Fairway bunkers and long bunker shots

Setup

1. Use a practice bunker with a low front lip where full shots are allowed, or a fairway bunker on the course at a quiet time with permission. Set a target 60 to 120 m away, depending on the player.
2. One player in the bunker at a time. Anyone waiting stands outside the bunker, behind and to the side of the player.
3. Check the lip: the club you choose must have enough loft to clear it comfortably.

How it runs

1. Fairway bunker: take one more club than from the fairway and grip down a little. Shuffle the feet in only slightly, ball in the middle of the stance.
2. Make a smooth, three-quarter swing and strike the ball first, as if picking it off the top of the sand. Hit five balls and count those that reach the target area.
3. Long greenside bunker (20 to 40 m): use a pitching or gap wedge with a slightly open face and splash the sand a little behind the ball with a fuller swing. Hit five more.
4. Rules reminder: you may not touch the sand with the club right in front of or behind the ball, in a practice swing or in the backswing. Take practice swings outside the bunker.
5. Rake the bunker smooth after every turn, including your footprints, and leave the rake where your club's local rules say.

Coaching points

• For the fairway bunker, a quiet lower body and steady head give a clean strike.
• Focus on the front of the ball; a thin shot goes a long way, a fat one goes nowhere.
• Higher lip, more loft: getting out comes before distance.
• For the long splash, the length of the follow-through controls the distance.

Common mistakes

• Digging the feet in deeply as for a greenside splash, which drops the swing too low.
• Choosing a long iron that can't clear the lip.
• Grounding the club behind the ball at address.