Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
I’ve played muni golf all my life. I was never a country-club kid and even the courses I practiced at in high school were rough around the edges. Range balls with worn-down dimples. Putting greens that looked like shag carpet. That was the norm.
These less-than-ideal conditions forced me to learn how to hit some shots that I otherwise wouldn’t have. Lobs off hardpan. Chips out of divots. Putts through craters on the greens. You get the picture.
By the time I started working in golf and got access to nicer practice facilities, I’d taught myself quite a few handy shots. However, after all those years, one shot still eluded me: the short-sided bunker shot from firm sand.
Luckily for me, one of our Top 100 Teachers, Joe Plecker, grew up as a muni kid himself. And when I approached him wanting to know more about how to properly execute this shot, he was quick to teach me his secrets.
When I faced a short-sided bunker shot from hard sand, I always got sick to my stomach. I knew I was either going to skid the club into the back of the ball or overcorrect and catch too much sand and leave it in the bunker.
With hard sand, it’s important to get a steep angle of attack to get the clubhead to enter the sand and blast the ball out. But when you do this, it can be easy to get the leading edge stuck and catch too much sand.
To execute the shot properly, Plecker suggests setting up in two parts. First, you want a setup that promotes a steep angle of attack. Second, you want to grip the club in a way that ensures an open clubface.
For the first element, Plecker says to set up with your upper body tilted toward the target.
“This upper body forward position is going to help us maintain a very steep angle [of attack],” Plecker says.
After that, it’s time to place your hands on the grip. Plecker likes to see a very neutral grip with the lead hand for this.
“I want to see your lead hand in a neutral position,” Plecker says. “Imagine your left hand is pointed right down the top line of the grip. That’s your finesse position, meaning it’s a heck of a lot easier from there to twist the club open.”
From here, all you’ve got to do is focus on twisting and hinging the club to the top. Don’t feel like you are making a bid, full-body turn.
“This is the secret to hitting a finesse bunker shot,” Plecker says. “The first move is to cast that club.”
If you do it correctly, the club will carve into the sand and pop the ball up and out of the bunker.
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