Need Help Getting Out of Fairway Bunkers

hey freds!

so i'm feeling good about my game lately. scores aren't where i want them to be yet, but are they ever?! there aren't many shots i fear, but the one that i just cannot seem to ever hit well is a fairway bunker shot. they're always very low, on the bottom groove of the club, and about 2-3 clubs short of normal distance.

what tips do you have for someone to hit the ball cleanly out of fairway bunkers, with good launch and reasonable distance?

i also welcome any thoughts from you guys who don't struggle with this shot.

thanks all!

-chris

I'll usually take a clublength more, choke down a little, put the ball back in my stance and concentrate on taking a smooth level swing. Try to not swing down on it, but straight through the ball. Works for me.

I really use to have hard time with the Fairway bunkers until I change my swing thought. When I am in fairway bunker i just think I am in the fairway and swing away. The results have been pretty good, since i started doing this.

Have you considered a foot wedge? Always works well for me.

I'm sure Freddie will give you better technical advice, but I have always found it's all about confidence for me. When I am hitting the ball decently, I can play it like any other shot and hit it well. If I am struggling with hitting the ball fat or thin, I overthink this shot and it goes poorly. For best results I move the ball 3 inches or so back in my stance, choke up about a half inch, then just hit it like any other iron shot, really just not thinking about the sand.

My best advise for this shot and try and keep the lower body a little quieter then when on grass.

The first thing is to figure out what club to hit. Does the lip play a roll? Is the ball sitting clean? What kind of lie do you have, below he feet, above, side hill, plugged, on top?

Once these factors have been taken into account you need to choose a shot. Are we trying to hit the green, layup, hit a draw or hit a fade. What ever the shot, commit to it.

Take an additional club to account for the possible heavy hit. I like to choke down an inch, preset the hand forward and the ball in the middle of your stance. Shoulders should be level with the lie angle.

The idea is too keep the lower body very still (the knees) and really use the arms and hip. The knees must stay level throughout the swing. If they change, you'll miss hit the ball. Find the bottom of your arc out and set up so that is your contact point. Not lifting of the ball, just swing down and through, ball first.

Because you're using arms your angle will be steeper so the launch angle will be sharper and more abrupt. The key is to remain level to your lie and hit down on the ball.

Already said more eloquently but once I learned to keep my lower body more quiet I no longer fear the fairway bunker


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Luke Donald has a nice little Mizuno short game series that helped me.
https://youtu.be/VvXiKPDEUdM



@RustyCasino

esg777 said:

I really use to have hard time with the Fairway bunkers until I change my swing thought. When I am in fairway bunker i just think I am in the fairway and swing away. The results have been pretty good, since i started doing this.

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With a ball sitting up this is exactly what I've done. Ball first, then shallow sand divot. Of course, the height of the bunker determines if I'm going for the green or laying up. I alway err on the side of caution in the fairway bunkers. It's too easy to put up a big number trying to create a shot that's too close to execute comfortably. That was when I was hitting too many fairway bunkers. Now that I've been avoiding them, I don't know if I'd have the same confidence.