The final component of a good setup is awareness of the club. Having a good relationship between the club and the body is vital to producing good shots, therefore it is critical to have the club and club face in a sound position at address. As you may have heard before the bounce of the club plays a critical role in the execution of a bunker shot. The bounce is the angle between the leading edge and the lowest point of the sole of the club. (Image) The reason we want the bounce of the club interacting with the sand, is that it will prevent the club from digging in, and allow it to glide across the surface producing a fuller, more efficient strike on the ball. (the bounce also plays a big role with regular wedge shots too, but we wont get into that now). Many players I see who struggle out of the sand tend to have complete disconnect between what the club is trying to do and what the body is set up for. What I mean by this is that the “generic” set often taught and that I’m so accustomed to see with players over a bunker shot is open stance, wide open club face and a swing motion that cuts across the ball, in order to generate significant loft and spin. But how much control does this approach actually have over the shot? And how efficient and consistent is the spin on the ball?

Leading Edge at 1 O’clock

Opening the face will increase the amount of bounce and loft associated with the club face. Which, after all, is what we want in order to help the club to slide along the surface, however by opening the face too much we are going to complicate the contact and strike efficiency at impact. Not only will the club face be facing away from target, but as you can see here opening the club face significantly reduces the area of the club face that can make contact with the ball, needless to say by swinging the club across the target line will further narrow this contact area. So it’s key to find a ‘sweet-spot’ that allows us to have adequate amount of bounce present whilst also creating a simple, consistent strike on the ball. A great face position I like to see is having the leading edge of the club face 1 o’clock. This will increase the bounce enough without the club face aiming too far away from target. This club is going to be facing a little open of target however this will be compensated due to the fact the shaft is a little shallower at address. (As the shaft lowers at address the face angle will dynamically close, even thought the leading edge is perpendicular to target line)

Many players I see who struggle out of the sand have complete disconnect between what the club is trying to do and what the body is set up for. Getting set up like discussed here will give some familiarity and simplicity in order for you to generate more confidence and consistency in the sand.