I assumed my approach would find a bunker and took the shot anyway.

That's different though because other than maybe hitting out of trouble with little chance for anything other than the bunker, I can't recall ever doing it strategically.
 
Absofrigginlutely. Sometimes it's the best option. I just did it last time out. Clipped a branch off the tee on a par 4, 246 left with only one window out of the trees to the green, and a tough lie. Window puts me in the right bunker unless I can draw it pretty hard (really unlikely from the lie), playing short brings the creek into play, punch out leaves a real long approach. Hit it, only mustered a baby draw and ended up a couple feet in the bunker. Sandy for par.
 
The weekend game I play in has sandies so I will aim for the bunker if I know I have no shot to get it close for birdie. There is a short drivable par 4 that is dead right. There is bunker front left that I will aim for. If I hit it straight most of the time I can carry it. If I hit a slight fade then I'm on the green or in front. Hit a draw then I hit into an open area with a good angle to the green.

I try to avoid fairway bunkers but greenside bunkers for the most part don't bother me and I will play aggresive at a pin that is near one. I will use a little common sense though if it really shortsided or super deep though.
 
All the time if the bunker is to the left. I couldn't draw a ball if stranded in the Crayola factory! Natural fade shot puts me on the green and if it goes straight, more bunker practice for me. 🙃
 
Sometimes it makes sense strategically, if the bunker is the least worst option.

One of our local courses got pretty shoddy under previous ownership, and every time we played there I intentionally aimed for the bunkers because they were the best lie on the course! :LOL:
 
It all depends. There are a couple of courses that I am aiming over a fairway bunker to position my second shot better, that is about the only case that comes to mind. I could see where you could be aiming at a bunker, but not aiming to get in one. I would think you are either hitting short or over the bunker you are aiming at.
 
I've never talked to a professional golfer about it, but I don't have any trouble believing that they would intentionally aim for a bunker if that gave them the best chance of holding their ball where they wanted it and the best angle for their next shot. As much as tv announcers hype it up in an effort to create drama for the viewers, a bunker shot is not a difficult shot for the pros. I'm willing to bet they'd much rather have their next shot out of a bunker than out of the 6" deep rough surrounding it.
 
Occasionally. If I know I can't get the ball on the green and the bunker shot would be easier than the chip shot.
 
I won't intentionally put myself in a bunker, but it has saved me a few times.
 
It is a good tactic, however I am no more likely to be able to accurately hit a bunker deliberately than hit a green. Having said that, if it's a choice between bunker and water then I'm always playing towards the bunker.
 
I probably should do it more often. I might hit a green by accident.
 
Never. Although, like a previous poster, I will sometimes aim for the side of the green with a bunker if the other side has a worse hazard.
 
I usually check my GPS to see how far the closest part of the bunker is and then pick a club about 10 yards short of that, chip over the bunker and hope to be close enough to make par putt.
 
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