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Any tips on hitting long bunker shots. I was in two bunkers yesterday maybe 150-185 yds out and i just couldn't hit a smooth shot. I kept slicing the **** out of the ball. Anyone give me some tips on how to hit out of long bunkers. I know there are different lies that makes a difference as well but is it the same style shot as a bunker around the green?

Thanks

i try to almost pick them clean with whatever iron.

i use my hybrid.

Lots of depends here...if the lip is high, you have a fried egg or otherwise plugged lie, then anywhere back on the fairway is a good play using a greenside technique...for a shot of that distance with a clearable lip, I would dig my feet in, club up one club, and playing the ball forward would do my best to pick it clean to thin with a controlled, smooth swing...hybrids are great out of traps as their wide soles will add a degree of forgiveness...I had one friend years ago who was a wizard with his five wood out of fairway bunkers...not so much with the driver as he was in fairway bunkers quite often...

Hybrids and picking them clean are good advise. In order to do that, I play the ball toward the center of my stance, do not dig in with my feet and choke down on the club and inch or two. my swing thought is " make a smooth arm swing". The quieter I can keep my lower body the better. What you lose in distance is made up for by solid contact, ball first. Practice it some out of a bunker on the range or even off grass. Since you are not dug into the sand you must keep your feet still and minimal leg movement to keep from slipping.

I always heard that you should play the ball back in your stance in a bunker if it was a clean lie with minimal "lippage"...

TW,

Dear Tiger
I can see why You might be playing the ball back in your stance with your knee and all; but, it does turn your bounce into a shovel!

Well I don't know about some of the advice here. I am pretty good at fairway bunkers and do it just like the teaching pro teach and practice.

Play the ball back a little in your stance so you can catch it clean.
Dig your feet in so as not to slip.
One or two clubs longer than normal
Choke down 1 inch
Keep the lower body very quite through the swing.
Nice smooth swing.

What I can't figure from all of the advice here is how playing the ball back qualifies as a clean pick? You'll be trapping it into the sand if truly played back...getting the ball at the lowest point of the swing is a clean pick, and that point usually lies somewhere between the middle of the stance and the inside of the front heel...

Well I guess the real intent of moving the ball back somewhat is to maximize the conditions to hit the ball first.. Even a good solid trap of the ball before impact, although that is not the intention, will advance the ball much further than hitting the sand first in a failed attempt to pick it clean. "Picking it clean" is something to strive for if you can practice and play a lot; but, for a great many golfers the law of averages is with the alternative

Pick the club of your choice and aim your stance and body left of the target line and then open the clubface
Play the ball forward in your stance to encourage a higher ball flight and picking it clean
make a 3/4 swing to the top and catch about an inch behind the ball and cut across it

This works for me

Most of the long bunker shot is played in the same way as a normal fairway shot and the grip is no different. Whereas you would normally grip lightly and further down the shaft with your green side bunker setup.



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Sounds to me like there are a lot of different ways to play these shots ...

One I saw on Playing Lessons from the pros (I think it was the John Cook episode). Was that the primary deciding factor on how to play the shot is the lip of the bunker (assuming a decent lie). If there is no problem with the lip, take a normal swing, but play the ball slightly back in the stance because you want to either pick it clean or hit it a little thin to minimize the chance of hitting the sand first. If the lip is high, play it a little forward to maximize the chances of getting it out of the bunker. With a bad lie or a very high lip, just getting it out to a good position in the fairway is the priority.

I haven't figured it out myself...the pros make it look so easy. I try to hit all ball, but I rarely hit a long fairway bunker shot the way I want.

It's very important to grip down about 1 inch on the club to offset your feet sinking into the sand (and realizing why this is done helps mentally). I've found that playing a fade or cut shot with an extra club or two and making the center of the green the target helps, also.