The Golf Slice

In all honestly, putting from out of a bunker is going to be an absolutely terrible idea 99.99999999% of the time.

Yet under a very specific set of conditions it might be possible and in your best interest to try and putt your golf ball out of the sand instead of using a wedge.

Here’s my list of rules under which putting out of a bunker will be at least justifiable to the rest of your group:

1. The sand in the bunker is packed and hard. I’m talking cement quality sand.
2. The bunker does not have a lip at its edge.
3. Your golf ball does not have to go across a lot of sand to get out. This is pretty obvious but very important. God did not intend you to putt along sand so make sure the distance your golf ball needs to travel is at a minimum.

Putting out of a bunker is the kind of golf shot you take when you’re relaxed and trying to have a little bit of fun. If you’re trying to shoot your record low for a round or something then please reconsider your bunker putt.

Nine times out of ten when you’re stuck hitting out of a bunker you’re looking to hit the ball just high enough to get it over the lip of the pit and on to the green. In other words, it’s less about the distance and more about the air.

If you don’t have a sand wedge in your golf bag you should use the next shortest club with the most loft available.

The best way to hit a good bunker shot is to be aware of what your clubface is doing. When you’re using a like your sand wedge it’s important to keep the face lofted so that it brushes across the sand and sends the golf ball upward.

Be careful not to do anything during your swing that will ruin the loft of the ball. It’s really easy to try and “help” the ball get into the air by moving your wrists or changing your angle. Trying moves like that will lead directly a bad shot.

The sand in bunkers never seems to be the same. At some courses it’s nice and soft and at others it’s like gravel. The courses I frequent have bunker sand that they apparently ship in from rock quarries or something. The stuff is awful.

If you’re going to follow the letter of the law you can’t test the texture of the sand in the bunker before taking your shot. My circle of golfing friends isn’t quite that hardcore when it comes to our bunker shots so we like to give the ground a little tap with our club head first.

If the sand is especially hard in the bunker you’ll probably want to slow down your swing. Try not pulling back so far in your swing because the ball is going to come out much quicker without soft sand to cushion the impact. Soft sands requires you to take a faster swing. The light sand creates more resistance to the head of your club.