Seeing your ball land in the bunker is very frustrating but the level of frustration will soon increase when upon arrival at the bunker you see your ball has plugged in the sand.
A plugged lie is when the ball sits half buried in the sand and this is seen by many players as being one of the toughest shots in golf. However, some simple adjustments to the set-up and the way you play the shot from the bunker will help to remove the fear of playing this shot.
When playing a standard bunker shot, you would aim to hit the sand roughly two inches before the ball and four inches after the ball. However, for a plugged bunker shot you should be aiming to take the sand from three inches around the ball. If it helps during practice, you can make a circle around the ball in the sand and aim to remove the entire section of sand.
The best club to use in this situation is the sand wedge. You do not want to dig too deep into the sand and hit the ball heavy and the bounce of the sand wedge helps to prevent that from happening.
When setting up to play a plugged bunker shot, your stance will be like a normal bunker shot, with feet shoulder width apart and slightly dug into the sand to assist with balance. Play the ball ahead of centre in the stance and the club should enter the sand at the central point of your stance.
Do not open the face of the club when playing this shot, always keep it square and align your feet and hips slightly to the left of the target, with the shoulders remaining square to the target.
Grip down the club for extra control and make sure you grip hard. As the club enters the sand, it will try and twist out of your hands, so take a nice, firm grip to prevent this from happening during the shot.
Do not forget to deliver a full follow through and take as much sand as possible with you on the shot. It does not matter how much sand comes out and lands on the green, no one is going to criticise you for covering part of the green with a few grains of sand, especially if you play a great shot.
Finally, always remember there is not going to be much spin on the ball and this may see it roll on the green. Accept the ball might roll beyond the hole and do not try to get the ball to stop pin high if the hole is close to the bunker. This will result in less commitment to the shot and you must be fully committed when playing a plugged bunker shot.
Recent Comments