How to play a Downhill Bunker Shot

Here is a short video explaining the technique to play the tricky downhill bunker shot.  Enjoy!  Hope it helps.

Transcript

So you found yourself in a downhill line in a bunker. It can be a difficult shot for many people, but perhaps if you know how to play it, it’s not as difficult as what you think. What I want you to do is take a wider stance than normal. This is important because I want you to try to get your hip level and your shoulder level as close to parallel to the slope as possible. If your stance is too narrow and you try to achieve this position, simply you wouldn’t be able to keep your balance. So, we’ve got a wider stance, your hip level and your shoulder level is with the slope, and you’ll perhaps need to add a little more loft to the club face. The nature of the slope will have the ball flying a little lower than normal. So, opening the club face a little bit can help you to recover some of that loft. So, once you’re in the setup position, the key is to swing with the slope. You’re going to swing down the slope, rather than what I see many players do is fighting the slope. They’ll back away from it, trying to get the ball out. This will always result in hitting the sand early, or not hitting the sand at all, hitting the ball clean over the green. So, in this setup position, you’re simply going to stay there and swing down the slope.