Bunker shots
Drills to Improve Bunker Shots
Practice simple sand drills that build strike, confidence, and distance control.
Drill one: the line splash
Draw a straight line in the sand. Set up with the line where the ball would be, then make swings that enter the sand just behind it and splash through. No ball needed at first. The point is to train the entry point without worrying about where the shot finishes.
Goal: make the club enter in roughly the same place five swings in a row. Once you can do that, place balls on the line and keep the same motion. If the ball stays in the bunker, check whether the club slowed down or entered too far behind the line. If it flies low and hot, you probably clipped too little sand.
Drill two: towel landing zones
Place a towel or small target on the green. Hit bunker shots trying to land the ball on or near it, not finish on it. This teaches the difference between landing spot and rollout. A soft, open-face shot might land close to the towel and stop quickly; a squarer-face shot may land shorter and release.
Use three stations: a short splash, a standard middle-distance bunker shot, and a longer explosion. Hit three balls to each station, then rotate. Random practice is harder, but it looks more like the course.
Drill three: three-face challenge
Hit three shots with the face slightly open, three with it more open, and three with a squarer face from firm sand. Notice how launch, roll, and turf interaction change. You are building options, not chasing one perfect bunker swing for every lie.
| Lie or need | Face choice | Swing feel |
|---|---|---|
| Soft sand, short pin | More open | Splash the sand with speed |
| Firm sand | Less open | Brush, do not dig |
| Longer bunker shot | Slightly open | Wider finish, steady tempo |
| Buried lie | Squarer | Steeper entry, accept rollout |
Drill four: the dollar-bill window
Imagine the ball sitting in the center of a dollar bill. Your job is to remove the whole bill from the sand, not pick the ball clean. Draw a rectangle around the ball, then try to splash the rectangle forward. This gives your eyes a practical landing zone for the clubhead and keeps the swing from becoming a nervous stab.
Practice with feedback
Bunker practice is about committed speed, and FocusGolf can help you check whether that commitment is really there. From a Wear OS, Apple Watch, or Garmin watch, it can detect swings automatically and store motion data, tempo, transition, consistency, and session history without club sensors. When paired with video, the record shows whether your best splash shots came from a free finish or a decel in disguise.
Build pressure into the last ten balls
Finish with a small game. Drop ten balls in different lies and give yourself one point for escaping, one for finishing on the green, and one for leaving a makeable putt. A score of 20 out of 30 is solid practice for most amateurs. If that feels easy, require the ball to finish inside a club-length circle around the target.
Quick recap
Good bunker drills isolate one skill at a time: entry point, landing spot, face control, lie reading, and speed. Keep the goals visible and the feedback honest. Most bunker improvement starts when you stop hoping the club finds the right sand and start training exactly where it should enter.