Why To Align Square to a Bunker Shot

Clubface & Body Alignment

Hi, Robin here. So I’m always telling my students that in short, high bunker shots, you don’t need to stand open. You don’t need to align your body to the left or even for that matter, pitch shots, where you’re trying to add a little loft or lob shots. Let me explain why. Okay, so you can see that if I was just to open the club face to add loft to the club, which is what we’re doing when we’ve got these short, high bunker shots, or the pitch shot, we want a little extra loft, or the lob shots, that the sweet spot, which is highlighted by this alignment stick, is pointing to the right of the target.

That’s why many people think they now need to align their body to the left so the club face is aligned to where you want the ball to go. It is true, if we stayed in this position, the ball would start to the right. But another way of adding loft, another component, in a bunker shot, or that pitch shot, or the lob shot, is we’re lowering the club shaft.

We’re lowering the club shaft to a position which is a little flatter than the club’s been designed. And that lowering of the club shaft brings the club face back to the left, brings the sweet spot back to the left. So the opening brings the sweet spot to the right, aligns it to right, the lowering brings it back to the left. So you can see now, even though that leading edge is pointing to the right of the target, the sweet spot is pointing towards the target.  This means I can align my body parallel to the target line.

Another thing which influences or brings the sweet spot back to the left is that when we’re setting up to a bunker shot or a lob shot, the ball’s up to the left, the hands are slightly behind the club head, this brings the sweet spot or the alignment of the club face back to the left. It counteracts that opening of the club face. It’s not as much an influence as the lowering of the club shaft, but it has some effect.

So hopefully now you’re getting the idea that even though we’re opening the club face, and the leading edge is pointing towards the right, because we’re lowering the club shaft, and maybe because you’re hands are slightly behind the club head, the sweet spot is actually pointing towards the target. So this allows me, even on this shot here, where I need a high bunker shot, landing soft, I want plenty of loft, this allows me to set up square to the target line.

This benefits many things.  Because I’m square, it allows me to swing down my body line rather than cutting it across it. That’ll help consistency of contact.  It’s also going to help distance control. Let’s give it a try. Okay. Hopefully you can see I got plenty of elevation in that shot, so I must have had added loft. But I was able to align my body square to the target line and the ball went at the target. It’s a simple tip, but it’s very important to understand this.

It’s a simple principle. Once you understand this, I think it can really help you with these shots. Players who align their body to the left, cut across the shot, it creates all sorts of problems, slice, spin, inconsistency in contact, and it makes distance control very difficult. As always, if you’ve any comments, questions, or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you below. I always try to get back as soon as I can. So until next time, hope this tip has given you a little more idea, cleared up a few misconceptions, and look forward to seeing you next time.