Soren Kjeldsen: These are my keys to better bunker shots

It’s inevitable you’re going to end up in bunkers from time to time. Here’s my best advice to get out of them and get it close more often.

If you can hit a good lob shot, then you’ll do well in the bunkers, because a lot of the principles of that are similar to the principles of the bunker shot.

Firstly, you need to have an open clubface. You need your weight forward and you need to move forward as well. The number one thing that I focus on when I’m playing out here on tour is that a bunker shot is all about the sound you hear at impact. There are two things that are important for getting proper sound in the bunker.

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Number one is that you use the bounce properly. You don’t want to have too much leading edge going into the sand. It makes a completely different sound when you do that. If you’ve got forward lean you’re going to use the leading edge and we don’t really want that. We don’t want the club to dig, we want to throw it into the sand and make it bounce out again.

Soren Kjeldsen’s favourite drill from the bunker? No ball, but try to get the sand out of the bunker. Says it helps him to build speed and confidence 👇 pic.twitter.com/bQWpYm8rCW

— Lewis Fraser (@lewisfras98) October 3, 2023

Number two is you need speed through the shot. Remember that you need speed to get the ball up and in the air.

Again, you want the ball fairly far forward and your weight forward. But, then you need to move through the ball. You want to go down and forward. It surprises people when they catch it, just how hard they can hit it and how soft the ball still comes out. That’s one thing in the bunkers I see with amateurs, they hit it way too soft and try to be too precise.

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If you’ve got proper technique you can hit it hard and it will still be under control. My best way to work on bunker play is actually to hit it without a ball. Again, use the bounce, the bottom of the club and making a thud sound. If you can make that sound, then bunker shots become easy. If people get the front edge in, it’s a different sound.

When you’ve got good technique, sometimes you’ll catch it thin and it will fly longer, but it will spin more. But, when you catch it a little heavy it will fly shorter and release more. More often, you’re going to end up in the same spot.

Soren Kjeldsen, who recently made his 700th appearance on the DP World Tour, was speaking to bunkered for issue 213, where he gives a short game masterclass. You can subscribe to the magazine here.