Bunker

It is the sand, and not the ball, that you are trying to hit.

The softer the sand, the more bounce you need on the sole of the sand wedge; on heavier sand you need less bounce.

Never use a sand wedge from a bare lie, since the rounded sole bounces off the ground into the middle of the ball.

The bunkers tends to get the best of the average player. As we get into the sand, we get anxious and usually swing hard and fast, resulting in a poor shot. We try to get the shot over too quickly. An often-overlooked aspect of good bunker play is good rhythm. Try to match the speed of the backswing with the speed of the downswing. A slower tempo will produce higher and softer shots. A hurried swing will create a steep swing and some digging.

So much of golf is identifying how the ball sits in the bunker. If the ball is lying cleanly, you play the ball forward, hit behind it, and follow through. If the ball is in a hole, play it back, and bury the club head behind the ball. Take a good look at how the ball is sitting in the sand. If it’s down even a little bit, play it as a buried lie.

If you find your ball on the upslope of a bunker, under the lip, with a long distance to the flagstick, try using a less-lofted club than a sand wedge. An 8 iron will still give you enough loft to carry the lip and will produce enough forward momentum to reach that flagstick on the other side of the green. The ball position should be center, and your shoulders should be at the same angle as the slope of the bunker. Your weight will be on your back foot. Try to have the club head enter the sand 2 inches (5cm) behind the ball. Open the face of the iron slightly so you achieve some bounce — this way the club head will not dig into the sand.

If you are lying badly, you have no option in the matter; the ball must be dug out, and the method employed is called the explosion shot. If the ball is lying well, you can either play an explosion or take the ball cleanly.

If the sand is very light and loose, you can afford to take plenty of it, and you also can hit your hardest. If it is heavy and wet, there is no need to hit so hard or to take so much sand. To play any of these shots you must remember above all things that the head and body must be kept absolutely motionless; in other words, the body may pivot but must not move laterally.

You stand fairly open with the ball about opposite the left heel, and you play the stroke as a slice. That is to say, you aim to the left of the hole, and in taking the club back you take it away from the body. Your forward swing is across your body, and you will finish your stroke with the club well to the left of the line.

The great thing to remember in bunker play, and in all golf for that matter, is always to play the easy shot; do not try to play the difficult and spectacular shot; you will only look ridiculous and your remorse will be 10 times greater if you fail to get the ball in play.

The sand trap shot is — and should be — the easiest shot in the bag.

There is more room for error in this shot than in any other. You can hit a half inch, an inch, or even 2 inches behind the ball and still be all right. With other shots, that margin of error would result in a bad shot.

I can’t advise gambling for the average player. The odds are too much against him. In at least 90% of the cases, the explosion is the surest, safest, and best way out of sand.

And — with the sand iron — the easiest.

Open the clubface first, then take the grip.
Wiggle the feet into the sand, establishing a firm stance.
Trust the loft of the club, freeing the mind to focus on the proper swing moves.
Aim for a spot in the sand 1-2 inches behind the ball — not at the ball.
Don’t be afraid to hit hard.

Your clubface hits first the sand and then the ball. The sand acts as a cushion. Actually the force of the blow drives the sand against the ball, and the pressure pops it out onto the green.

For this reason don’t be afraid to hit it too hard. The sand will deaden most of the force and leave just enough to toss the ball out onto the green.

He makes his error in failing to have confidence in his club. The sand iron is designed to get the ball out of the sand. It has the heavy flange to keep from being buried. It has a big clubface to give you plenty of hitting surface. It has a lot of loft to get the ball into the air. Everything is built into the club.

Danny the Duffer, however, doesn’t trust his club. He wants to help get the ball into the air. He scoops at the ball. As a result the club either digs into the sand or he tops the ball. And it is still in the sand trap.

Trust your club to do the job. For yourself, simply concentrate on swinging it properly.

