We&#8217;re not really in the bunker in this situation, but our feet are in the bunker &#8211; the ball is out of the bunker, so I can ground the club. In this case, the ball is significantly above my feet, and I see a lot of amateurs struggle with this shot.
When you do your practice swing, try to keep your stance normal &#8211; don&#8217;t go down too much or up too much, and feel where you would hold the club. For example, if I try to hold it too high on the grip, my hands will be too scrunched into my body. Just let your arms hang down naturally in relation to the ball position.
The next thing I want to do is note where the club is making contact with the ground when I take my practice swing. In this case, my club is hitting the ground well before the ball position, so I obviously want to adjust my stance forward to compensate for that.
Now I want to take a look at the flag, to see how hard I want to hit the ball. Take a small step away from the ball position to take your practice swings (make sure you&#8217;re not too close, and wind up accidentally hitting the ball before you&#8217;re ready). Look at the flag, take your practice swings, and get a feel for the shot you&#8217;re about to execute.
Once you&#8217;ve got the feel, and see your ball position is correct, just stay nice and steady and take your shot.
The &#8220;feet in, ball out&#8221; bunker shot may be awkward, but it&#8217;s really not difficult if you practice it. Just remember to do your practice strokes to see where your club is hitting the ground. When you then move to the ball, try to stay as steady as you possibly can, and fire when ready.
Mel Sole, director of instruction and owner of the renowned Mel Sole Golf School at Pawleys Plantation Golf &amp; Country Club in Pawleys Island and Resort Club at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, SC, offers the latest in his series of tips on bunker play. Learn more about the Mel Sole Golf School at <a href="http://www.ritson-sole.com">http://www.ritson-sole.com</a>.

Myrtle Beach Restaurants: All Out Fun at Oscar’s

Additional Myrtle Beach Golf News