You have hit your ball into a fairway bunker. You are not
worried because you have a good technique for getting you
ball out and well on its way.
To your horror you have a half buried lie.

Don’t give up on trying to hit the green or hit a long golf shot
from here.

You can play a long explosion shot.

How many times have you played a bunker shot and
skulled the ball a long way over the green?

Well this is the type of shot you will try to play from here.

To allow for the shorter distance your ball will travel,
take two clubs more than you would use for the distance
from the fairway. This means instead of a 9 iron, you will
use a 7 etc.
Set up as for a normal bunker shot, planting your feet
firmly in the sand.

Open you club face, take a normal swing
and hit hard into the sand as close to the ball as you can.
This is what you do when you skull your bunker shot. You
hit too close to the ball.

Aim a little left of your target
to allow for the effect of opening the club face. The ball
will fade. Practice this shot so that you have it in our
armoury.

Some bunkers have a very fluffy sand base. If you are in a
fairway bunker with such a base, you can get out and obtain
good distance using a four or five wood.

These woods have a rounded sole and blast through any sand
that gets between the club and the ball much better than
an iron which has a lighter head.

Play your shot by hitting slightly from out
to in and so cutting across your shot. This will cause your
club to descend on a steeper plane and so diminish the
amount of sand you will encounter during the swing.

What about hitting from the edge of the green where there
has been a sand spill? A bit rare but it happens sometimes.

Play this shot in exactly the same way you play a bunker
shot.
The difference here is that there is solid ground
beneath the sand, say about one inch down. This means that
your club will not dig too deeply beneath the ball and the
shot is easier than a normal bunker shot.

So, you set up and swing as though you are in a bunker
hitting the sand about two inches behind the ball.

The firm ground beneath the ball will ensure a perfect
bunker type shot and you will be surprised at how easy
this golf shot is.

Do you know how to play a pitch and run shot? Percentages
are higher when approaching a green than a pitch shot. Sure
the pitch shot looks great when it goes up into the air and
stops near the pin.
But how many times do you pull this
off? There are also situations when the pitch is not
possible, such as when there are branches in the way.

Play your pitch and run with the ball level with your right
foot (right handers), you hands well in front of the ball
and your weight on your front (left) foot.

Don’t try to put or sweep the ball, but hit down crisply into
the back of the ball with a short firm swing.

How far will the ball travel? Well, for example, your seven iron
will travel as far again after it bounces. So try to land your 7 iron half
way to the flag. Land your 6 iron a bit shorter as it will
run further, and so on.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru. He thought out and developed simple techniques and tips which enabled him to lower his handicap from 25 to 18, then from 18 to 15, and finally from 15 to 12. He is a passionate golfer, and delights in helping others with their game should they want his help. To receive a valuable weekly golf tip go to his web site http://www.onlinegolfershandbook.com and subscribe to his free Hole In One News Letter. You will be so glad that you did.

Author of On Line Golfers’ Hand Book. An e-Book that takes you step by step to being the best golfer that you can possibly be. The basics in great detail. To learn about his tips and simple techniques and order his book, visit his web site

http://www.onlinegolfershandbook.com

sign up for his free news letter and receive a wealth of great tips every time. He really tries to tell you everything and leaves nothing out as so often happens.
When you sign up, receive his free chapter from his book on bunker play.