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How to Hit a Flop Shot

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Golf Etiquette

How to Hit Sand Shots

On golf courses, sand bunkers may be placed near the green to create challenges for approach shots (shots onto the green), or alongside the fairway to challenge the accuracy of a player teeing off. You’ll need to use different techniques to get the ball out of a bunker, depending on whether your ball falls into a greenside bunker or a fairway bunker.

How to Hit a Greenside Bunker Shot

If your ball falls into a bunker alongside the green, your goal should be to pop the ball softly up out of the bunker and onto the green. The proper club for this sort of shot is a sand wedge. The grip and posture is the same as for a full swing from grass. To make a greenside bunker shot:

Take an open stance, so that a line across your feet points to the left of the target. Dig your feet slightly into the sand to give yourself a firm foundation.
The ball should be just forward of the middle of your stance, and your club face should be slightly open.
Swing the club so that it enters and skims through the sand about 1.5–2" behind the ball. Because the sand acts like a cushion, you must make a fairly full swing.

To vary the distance of the shot, vary how hard you swing, though the club should always enter the sand 1.5–2" behind the ball.

How to Hit a Fairway Bunker Shot

The fairway bunker shot differs from the greenside bunker shot in that, rather than just popping the ball up out of the bunker, you’re trying to hit it a distance down the fairway, and possibly even onto the green. The object is to hit the ball first and disrupt very little sand. Even so, you should play these sorts of shots conservatively—though you shouldn’t use a sand wedge for this shot, you should select an iron that gives enough loft to get the ball up and out of the bunker. Use the same grip and posture that you use for a full swing. To make a fairway bunker shot:

Take a somewhat open stance, with the ball toward the middle of your stance. Dig your feet slightly into the sand.
Swing as you would on a full swing. Don’t try to force or scoop the ball over the lip of the bunker. Swing through the ball as you normally would and trust the loft of your club to lift the ball out of the bunker. Your lower body shouldn’t move much, and you should feel centered over the ball throughout the swing.