Mid-Long bunker shots are regarded as some of the toughest shots in golf. I’m talking about the shots that range from around 40-70 yards. 

We’re close enough to the green where we expect to be putting or at least have a simple chip shot. But a slight difference in strike can put us into even more trouble. Here I will discuss some keys we can focus on to get the most out of this difficult shot.

Why Is the Mid-Long Bunker Shot So Difficult?

This shot creates indecision as to how to strike the ball. Should you strike the ball cleanly, like you would a fairway shot, or let the club interact with the sand like you would for a green side bunker shot?

What makes this decision, and shot, so tough is that the resulting ball flight will vary significantly depending on the strike. Catching a fraction more, or less, sand can drastically affect the distance the ball travels. 

Bunker experiment. How much sand affects the ball. 

Choosing The Strike

As I mentioned above we can either choose a clean strike, or a strike that interacts with the sand. Depending on the situation both of these strike could be favorable. 

The key when selecting a strike is being rational and modest in your decision making. Preparing for a ‘worst case scenario’ can help you better commit to the shot. Playing within your ability will improve your strategy and help limit the trouble you can potentially get into.

Here are some main factors to consider. 

Is there trouble long or short of the green? Due to the difficulty of this shot, there is a good chance the ball isn’t going to finish exactly where we want it. In the event of a mis-strike we want to know where we can miss. Assessing where the trouble is can help our decision making.

How is the ball lying? If the ball is sitting down slightly it will be very tough to make a pure, clean strike on the ball. Therefore it may be unwise to force a cleanly struck ball. A ball sitting up in a good lie will give your much more freedom in choosing how to strike the ball.  

Does the bunker have a lip to contend with? Assess how high the lip of the bunker is, and whether you need to make any compensations to accommodate this.

Air On The Side Of Your Strike And Commit To The Shot!

So you’ve assessed the shot and selected how you want to strike the ball. Now it’s time to commit to the shot! Committing to the shot you’ve selected is an important component in order to be successful with the mid-long bunker shot.

Depending on the strike we selected we want to air our miss on the side of the strike. This will help us play into our strategy and avoid further trouble.

What I mean by this is if we select a clean strike, we would much rather the club contact the sand well after the ball. Taking any sand can result in the ball finishing way short of our desire target. 

Consequently if we choose to take sand with the strike we would rather the club enter a little earlier into the sand. This will allow us to swing more aggressively without the fear of the ball flying across the green. 

Executing The Shot

To establish consistency and simplicity I recommend getting set-up and applying the principles previously discussed in this Bunker Series. 

Depending on the situation you face, your may need to vary your club selection. All the irons in our bag have some degree of bounce to them. 

When facing a mid-range bunker shot I recommend interacting with the sand. This will give a little more control. Like I mentioned before precision with these shots is key! Although by lengthening our swing it becomes much harder to consistently strike the sand at the exact same point.

If you can master the point at which your club enters the sand, with a variety of clubs, you will see big improvements with this difficult shot.