Browse by category
Escape the Sand with More Confidence
Your practice at a glance
These golf drills are from the Golf Practice Made Fun App.
Reliable greenside bunker escapes start with a stable setup and a wedge that keeps moving through the sand.
This routine combines Jason Day’s low, wide setup, Rory McIlroy’s T-line exercise and the short-to-long target practice from Jason’s drill. Start with nine shots using Jason’s setup, explore Rory’s approach over eighteen shots, then return to your preferred feel for nine shots to different targets. Use normal lies in a practice bunker, reuse your balls and split the routine across sessions if you prefer.
Drill 1. Jason Day: Get Low and Splash Through
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Choose a normal lie and a comfortable landing target on the practice green. Open the sand-wedge face before taking your grip so the sole can slide through the sand. |
| 2 | Put the ball slightly forward of centre, keep your chest centred over it and settle into a wide stance with bent knees and lowered hands. Make the position stable and comfortable. |
| 3 | Play nine shots to the same target. Use Jason’s high-cut feeling, enter the sand behind the ball and keep swinging to a high finish. Notice the sand entry and landing rather than trying to pick the ball cleanly. |
Keep the swing length suited to the target; a committed finish does not require maximum effort. The final nine shots from Jason’s infographic come in Drill 3.
Drill 2. Rory McIlroy: Use the T-Line Setup Check
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | In the practice bunker, draw a target line in the sand and a cross-line to form a T. Use the cross-line to check your lead heel and forward ball position, following Rory’s demonstration. |
| 2 | Open the wedge before gripping, flare your lead foot and keep roughly seventy per cent of your weight on that side. Hinge your wrists on the backswing, then splash the sand behind the ball and finish the motion. |
| 3 | Play eighteen shots: nine to one comfortable target, then three each to a short, medium and longer target. Try Rory’s draw-swing feel while keeping your pressure forward. Judge the sand contact and landing, and adjust swing length for distance. |
Rory’s draw-swing feeling and Jason’s high-cut feeling are separate approaches to explore. Try them in turn rather than combining both cues in one swing; you are looking for the feel that gives you a repeatable splash. Rake away your practice lines afterwards.
See the full Rory McIlroy Bunker Drill, T-line photographs and video →
Drill 3. Short, Medium and Long: Take Your Splash to a Target
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Choose three reachable landing areas on the green: short, medium and longer. Use the same normal lie and the setup feel that worked best in the earlier exercises. |
| 2 | Play three shots to each target, making nine shots in total. Adjust the length of your swing for the carry while keeping the wedge moving through the sand into a balanced finish. |
| 3 | Watch where each ball lands and how far it rolls. Reset your feet and grip before every shot, then finish by noting which target distance needs more practice. |
This is the varied-distance part of the Jason Day Bunker Drill’s practice round. Start with a reachable escape, then build control of the landing distance.
