How to hit a high bunker shot

Digging yourself out of a sand trap can easily descend into a futile exercise in excavation. Help is at hand, though. In this video, PGA Professional Steve Johnston encourages the golfer to open the sand wedge to the point where it almost feels too much.

By focussing on the back portion of the wedge, and getting that part of the club to hit the sand through impact, it will generate a huge amount of loft. Combine that with speed and you’ve got a great chance of getting the ball up and out.

A key point to remember: for it to be effective, the path has to be in-to-out.

In a nutshell, then, open the face, draw the right foot back, splay the left foot out so the body weight starts left and it stays left. Do plenty of repetitions to perfect the move.