In this topic we will learn how to chip the golf ball out of a sand trap, The Bunker. Bunkers are usually placed close to the green, but they can be found in the fairway also. When your ball ends up in the bunker, you need to use a specific wedge and apply specific techniques to get the ball out of the sand trap correctly.
There are three key points to take into account when hitting the ball out of the bunker, visualizing the shot, your setup and the impact of the club with the sand.
First, It is important to visualize the shot you are about to take, the trajectory that the ball will take from the bunker toward the hall shout be pictured in your mind, if you cannot directly see the hole due to your position use the flag to help you, the flag is placed in the center hole and it will help visualize the shot.
Second, the placement of your feet is very important, align the ball with the inner side of your left foot if you are right handed (do the opposite is your left handed), this positioning will allow you to cut through the sand rather than planting the club in it.
Third, chipping a ball out of a bunker is a specific technique and it requires chipping the ball by striking the sand. The very important thing is to strike the sand under the ball, the ball should in theory be lifted by the mass of sand displaced by the club. Think about hitting the sand out of the bunker rather than hitting the ball, the more you try to hit the ball the less you will succeed in lifting it and you will end up hitting the ball higher and displacing less sand.
As with chipping, getting the ball out of the bunker every time requires a lot of training. Train as much as you can in all the positions to become familiar with the shot.
One of the rules of golf says that the club should not under any circumstances touch the sand during the setup and the practice shots, hitting the sand results in a penalty.
