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I’ve given a handful of lessons this week in our greenside practice bunker and have realised this is a shot that causes difficulties for many golfers.
Many players are catching these shots heavy and only barely getting out, or catching them thin and flying across the green and off the opposite side – most players would be very happy just to get out in one shot and have a putt for their next shot.
With the correct technique, and a little practice, the greenside bunker splash shot will become much less intimidating and you will be able to save a few more shots in every round.
The main components of the shot are detailed below:
*The set-up: Firstly you must get in the correct address position – open up your stance. You should aim to the left of your target while keeping the club face aimed directly at it.
This has the effect of opening up your clubface and will allow the bounce on the club to do its job and help you by ensuring the club skips through the sand and doesn’t dig in.
The ball position should be forward in the stance towards the front foot. The shaft of your club should be pointing towards your belt buckle and your weight should be about 60 per cent on your leading foot and should be kept there throughout the swing. This is of utmost importance as it will ensure you are striking the sand in the same position every swing.
*The swinging action: Now that you are in a good address position, you need to swing the club taking advantage of the changes you have made in your set-up.
The club should be swung along your body target line – parallel to your feet. The backswing should be controlled with the arms and wrists and there should be as little weight transfer as possible.
Unlike the full swing, you shouldn’t really use the shoulders in the backswing. Whatever length your backswing is, your through swing and follow through must be longer!
This is the key to a smooth acceleration of the clubface through the sand which is the main reason why players struggle with this shot. Make sure to hold the clubface open (as it was at address) in the follow through and finish with a nice high follow through.
Your club should be hitting the sand behind the ball and exiting beyond so that the ball comes out on a cushion of sand and lands safely on the green. A nice visual image is that your ball is lying on a one dinar note and that you want to skip the club under the ball scooping the bank note up into the air.
*Distance control: Once you are confident in your set-up position and the swinging action, you can simply control distance by adjusting the length of your backswing.
For shorter shots this should be nice and compact and if you want to hit it further, you simply take the club back further. Remember to swing nice and smoothly and ensure your follow through is still longer than your back swing.
Remember these simple points and you’ll be a pro in no time!
