How To Play The 50 Yard Bunker Shot

Get it right at set-up and you’ll take some of the sting out of the 50 yard bunker shot as Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach Peter Dawson explains

(Image credit: Tom Miles)

Get it right at set-up and you’ll take some of the sting out of the 50 yard bunker shot as Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach Peter Dawson explains

50 yard bunker shot checklist * Keep weight 60 per cent on the front foot throughout * Aim to take ball and sand together * Think full and slow, not short and quick

Watch: Beginner's guide to general bunker play with GM Top 25 Coach Paul Foston

1) Set-up basics The tricky 50 yard bunker shot is one of golf’s toughest – too much sand and we leave it short; too little and we might send it 50 yards over the green! So what are the set-up basics before you even start the swing?

It’s important to build a good stance, so shuffle your feet firmly into the sand. Take one or two clubs more than you might from a greenside bunker and grip down the club a little for added control.

It's important to get things right at set-up when playing the 50 yard bunker shot

2) Weight forward As with chipping around the green, your weight should be 60 per cent on the front foot, which in turn promotes the earlier wrist break you need for this shot as you take the club back.

Take a fullish three-quarter swing, keeping your weight 60 per cent on your front foot throughout – this encourages you to come down a little more steeply into the ball and stops the club bottoming out too early.

Watch: GM Top 25 Coach Andrew Reynolds explains how to master the running bunker shot

3) How much sand? The goal is to take ball and sand together – not four or five centimetres behind, nor too cleanly. A great idea is to place an alignment stick down a couple of inches behind the ball (or perhaps draw a line in the sand until you’re feeling confident).

As long as you start with your weight 60 per cent on your lead side and keep it there, your wrists will naturally break early, and come in steep enough to miss the line or stick and take ball and sand at the same time.

An alignment stick or line in the sand can help you work out the right amount of sand to take

Please note, this can vary a little with swing speed – you’ll need to take a little more sand if you swing fast, and a little less with a slower swing. Experiment in practice to find your perfect contact point.

Watch as GM Top 25 Coach Peter Finch explains how a bank note can help your bunker play

4) Full and slow, not short and quick

Make sure you take the club far enough back, and remember it’s a pendulum swing, so don’t stop at the ball coming down – keep the club moving on into a three-quarter follow-through too.

Some golfers panic on this shot, don't go back far enough, then swing too fast and sit back on their trailing leg resulting in all sorts of mishits. So swing slowly and in control. Think full and slow rather than short and fast.

 

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response