Karen Walker

The key to hitting out of fairway bunkers is making contact with the ball first. Rather than hitting the sand first, like you would in a greenside bunker shot, you want to hit the ball first – just as if the ball was in the fairway.

If you hit sand after the ball, like a divot in the fairway, that’s good. When you hit the sand first, the club slows way down and will result in a shot that comes up well short of the green. Remember, ball first contact will get you to the green!

In order to make contact with the ball first you need to adjust your set-up and stance.

• You should place the ball slightly back in your stance. When the ball is back, the club will hit the ball first before hitting the sand.
• The next adjustment is to grip down slightly on the club -- about half an inch. Doing this makes the golf club shorter and therefore helps prevent you from hitting the sand before you hit the ball.
• Since you are gripping down, be sure you take one extra club (if you’d usually hit an 8-iron, take a 7-iron instead) so you can make a controlled swing.

Making these adjustments will get you solid ball contact out of the fairway bunker and onto the green!

Staff instructor Karen Walker is an LPGA professional who teaches private and group classes and is also available for clubfitting. Read more about Karen. Call the pro shop to schedule a lesson: 760-720-GOLF.