Bunker shots with a distance of 40 or 50 yards are said to be difficult even for professionals.
Some amateurs may not know how to deal with long bunker shots in the first place.
The easiest way to deal with bunker shots is to use a club other than a sand wedge.
The setup and hitting technique is the same as the sand wedge.
A 50 degrees gap wedge looks like this.
Open about 45 degrees from the target.
This is what it looks like when you have an open stance of about 20 degrees, a low back, and your left foot weighted.
Then, in a stance, put the club in from the heel side of the head.
Personally, I find the 50 degree gap wedge to be quite useful for bunker shots.
It gives you more distance and gets you out of the bunker quicker.
I think if you practice from the sand wedge to about a 9 iron, you can use it in the real world.
Also, keep track of your carry distance in the bunker from the sand wedge to the 9-iron and write it down.
In my case, the carry with each club is as follows.
LW 60 degrees 10 yards
SW 54 degrees 14 yards
AW/GW 50 degrees 18 yards
PW 46 degrees 22 yards
9I 41 degrees 28 yards
Personally, I am good at bunker shots with a 50 degree gap wedge, so I use a gap wedge up to 40 yards.
I use a gap wedge up to 40 yards because I am good at bunker shots with a 50 degrees gap wedge.
At 40 yards, if I swing with the face slightly less open than usual, I can get a carry of about 22 yards and then pull it in with a run.
At 50 yards bunker shot, I can’t reach the ball with a gap wedge, so I choose either a pitching wedge with a slightly closed face, or a 9-iron with a normal swing, depending on the situation.
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