Escaping a plugged lie in the bunker doesn’t have to be as difficult as it sounds. Here, I’m going to walk you through the correct way to escape these tricky situations in the sand and hopefully get you on your way to shooting lower scores.
Firstly, set up with a wide stance with the ball slightly further forward. When the ball is plugged deep in the sand like this, we need to make sure we get a little bit steeper into the back of the golf ball. By doing that, we need to really try and set our sternum left of the ball. The weight is more on your lead foot.
From here, open the face of your chosen high-lofted wedge and then proceed to take your normal grip. When the ball is plugged like this, you’re best trying to throw the heel down into the ball with energy. Throwing the heel down like this is what helps the club dig and it’s vital in these situations.
Then, it’s all about retaining speed and committing completely to the shot. I often see amateurs in my lessons struggle with this, so make sure you pick your landing zone, set up correctly and hit sand before just before the ball. It will take some practice, but these shots shouldn’t be as daunting as they first seem. Good luck!