Preparation for a bunker shot starts immediately after you walk into the trap, for you must quickly decide whether the sand is hard, wet, or soft, because a slightly different technique is required in each case.

For the normal bunker shot, i.e. soft sand, the feet are comfortably close together and the stance is opened fairly wide, the left foot drawn about 8 inches back of the right. With the clubface slightly open at address, the club is taken back outside the line of flight to the hole. This is one of the few occasions this happens in the swing and will result in you hitting from outside to in, across the ball.

This action would normally cause a slice, but in this case it helps the clubhead cut through the sand.

For bunkers close into the green, the club must enter the sand 2 inches behind the ball, so the club is held in that position at address. Do not watch the ball. Watch the spot of impact, which in case is the sand. In bunkers 20y from the green, hit one inch behind the ball. Farther out than that you can hit the ball cleanly.

The most important aspect of the swing is that it must be firm throughout. If you hold back, or quit on the shot as the American say, you have little chance of making a good stroke.

The most difficult lie in a bunker is when the ball rests in the bunker face. Here the tendency is to sky the ball by hitting too far behind it. In this position hit only 1 inch behind the ball and apply more force to counteract the height which is bound to result. It is difficult to follow through fully on an up-slope, but try and swing normally.

If sand in a bunker is wet or hard, the clubhead will skid in the first instance and bounce in the second. Play this shot more softly than the others, for the tendency here is to be too strong. Still hit 2 inches behind the ball.

Advanced players should try to hole every bunker shot.
High handicappers should just focus on getting it out.

One last word to handicap players. Make sure you get out of the sand at your first attempt, even if you do knock the ball over the back of the green to start with. When you are out, at least you might have a chance to chip close to the hole, or even putt. If you stay in the sand, the chances are you will be rattled and will still hit a bad shot at your 2nd attempt anyway.

The clubface should be open to your stance line, which is pointing to the left of your target, but the face should be pointing at your target. Then swing the club back along your stance line, a little to the outside of your target line and on an upright plane.

The finish is critically important. Do not let the club stop in the sand, because if you do the ball will stop there too. A good rule of thumb is to make your follow-through as long as your backswing.

If you have a sharp leading edge, which was the case with the pre-1930s sand wedge and every other iron club in your bag today, the clubhead tends to dig into the sand rather than slide through it. And from a decent lie that’s definitely not what you want.

Bunker play becomes 10 times easier if you stick to a few basic principles at address and 100 times more difficult if you ignore them. The bounce effect on your sand wedge works best when the clubface is open — there’s absolutely no way that clubface can dig too deep into the sand if it stays open. You have to open the clubface at address so that it actually faces right of the flag. It’s important that you open the clubface first and then form your grip, which should be a little weaker than normal. If you grip it first and then open the face, it’ll return to square at impact and cause you problems with heigh and accuracy.

Open your stance, too. That means your shoulder, hips, and toes need to be aiming, say, 30ft left of the target. Spread your weight pretty evenly on both feet and, as you look down at your grip, I want you to check that you hands are level and with the ball, maybe even a fraction behind it. Finally, ease the pressure on your grip approximately 20% to ensure a nice, sensitive hold on the club. Now you’re in good shape.

The actual tempo of your swing and the pace at which you accelerate the clubhead through the sand should feel pretty much the same every time. That’s a far more reliable method than trying to hit harder or softer from identical length swings.

Except for unusually deep bunkers or for bad lies, the touring pro would rather hit a simple (for him) bunker shot than try to pitch the ball to the pin out of the high grass around most greens.

Remember one thing: The standard bunker shot is about technique, not about strength. I don’t apply any more effort than I would on a 40-yard shot from the fairway.

If there is one mistake common among poor bunker players, it’s decelerating through impact. It probably stems from hitting at the ball instead of through it. To be consistent from sand, the clubhead must be gaining speed when it enters the sand instead of slowing down. This is true even on short bunker shots. I try to imagine that the club is traveling its fastest at a point 6 inches beyond the ball.

