The blow from the bunker

Hitting the bunker can instil fear. The mere thought of hitting the sand can create a stressful situation. But remember that there is no room for fear in your mental space. You need to face this feeling with training and confidence. My advice is to learn a standard bunker shot that will help you get the ball on the green with your first shot at least 90% of the time.

It may be tempting to try magic tricks to get out of the bunker. But don't be tempted. The key to successful bunker play is simplicity and reliability. Your goal is to get out of the bunker, and if you can do this regularly, your mental strength in the bunker will grow.

Your sand wedge or lob wedge has enough loft to get the ball out of the bunker. You don't need to turn up the clubface to achieve this.

Trust your club. As a tip, I like to use a wedge with 58 degrees of loft in the bunker. Here are my steps:

• Take a wedge with a high loft (e.g. 58 degrees)
• Grip your club normally.
• Position the ball at the height of your heart (for right-handers)
• Align yourself straight.
• Fix a point a few centimetres in front of the ball.
• Take a half swing.
• Swing the club steeply in the direction of the fixed point and follow through.

Now an important tip that you will also see from the pros: "Sitting creates sand". The longer you crouch low on your knees during the swing, the easier it will be for you to hit the sand shot and this will quickly give you confidence. Make sure you try it out.

It is particularly helpful to draw a line in the sand in the practice bunker. You can then see exactly after the shot whether you hit the sand too early or too late.