Instruction
Splash Your Way to
Sand Success
Pro tips for better bunker play
R
yan Zylstra had a banner year as a
player in 2017, winning the Delta
Dental State Open of Virginia on
his way to being named the Middle Atlan-
tic PGA Player of the Year.
Zylstra’s short game played a big role
in his success. Now a PGA associate at
The Federal Club in Glen Allen, host of
the 105th VSGA Amateur Championship,
Zylstra shares a tip to get your short game
right this summer.
GREENSIDE BUNKER PLAY
Greenside bunker shots can be very intim-
idating for a lot of players. It’s one of the
only shots in golf where we are not trying
to hit the ball first. The key to good bunker
play consists of knowing where the bottom
of your arc is when entering the sand. In
order to understand where the bottom of
your arc is you need to have a few consis-
tent setup keys.
First, you want to put the grip a little
more in the palm of your left hand (for
right-handed golfers) with the face slightly
open. This will allow you to keep the face
open longer through impact and utilize the
bounce more effectively on the bottom of
the wedge. Secondly, we need to open up
your stance from your target line to com-
pensate for the open clubface.
The next key component is to lean your
weight slightly forward into your lead
leg (60–65 percent on the lead leg) with
a slightly wider stance and maintaining
flexion in your knees. The reason for this
is we want to have a steeper angle of attack
into the sand, which will help elevate the
ball up in the air.
Once the setup is correct you will want
to hinge the club up immediately with your
wrists. Then, while maintaining your weight
slightly forward, try to slide the club head
under the ball, entering the sand about an
inch and a half behind it, taking out a dol-
lar-bill size splash mark. The key to the bun-
ker shot is making sure to accelerate the club
head through impact and into a full finish.
vsga.org
by RYAN ZYLSTRA
Now that we have the setup taken care
of, here’s a drill to help find the bottom of
your arc in the sand. You’re going to get in
the bunker and draw a line in the sand par-
allel to the target. Next, get in your prop-
er set-up and make three to four swings
splashing just the sand, trying to hit that
line every time. After each swing, move
down the line to see if you can consistently
hit the same spot. Once you can locate the
bottom of your arc, set up to a ball (which
should be placed about an inch to inch and
a half forward of the bottom of the arc)
and make a swing keeping the weight on
your lead leg and accelerating into a full
high finish.
A common problem I see is a player try-
ing to be cute and softly splash the ball out
and they deaccelerate on the downswing,
thus not transferring enough energy and
club head speed into the sand to propel the
ball out, leaving the ball in the bunker. You
must accelerate to a full, high finish.
To hit the ball varying distances out
of the greenside bunker, you can change
clubs and take less loft while using the
same technique—the trajectory will be
considerably lower with not as much spin.
Another way to hit different distances is to
use the same club and control the distance
based on the speed at which you swing.
The smoother the swing the shorter the
ball will go, the more speed you create the
further it will carry. The key is to always
accelerate the club to a full follow through
no matter the speed of the swing.
NORMAL GRIP
Grip a little more in the palm of your
left hand (for right-handed golfers)
with the face slightly open. This will
allow you to keep the face open
longer through impact and utilize
the bounce more effectively on the
bottom of the wedge.
ADJUSTED GRIP
NORMAL STANCE
WRIST HINGE
WEIGHT FORWARD
Once the setup is
correct, you will want
to hinge the club up
immediately with your
wrists while maintaining
your weight slightly
forward.
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