A ball buried in sand can work on your mind. When I first saw that the ball was buried, I didn’t exactly look forward to playing it. I won’t lie; I was discouraged. Not only did I have an awkward stance, but the fact that the ball was buried meant I would have limited control over how the ball behaved when I hit it.

Truth is, buried lies aren’t all that difficult to play. Sure, you won’t hit the ball as close to the hole consistently as you would from a perfect lie, but you can still hit the ball close enough to have a reasonable chance at an up-and-down.

Making the transition from a short sand shot to a longer one is pretty tricky. A lot of players regulate their distance by opening or closing the clubface, or else varying how much sand they take. I prefer to regulate how far the ball flies by adjusting the length of my follow-through. The longer the shot, the harder I try to achieve a full, complete finish. This little trick is very effective, because in order to lengthen my follow-through, I have to accelerate pretty fiercely through impact. On the other hand, a short follow-through means I haven’t swung all out through impact and the ball won’t travel as far.

I believe the principles of good sand play are pretty much the same for everyone. If you want to hit the ball higher, there’s no arguing that you must either open the club-face or position the ball farther forward in your stance to increase your launch angle. I mean, there’s no other sound way to obtain more height on the shot.

From greenside bunkers, aim for the top of the flagstick — most misses from sand come up short rather than long, so give yourself the benefit of the doubt.

When the clubhead digs deep into the sand, it loses so much of its velocity (like a wedge being pushed rather than pulled) that it loses stability. That leads to loss of control, improper direction, and often even a shot left in the bunker.

So how do you control the distance of your shots? Here’s how not to do it:

Don’t change the rhythm of your swing.
Don’t change how close you hit behind the ball.
Don’t change how hard you swing through the sand.

The easiest way to vary the distance of your sand shots is to use clubs of different lengths and lofts, all the time continuing to use the same swing.

In the golf industry today, bounce is completely independent of a wedge’s loft, length, weight, or shaft flex. This means that there is no assigned bounce to a particular type or loft of a wedge; the amount of bounce is the preference of the designer.

The better your lie (the higher the ball sits on top of the sand), the farther forward the ball should be positioned in your stance.

The worse your lie (the deeper your ball is buried), the further back in your stance the ball should be positioned.

The farther forward the ball is positioned in your stance, the more you should open the clubface.

The farther back the ball is positioned in your stance, the more you should close the clubface.

The more you open the clubface:

The more left you must aim.
The shallower the club moves through the sand.
The higher the trajectory of the shot.
The more backspin the shot will have.
The softer the shot will land.

Now, if you want to tackle some difficult sand shots, try hitting from sidehill lies. When the ball is above your feet, forget the scoot-and-spin blast shot, it won’t work even if the ball is sitting up on top of the sand. You’ve got to be careful and make a good swing, because you have no margin for error. Try the dig-and-push blast, aiming slightly to the right of the target, the clubface almost square. Be firm through impact with a little grip pressure than normal, to be sure the toe of the club doesn’t dig in and get stuck in the sand.

A chapter on sand play is a good place to remind you that you can never prepare too much or too well for what is going to happen in golf.

Focus on the sand, not the ball.

Look at where you want the club to enter the sand, not the ball.

Focus on the distance the sand should fly, not the ball.

Fluffy sand: extremely open clubface to maximize bounce and allow the clubface to glide through the soft sand. Release the club to maintain a shallow angle of attack and prevent the club from digging too far into the sand.

Compacted sand: maintain a square clubface. At impact, keep the grip ahead of clubhead and drive the heel of the clubhead into the sand to help penetrate the harder surface. A steep angle of attack is important to help break through the compacted sand.

Wet sand bunker: Don’t open the face.

A soft hold on the club effectively spreads into the arms and shoulders as well. It helps endow your swing with an “oily” rhythm back and through. Only by swinging in this fashion can you develop the wonderful sense of touch and feel that is characteristic of all great bunker players.

