Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
Bunkers are a place of anxiety for most recreational golfers. Whether it be from a lack of practice or an incorrect technique, bunkers give most weekend warriors fits.
David Armitage, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, knows this fact well — and he’s set on changing it. Although he teaches all facets of the game, his favorite topic is bunker play. Specifically, helping his students conquer their fear of the sand.
That’s why he wrote a book on the subject (yes, really!) and recently teamed up with us here at GOLF to create the most comprehensive guide to bunker play out there.
Check out the full video below, or read on for an excerpt detailing the two drills Armitage recommends for improving your bunker play.
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Rake drill
One of Armitage’s favorite drills features a tool you can find in just about any bunker: a rake. He places it behind the ball a about a foot or so, meaning that if he sways or falls back during the swing, he will hit it. The drill helps golfers understand how vertical the swing needs to be for a proper bunker shot.
“If I drift off the ball on the backswing, I’m gonna hit the rake,” Armitage says.
The rake also helps golfers make sure the downswing is steep and getting the low point in the correct location. Armitage recommends starting slowly (so you don’t accidentally hit the rake) and using the drill to build the feeling of the correct motion.
“Do it slowly,” he says. “Maybe just do it in very slow motion just to get the image and the feeling.”
Once you get the hang of it, you can build up to a faster swing.
Line drill
Another drill comes from Ernie Els. Armitage says Els would draw two lines in the sand, set up wide, and make swings that focused on contacting the sand between those lines. He would then make two or three of those swings before hitting a ball.
“That’s what the pros do, and one of the best players in the world,” Armitage says.
The lesson for amateurs is to do the same. Rather than immediately hitting balls, start by practicing the setup and the strike.
“Do the line drills first, get that impact where you want it, and then take that to the ball,” he says.
This drill helps instill the feel for controlling the low point in your swing and getting a feel for where the clubhead should enter the sand. If you can contact the clubhead between the lines with consistency, you’ll have no problem splashing the ball out of the sand when you’re on the course.
