The Shotmaker Needs Some Bunker Help

Yes, The Shotmaker recently played in a tournament and could not hit a bunker shot.  He asked me, his coach for a golf drill he could do at home to improve his technique.

I proceeded to tell him to order a truckload of sand and hit wiffle golf balls out of it.  Just kidding of course, though I did specifically tell him to NOT order the sand.  TSM is very dedicated to improving his game and since he has a small back yard, the sand was not a practical idea.  I was afraid he might not figure it out.

Here is the practical free golf swing tip that I gave him.  You too can do this as long as you have some grass in your yard, or your neighbors yard, or the city park.

Simply take a long tee and place it in the ground.  Be sure the tee is as long as possible.  Then take an open stance, open up the blade of your sand wedge and swing at the tee, making it pop out of the ground.

Next do the same drill again, except you are now going to put a ball on the tee.  Open up your stance and clubface and swing under the ball, striking only the low part of the tee.  If you do it right the ball will fall to the ground.

Then when you are on the course, simply visualize this drill and do the same thing.  Hit the sand under the ball and the ball will pop out every time.

UPDATE--  The Shotmaker has completed his first round of the tournament and has himself in excellent position to win or make a very high finish.... something he has never done to date.  He shot a solid round of 75.  His big key now is to not celebrate too much tonight at the local pubs.  The tournament can be won tomorrow, or lost tonight.  I have a good feeling that he will make good decisions and be ready to play tomorrow.  His main emphasis should be on each shot he hits, while not suckering himself into a match play frame of mind.  He cannot control what the other guys in his group do, he just needs to hit and forget and move on.  I am sure you will get a complete review on his next post.