Bull trap! If sand play were the easiest aspect of the game, all those articles and books would never be written in the first place. Everyone would be blasting the ball onto the putting surface with nary a care in the world.

Sometimes, aiming for a bunker actually makes sense — on a long, difficult approach shot, for example. The pros know that the “up and down” from sand can actually be easier than from the surrounding (usually long and thick) grass.

Bunkers are not placed on a course haphazard, but they are made at particular places to catch particular kinds of defective shots.

The key to hitting a fairway bunker shot is you have to stay really still on it. I try to think of getting the ball early (before the sand), and that gets the ball up quicker. I really focus on the exact spot on the ball I want to hit. If I’m close to the lip, I don’t necessarily move the ball back in my stance.

Dig in your feet slightly (don’t go so deep that the sole edges are covered with sand). You don’t want to lower yourself too much because this will lower the bottom of swing arc (which is catastrophic when trying to pick a ball cleanly).

When faced with using either a long iron or a lofted fairway wood, choose the fairway wood. Because of the sole plate and mass of the clubhead, the fairway wood will slide a little in the sand and not dig in deeply.

One reason golfers lose control of the lower body is they misunderstand how the weight shift should happen. When a player tries to shift his weight over the right (back) leg, he often slides the lower body away from the target. This leads to the upper body shifting toward the target to maintain balance. The result is a reverse weight shift — left on the backswing, right on the downswing — and a loss of power.

A proper weight shift is the result of the lower body supporting and somewhat resisting the upper body as it coils.

If you want a very high shot, you need to use as much of the back edge of the sole as possible. Set the handle behind the club head — you’ll hit the ball higher. Align the shaft perpendicular to the target and face the leading edge to the right of the target.

Greenside bunker shot, ball sitting up:

Mistakes:

Positioning the ball too far back in stance.
Hands forwards of the ball, de-lofting or using the leading edge of the club.
Failing to keep the club moving completely through the shot.

Setup:

Set the clubface open along the target line.
Weaken the grip.
Align the body to the left of the target.
Point the butt end of the club at the center of your body.
Distribute weight evenly.

Pre-swing thoughts:

Think, “Hinge and hold.”
Make smooth downswing and throughswing keeping tempo up throughout.
Let loft of the club lift the ball — do not scoop ball from lie.

Swing:

Hinge the wrists in backswing and swing the club up in backswing.
Take club back three-quarters.
Swing club into sand 1-3 inches behind ball.
Use bottom of club and back edge to splash under ball, keeping heel ahead of toe throughout downswing and impact.
Keep clubhead moving through, up and out of sand while clearing hips to the left of the target line.
Finish with weight on left side.

You must get yourself to the point where you can visualize the ball coming out of the bunker, hitting the green at the right spot, and rolling into the hole.

Because you have to hit beneath the ball to lift it out of the bunker, a fried egg presents a problem since half of the ball is below the surface of the sand. Most golfers commonly make 1 of 2 mistakes here. Some skull the shot because they’ve either opened the clubface at address (as for a normal lie in the bunker), or their clubface enters the sand too close to the ball. When the clubface is open, the lead edge is unable to dig deep enough into the sand to lift it out. Entering the sand too close to the ball simply doesn’t give the clubhead enough time or space to get beneath the ball.

The fried egg is a tough shot in any ordinary greenside bunker. Facing this lie in a particularly steep bunker is even tougher. Because hitting a fried egg lie produces a low trajectory shot, attempting to play it out of a steep bunker is an ill-advised risk. If you don’t have a reasonable chance of clearing the lip of the bunker, you may have to take your medicine and pitch out sideways or even backward.

To use the leading edge, press your hands forward to the front edge of the golf ball. This will take some loft off the club so use a 60-degree wedge, which will “net” you approximately 55-56 degrees. Using your normal grip, choke down an 1-2 inches. This will put you closer to the ball and make it easier to make your swing vertical.

