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Beginners at golf have a natural tendency to fear playing golf shots out of greenside bunkers. This is a negative attitude in itself, and will likely result in a poor shot out of the bunker. This golf short game tip aims to overcome the club golfers reluctance to play this type of golf shot.
When I first started playing golf, I too used to worry about having to play out of bunkers close to the green. When I lined up the shot, it was always with the hit and hope expectation that the ball would end up somewhere near the golf flagstick. This is entirely the wrong mental approach to have.
All it takes to play the greenside bunker shots satisfactorily is practice. Yes, it is that simple. Take a bucket of balls to the practice green, line them up in the bunker, and play the balls out of the bunker.
Start with learning the correct golf swing technique for this shot. Your feet need to be pointing to the left of the target, which is an open stance position.
You are going to swing the club from outside to in, keeping the club face open at impact, so ensuring that you do not pull the ball to the left. Keeping the clubface open at impact, while swinging across the line of flight will result in a straight shot. Be sure not to roll the wrists at impact as you play the bunker shot.
Use the wrists to hinge the club up when you take the club back, and splash down behind the ball to complete the shot. How much sand you need to take depends on the type of sand in the bunker you are playing out of. As a rule of thumb, I would want to aim one inch behind the ball if the golf flagstick was about twenty yards away.
With practice you will soon have the confidence to play out of those greenside bunkers.