Fairway Bunker Shots Made Easier
By Sean Fawcett
Fairway bunker shots intimidate even experienced golfers, but they are not as tough as you might think. Just remember a couple of key things. First, do not dig your feet into the sand. Digging your feet in lowers your body, and hands, and, in turn, lowers your club head making you hit the sand first behind the ball. You’ll want to dig in on greenside bunker shots because you’ll want to hit the sand first behind the ball to lift it up, gently out and onto the green, but it’s the exact opposite when playing a fairway bunker shot. Your goal in playing a fairway bunker shot is distance. You want to hit the ball first and hit it cleanly and hard. Make it go as far as you can hit it.
The other thing to remember is to take two longer clubs and swing 70%. Swing mostly with your upper body and take a shorter backswing and swing a little easier and let the longer golf club help you get the added distance. For instance, if you are 150 yards out, and you would normally hit a seven iron from there from the fairway, take a five iron and swing about three-quarters as hard as you would from the grass.
Be sure to practice. Like all golf shots, you’ll need to hit a lot of these kinds of shots before you get good at hitting them and develop confidence. The more you do easier they will become.
Sean is a Linwood Country Club golf professional and college coach with more than fifteen years of high school and college coaching experience