Fried egg:

Common mistakes:

Opening the clubface as if you’re hitting a sand shot from an ordinary lie.
Clubface entering the sand too shallow and close to the ball.
Breaking into the follow-through too quickly (not giving the club enough time to dig the ball out).
Swinging the club on a flat (rather than steep) swing path.
Finishing high rather than finishing low.

Setup:

De-loft the club by moving the handle forward of the clubface.
Stand to handle (club handle bisecting an imaginary line that runs through your midsection).
Lean 60% of your weight on your front leg.
Grip down 1-2 inches on the club.
Play the ball back (1-2 inches) in your stance.

Pre-swing thoughts:

Think of the lead edge as a knife that cuts beneath the ball to pop it out.
Keep the lower body quiet.
Finish low.

Swing:

Swing the club up with the arms and hands; keep the body quiet.
Swing should be steep (V-shaped).
Abbreviate the follow-through.

No bunker shot has ever scared me, and none ever will. The key to this bravado is practice. I’ve practiced and experimented from hundreds of lies with various swings, in effect creating a data bank in my memory that I can cal on no matter what kind of sand shot I’m facing. Just as important, I’ve developed my imagination to the point that I’m confident I can think my way out of any bunker, not matter how tough the lie.

To be really expert in recovering from any kind of trouble, including bunkers, a player must process a certain amount of ingenuity in addition to a highly developed sense of club control. Many of the shots made from such places are not golf shots at all, but are acts of club manipulation possibly never tried before.

This is not a finesse shot, so swing hard and turn your club over forcefully. By keeping the clubface in the sand throughout the shot you will keep from getting hurt, should your club strike the lip of the green. Stay balanced throughout and don’t let yourself fall backward. Lean as much as possible into the bank.

With a ball buried in the bunker, the first thing to hope for is that you have plenty of green to work with. If you do not have much green, it does not matter how good you are; you are really going to struggle with this shot. The best thing to do is to open up your stance, put the ball well back, and keep your hands low during your setup.

What you want is that feel of the club almost getting picked up rather than swung — sort of like a chopping action or chopping a log — and try to come down about an inch behind the ball with the neck of the club.

Buried in deep bunker, nearly under the lip:

Mistakes:

Attempting to do too much with the shot — think “Get it on the green, somewhere.”
Trying to scoop the ball out versus leaving the club in the sand.

Setup:

Open stance and place ball in middle of stance or slightly toward rear foot.
Grip down.
Dig feet firmly into sand; lean into slope to maintain balance and keep from falling backward.
Rotate toe of club close through impact.
Keep club in sand on follow-through.

Pre-swing thoughts:

A “good shot” is one that gets the ball onto the green.
Think positively — if sand allowed ball to penetrate its surface it will allow your club to enter and propel the ball out.

Swing:

Swing hard but don’t lose balance.
Make a steep takeaway and downswing; do not sweep or try to splash the ball onto the green — instead, dig with front edge of the club.
Bury the club in the bank — no follow-through.

This particular shot calls for a steep “V-shaped” swing. If your swing is too flat, you’ll risk coming up out of the shot prematurely and hitting the ball thin (or skulling it). Keep the lower body quiet (nearly still) in the backswing. Do not coil or turn the hips away from the target. With your knees flexed and your legs unmoving, swing your arms down in front of your body.

Remember, never swing so hard that you can’t maintain your body position.

Short, high shot with feet outside, ball in greenside bunker:

Mistakes:

Not enough forward tilt from the hips.
Not enough flex at the knees.
Swinging too hard.
Come up and out of the shot.
Swing path is too shallow.

Setup:

Hold club at full length.
Spread feet slightly farther than shoulder-width apart.
Increased knee flex.
Forward tilt from the hips.
Align feet square to the target.
Address clubface from square to open based on texture of sand.

Pre-swing thoughts:

Create a steeper than normal swing.
Stay down and low through impact.

