Knifing Bunker Shots

[Eag's]

Recently I have been having real dramas with my bunker play where I knife most of my shots.
I am interested in hearing what people think causes thin shots out of bunkers? Is it a set up issue ie - ball to far forward or to far back, bad technique etc...? I am heading to the range on my days off determined to fix the problem

[Daves]

Make sure you dig in well, helps to get the club swinging under the ball.

A few things I try to do to avoid knifing;

quiet body, bunker shots should be mostly upper body and arms.

pick the spot behind the ball the club face is going to enter the sand and hit down into it. If I am on a down hill lie with more potential for a "knife" I try to play it Mickelson style, swing hard, weight toward the back foot and hit it very fat so it comes out like a lob shot. Open the club face as much as you are comfortable with also.

Makes sure I am using the right bounce. If it is a hard claypan like bunker then you need low bounce so the club can burrow in and not just bounce off.

[sms316]

Accelerate through the ball.

If you don't (which you don't do well tbh) you will either chunk it or knife it. The other thing to work on is to get your hands close to your body at the top of your swing. This will make you come in steeper rather than shallow.

[virge666]

Phil's DVD - $23 on eBay and will sort all these problems out. Peter Cowan's bunker masterclass is also a great DVD on the subject - but it is bunkers only.

You are not keeping the bend in your right wrist through impact - and this presents the bottom of the blade to the ball. You will also not be facing teh target after the shot, which is the give-away.

Enjoy

[Eag's]

I think you guys are on the money about the quiet lower body, I tend to shift my weight laterally and decelerate as Sms pointed out.
Rich, I like the tip trungy gave you I will give that a crack at the range.

[razaar]

You are on the right track Eags, get the left knee to the target side of the left foot and leave it there during the shot. Bend the knees more at address this lowers the arc so you swing under the ball. On all good level lies and uphill lies play the ball almost opposite the left toe and hit the sand one and a half inches behind the ball with a slightly open face. Use a short backswing and follow through with the triangle of the shoulders and arms facing the target.

[just]

This might help Eagsy:
http://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/Golf/v...utterfly-grip/

[Courty]

You reading this Haysey?

[Eag's]

Thanks for the tips guys hopefully I can sort my shit out.

[Jarro]

I think another good tip is to make the entire swing nice and smooth with a slower tempo, not a quick jerky stroke

[henno]

I am alright out of bunkers for a chopper, but I used to be ordinary. Phil's DVD helped a lot, especially the quieting down of the lower body and ensuring I accelerate through the ball.

I also watched a video on youtube where the guy talks about having a larger margin of error in bunkers (half an inch or more) as opposed to a tight lie and as a result, a lot of pros don't mind being in the fluffy stuff as long as they aren't short-sided. That made sense to me and as such I was no longer frightened to hit the ball with a bit of power. Knifing a few balls kills confidence which leads to tentative swings which leads to deceleration which leads to knifing balls... rinse... repeat.

[Webster]

hit the sand, not the ball.

[MegaWatty]

Best advice I've ever taken for bunker play was from Vijay Singh. I saw an article during a tourney where he promotes having alot of your weight onto your left foot.

Since that day, I've loved playing bunkers.

[Golfnut]

Best advice I've ever taken for bunker play was from Vijay Singh. I saw an article during a tourney where he promotes having alot of your weight onto your left foot.

Since that day, I've loved bunker players .

[MegaWatty]

?

Shouldn't have given you any advice?

[Golfnut]

That's cool MW.....Flushers off 22 don't find bunkers

[markTHEblake]

I am interested in hearing what people think causes thin shots out of bunkers?

fear and stupidity. How hard is it to hit the ball fat? yet people knife the ball out of bunkers more than when not in them.

p.s. i knife lots of bunker shots, i put it down to loss of focus, overridden by fear.

[Bushka]

I actually practice from getting up and down from the sand a lot and have had a few bunker lessons.

The biggest turning point for me was maintaining my weight toward my left side/front foot right throughout the swing taking a little more sand.

Very rare for me now to get it thin and kill people who are wondering around on other fairways.

[nesbit]

I was also having bunker issues untll i watched this video a few times and so far so good. Good luck

http://www.robertallenby.com/iframe_video14.htm

[gazgolf1]

I was also having bunker issues untll i watched this video a few times and so far so good. Good luck

http://www.robertallenby.com/iframe_video14.htm

Nice shoes Sandy.

[Eag's]

One green side bunker today, one knife
Work in progress.

[parlyboy]

Had quick bunker lesson today, think Faldo like. Ball forward, club to the sky, lazy hands. I knifed 1 out of 20.

[TheNuclearOne]

[Hux]

Without doubt the best advice I have seen is off Robert Allenby's website.
http://www.robertallenby.com/gallery...nstruction.asp

His presetting of the knees is just marvelous stuff. I practiced this last night. I considered I had the accelerated wristy action to cut under the ball but suffered from the changing body height. The knees trick works a treat and I am pretty keen to see how it goes on course as I felt 100% confident with it afterwards.

[virge666]

Nah, that's awful - this is the one you want to follow.

http://www.saveamillionshots.com/vid...ic-bunker-shot