How to Hit a Shot From a Fairway Bunker

The fairway bunker shot is one of the most intimidating in golf for beginning golfers. They see the white sand and they know how difficult it is to hit a shot out of the bunker when it is near the green. Now they are in a bunker perhaps 200 yards from the putting surface, and panic sets in. It shouldn't. Unless the golfer has to hit a shot that is buried in the sand, the swing is relatively similar to that of a fairway shot and is not as difficult as it looks.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Try to hit the ball cleanly, as long as your ball is sitting on top of the sand. Do not hit the sand first as you would in an explosion shot around the green. The sand in the fairway bunker is usually quite a bit firmer than the sand in the greenside bunker.

2. Examine the bunker before selecting your club. The fairway bunker is not as likely to be deep and cavernous as greenside bunkers. If you look at the bunker and determine the lip of it will not interfere with your shot, take one club higher than normal for your shot. For example, if you are 150 yards away from the green and normally would hit that shot with a 5-iron, use a 4-iron when hitting from the bunker. Playing from the sand will likely take away some of your normal distance. If the lip of the bunker is significant, go the opposite direction when selecting a club. Instead of the 5-iron that you would normally use from the fairway, take a 6- or 7-iron. You will sacrifice distance but you will get the ball up and out of the hazard.

3. Take a wider stance than normal when you are setting up for your shot. You want to be able to keep your balance during the backswing, the forward swing and the follow-through. A wider stance will give you more security during your swing.

4. Dig your feet firmly in the stance and grip down on the club. It is essential that you hit the ball before the sand when playing from a fairway bunker, and gripping down should assure that this happens. Swing smoothly and have as little leg movement as possible. Accelerate the club through impact so you don't come up short with the shot.

5. Punch the ball out of the fairway bunker if your ball is buried. While this is a rarity, your shot may find someone's footprint or the sand may be loose. In that case, strategies to hit the bunker shot a long distance of 150 yards or more are best forgotten. Just blast it out of the trap towards the fairway and prepare for the next shot.

Tips & Warnings

• Approach a fairway bunker shot like any other shot, as long as the ball is not buried. There is no reason to be intimidated.
• Unlike a greenside bunker shot, do not take sand before hitting the ball out of the fairway bunker.

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