Swing:

Swing arms up, keep body quiet in backswing.
Swing should be steep (V-shaped).
Swing club down into sand with arms, keeping body relatively quiet.
Make a low follow-through.

Average (soft) sand. Open the clubface and apply the normal hingeback and hold-through method. Take a full swing and finish on the left side.

Heavy and fluffy sand. Use a sand wedge with the clubface set more open, thus incorporating the back edge of the club and increasing the bounce. Grip down an inch on the club and play the ball just forward of center in your stance. Swing with more speed as the heavy sand slows the club through impact.

Hard sand. Use a loft wedge with less bounce. Set the clubface just slightly open. Make the same swing as you would in normal sand.

Wet, compacted sand. Use a lob wedge with the face set to square. Play the ball in the center of your stance. Move your hands slightly ahead of the ball at address. Align your stance parallel to the target line and make your normal bunker swing. Expect a lower trajectory and greater roll.

The most important aspect of hitting a downhill lie in a greenside bunker is the angle you create when hitting the shot. It has to be very steep, yet forceful enough to create a splash. Use a club that gives you the maximum height — a lob wedge. Keep the club open while swinging down so abruptly into the sand. Do not cut the swing off after contacting the sand. Keep the swing moving low and forward and resist the customary high finish of a normal sand bunker shot.

If you keep in mind that hitting firmly into the sand a couple of inches behind the ball will create sufficient pressure to “explode” the ball out of the bunker, half your mental block will be cured. You will cure the other half simply by remembering to hit through the sand without closing the clubface. In other words, follow through without rolling your wrists.

Short, high shot with downhill lie in a greenside bunker:

Mistakes:

Not adjusting for de-lofting effect of club caused by down slope of bunker.
Coming into the ball with an angle that is too shallow.
Losing balance, falling backward while fighting gravity.

Setup:

Take an open stance.
Position the ball in center.
Dig with left foot and set weight on left side over slightly flexed knee.

Pre-swing thoughts:

Swing the club up and down along the contour of the slope.
Keep the clubface open, sliding under the ball.
Allow for roll after ball lands on green.

Swing:

Pick up club with a quick wrist cock and bring it back down quickly.
Swing hard but stay under control. If you’re losing your balance, make sure you’re going forward and not backward.

No one is thrilled when faced with hitting from an uphill lie out of a greenside bunker. Some golfers are mentally defeated even before they’ve hit the shot; they let negative thoughts flood their mind. The self-defeating thoughts raise anxiety and exacerbate technical flaws.

When hitting an uphill greenside bunker shot keep in mind that the slope of the bunker is adding loft to the shot. So forget about using a more lofted lob wedge — the 56- or 54-degree sand wedge is right for the job. And don’t make the mistake of manipulating the club too much — for instance, don’t open the clubface as much as you might for other bunker shots.

Align yourself with a slightly open stance. However, narrow it and play the ball in the center. Set the clubface square to very slightly open. The most critical aspect of your stance and setup is keeping your weight on the left side. Gravity will pull you back and down the slope. To compensate, dig your feet 2-3 inches into the san, leaning into the slope. Make sre to keep your shoulders parallel to the slope.

Swing aggressively. Enter the sand fairly close to the ball, no more than 1-1.5 inches behind it. The ball will fly very high, perhaps as much as 75-80 degrees, and roll very softly upon landing.

Uphill lie in a greenside bunker:

Mistakes:

Selecting a club with added loft, such as lob wedge.
Failing to carry the ball well onto the green close to the pin.
Failing to keep the weight on the forward leg through impact.

Setup:

Align feet slightly open. Narrow stance slightly.
Set shoulders parallel to slope.
Set clubface square to slightly open behind the ball and along the target line.
Set weight over flexed left (forward) knee.

Pre-swing thoughts:

Keep weight on your forward leg throughout sing.
Swing along slope of bunker.

Swing:

Enter sand close to ball, 1-1.5inches behind it.
Swing aggressively but maintain balance.
Complete follow through, do not leave club buried in sand.

