Playing from fairway bunkers
Smart Playing From Fairway Bunkers for High Handicappers
Higher-handicap golfers can save strokes in fairway-bunker play by choosing the boring success more often.
Take the easy win
The fastest gain in clean-contact recovery is avoiding the shot that brings double bogey or worse into play. For fairway-bunker recovery, aim wider, use more loft, or accept a lay-up when the lie is asking for humility. A calm bogey from a difficult fairway-bunker play spot often beats a heroic swing that never clears the trouble.
Keep these rules handy
- Choose the club that removes the first obstacle in fairway-bunker play.
- For fairway-bunker recovery, swing smoothly when contact matters more than distance.
- For fairway-bunker recovery, leave a full next shot instead of a nervy half-swing.
- Treat a smart exit in clean-contact recovery as a saved stroke, not a surrender.