Bunker Shot
The greenside sand shot where the club enters the sand behind the ball and lifts it out on a cushion of sand.
Overview
A greenside bunker shot is the one full-swing shot in golf where the club is not meant to strike the ball at all. The clubhead enters the sand a short distance behind the ball, and the sand it moves carries the ball out and on to the green.
That changes the feel completely: the swing is fuller than the distance suggests, because much of its energy is spent moving sand rather than the ball. Players usually open the clubface and the stance and commit to swinging through rather than at the ball.
How to do it
- 1Take a stable stance, working your feet into the sand for grip.
- 2Open the clubface before taking your grip so it stays open through the shot.
- 3Aim to enter the sand a short, consistent distance behind the ball.
- 4Swing through the sand at a full, committed pace rather than easing off.
- 5Finish with the club continuing through — the sand carries the ball out.
Key points
- The club enters the sand behind the ball, never the ball itself.
- Sand absorbs energy, so the swing is fuller than the short distance suggests.
- Opening the clubface helps the club slide through the sand rather than dig.
- Committing to swing through is what stops the club stalling in the sand.
Where it’s used
Sports that use bunker shot:
Related techniques
Golf Full Swing
The complete rotational swing used for tee shots and longer approach shots, from setup through backswing to a balanced finish.
Putting Stroke
The short, quiet stroke used on the green to start the ball rolling on a chosen line at a chosen pace.
Chip Shot
A compact lofted shot from close to the green that carries a short distance and then rolls to the hole.
How it connects
The meaning-bearing relationships that place Bunker Shot in the wider knowledge graph — each one with the reason it exists.
Frequently learned together
Taught side by side in the same stage of a learning path.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Bunker Shot to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Learning paths
Skills
- DrivingThe skill of hitting a long tee shot that sets up the rest of the hole from a playable position.
- ReboundingThe basketball skill of gaining the ball after a missed shot.
- ChippingThe short lofted shot played from near the green to get the ball rolling toward the hole.
- Aiming and alignmentThe skill of setting the body and the implement so the shot starts on the line you intend.
Equipment
- Golf clubA shafted club with a specialised head used to strike the ball around a golf course.
- Baseball batA smooth, rounded club used by batters to hit the pitched ball in baseball and softball.
- Golf ballA small, firm, dimpled ball struck with a club and played toward the hole on a golf course.
- Golf teeA small peg pushed into the ground to raise the ball for the first shot on a hole.
- Tennis racquetA strung frame with a handle used to hit the ball in tennis.
Rules
Sports science
Disciplines
- SnatchThe snatch is one of the two Olympic weightlifting lifts, taking the barbell from the platform to overhead in one continuous movement.
- Clean and JerkThe clean and jerk is one of the two Olympic weightlifting lifts, raising the bar to the shoulders and then driving it overhead in two phases.
- CyclocrossCyclocross is lap racing on a short off-road circuit of grass, mud, and sand, where riders often dismount to carry the bike over obstacles.
- BackstrokeBackstroke is swum face-up with an alternating arm pull and flutter kick — the one competitive stroke where you breathe freely because your face stays out of the water.
Go deeper with Bunker Shot
Everywhere else on the platform that covers Bunker Shot — assembled from what actually references it, so nothing here is a dead end.
Learn it
Structured courses and paths on the platform that cover this directly.
Take it away
Open data and the whole-platform view of this subject.
How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Technique
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-08-30
Evergreen, first-party explanation — it makes no claim that needs an external source. How we handle sources and reviews.