Bunker play:

Shorter and higher you want the ball to fly:

Open clubface.
Hinge the club in the backswing.
Weaken grip.
Dig your feet deeper into the sand.

Longer and lower:

Close clubface.
Hinge less.
Normal grip.
Dig less.

The faster your swing, the more velocity the shot will have, which means the effects of your adjustments will be more magnified.

The sand shot is one of the most forgiving shot in golf. Just knowing that will decrease your anxiety when you step into a bunker.

Don’t switch off the power just when it needs a lift up and out — keep your clubhead moving through, out and up.

For the most part, players need to swing more aggressively in the sand because the sand slows down the clubhead through impact. However, it is important to keep the acceleration smooth and rhythmical, not quick and jerky.

Ball above feet on bunker slope:

Mistakes:

Failing to swing around body and approach ball with shallow swing arc.
Failing to move ball closer to middle of stance.
Failing to keep the clubface open and gliding through the sand.

Setup:

Stand taller with knees flexed.
Grip down on club.
Position ball in the middle or just ahead of middle of stance.

Pre-swing thoughts:

Think “around the body” for takeaway and through swing.
Maintain open-faced position of clubface.

Swing:

Exaggerate the flatness of the swing.
Keep club in front of the body and the clubface lofted through impact (no release).
Make a rhythmic pass and don’t add “hit” at impact.
Finish facing the target.

Good results from a sand bunker, like good results on the putting green, depend greatly on your ability to “read the sand.” Use your feet and eyes.

Wet, compacted sand:

Mistakes:

Failing to pay attention to the texture of the sand when digging in your feet.
Failing to use the leading edge of the club to dig in to the sand.

Setup:

Set the clubface square to the target line.
Lean toward the target.
Dig feet into the sand.

Pre-swing thoughts:

Make certain that leading edge of club digs into sand.
Use speed and force of swing, depth of cut or both to vary distance.
Allow for ball to come out faster.

Swing:

Hinge the club steeply on the backswing.
Take club back three-quarters.
Maintain tempo.

One of the easiest ways to add height to the sand shot is to feel like you’re sitting down on your right knee at address. You should widen your stance and choke up a little. You should feel as if you’re “under” the ball more and have a wider base.

The key to this shot is quick elevation combined with a lot of spin. The keys to elevation and spin are a steep angle, maximum loft, and greater-than-average swing speed.

After you have setup properly, start the club in motion by hinging the wrists immediately off the ball, creating a vertical takeaway.

General principals of bunker play:

Secure your balance by digging 0.5 inch into the sand with your feet. This also provides feedback on the consistency of the sand.
The finer the sand, the less the resistance, thus, the slower the swing. Conversely, the heavier the sand, the faster the swing.
In all explosions shots, enter the sand behind the ball.

Sand bunker shot to elevated green:

Mistakes:

Shallow approach, trying to scoop the ball into the air.
Not enough loft at address.
Ball too far back in the stance, with hands behind the ball.

Setup:

Open the face aggressively, with the handle behind the ball.
Take grip after face is set open.
Tilt more toward from the hips, lowering hand.
Take stance with more knee flex, playing the ball off the forward toe.

Swing:

Swing the club up abruptly by hinging the wrists immediately.
Allow arms to finish the backswing depending on how far you need to carry the ball.
Swing the club down into the sand, keeping the loft on the face.
Weight should stay centered throughout impact, with a checkmark finish.

Whenever Mickelson feels the rhythm on his driving go awry, he immediately heads to a greenside bunker.

“You wouldn’t think there’d be a correlation, but when you hit a bunker shot, there’s no ‘hit.’ You have to swing the club and let the club do the work through the sand. You have to swing it fluid. You can’t try to power it, or give it a little extra hit at impact, because you won’t hit it well. So you keep this rhythm, this rhythmic swing from the bunker. It carries over to your driving.”