The Practice Tee: how to escape the bunker

Some people spend more time in the sand then David Haselhoff. Im here to stop that. You probably know the basics of hitting a greenside bunker shot: dig in your feet,play the ball to the front of your stance,open clubface, hit the sand an inch behind the ball. But today you will learn how to hit out of an upslope downslope, wet sand.

On a severe upslope the most common mistake is to swing as if the ball were on a flat lie. To adjust to this you will need to adjust your shoulders to the slope of the bunker. also make sure you are finishing your swing and not just decellerating at the ball. Act as if you are tossing sand over your shoulder.

On a downhill lie make sure you match your shoulders hips and eyeline to the slope. If you dig in your front foot more than your back it will help you position the ball in the middle of your stance. a good practice drill would be to practice hittng dont on the slope of the sand without a ball

Wet sad can keep you from hitting a normal bunker shot. The moist sand is very heavy and harder to get through. to adjust properly you will need to swing more steep and come down at more of an angle. also put about 70 percent of your weight on your front foot. This will help to slide underneath it.