Fix Chunked Bunker Shots with a Narrow Backswing Drill

If you tend to chunk bunker shots or occasionally blade them over the green, the problem is often happening in the backswing. Many golfers make the same wide, sweeping takeaway they use in a fuller swing, and that can push the club too far behind them and move the low point behind the ball. This drill trains a narrower, more centered backswing so you can return the club to the sand with better control, use the bounce properly, and strike the sand in front of the ball more consistently.

How the Drill Works

The idea is simple: instead of taking the club back wide and low, you set the club more upward early in the backswing. That narrower motion helps keep the club more in front of you and makes it easier to deliver the club into the sand without bottoming out too early.

Start with a standard bunker setup. Your pressure should be slightly favoring your lead side, with your nose roughly in line with the golf ball. From there, you have two ways to create the feel.

Option 1: Hinge the Club Up Early

At address, hinge the club upward so the shaft works up toward your nose. The club will feel more vertical, and your arms will stay closer to your body than they would in a wide takeaway. From that narrower position, make a small pivot and then let the club throw down into the sand.

This is not a long, flowing backswing. It is a compact motion designed to keep the club from drifting too far behind you. If you normally get wide at the top, this will feel unusually tight—but that is exactly the point of the drill.

Option 2: Use a Right-Arm Bunker Swing Feel

The second version uses a one-arm rehearsal. Make a bunker backswing with just your trail arm. Most golfers naturally swing the club up more quickly with one hand, rather than dragging it back wide. That creates the same narrow feel you want in the full drill.

After a few one-arm rehearsals, place your lead hand back on the club and try to recreate that same compact, hinged-up position. This is often a great way to discover the motion naturally instead of forcing it.

In both versions, the goal is the same: get the club more centered at the top, then let it pass through the sand with the bounce working. When you do that, you greatly reduce the chance of hitting too far behind the ball or catching it thin.

Step-by-Step

1. Set up with slight lead-side pressure. Let your weight favor your lead foot a bit, and keep your nose roughly even with the ball.

2. Choose your narrow backswing feel. Either hinge the club up toward your nose right away, or rehearse a few trail-arm-only bunker backswings.

3. Keep your arms close. As the club works up, let your arms stay relatively connected to your sides instead of reaching away from you.

4. Make a small pivot. Add a modest body turn, but avoid turning so much that the club gets long or wide.

5. Throw the club down into the sand. From the narrow top position, feel the clubhead moving down and through the sand rather than hanging back behind the ball.

6. Let the club pass with the bounce exposed. Do not overly shut the face. Keep the sole of the club working through the sand.

7. Focus on the low point. Your goal is to bottom out slightly in front of the golf ball, not behind it.

8. Hit short practice shots first. Start with small bunker shots to learn the feel, then gradually add more length as you gain control.

What You Should Feel

If the drill is working, the backswing will feel more compact than normal. For players who tend to sweep the club back, it may even feel unusually abrupt or vertical. That is often a good sign.

• An early hinge instead of a long, low takeaway
• Less width in the backswing, especially at the top
• The club staying more in front of your body rather than disappearing behind you
• A centered top position with your body still organized over the ball
• The clubhead throwing down into the sand with speed and freedom
• The bounce gliding through the sand instead of the leading edge digging

A good checkpoint is where the club feels at the top. If it feels compact and manageable, you are probably in the right place. If it feels stretched, long, or wrapped behind you, you have likely gone back to the wide pattern that causes the problem.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Taking the club back too wide. This is the main issue the drill is designed to fix.
• Getting the club too far behind you. That usually makes the downswing too shallow for a standard bunker shot.
• Bottoming out behind the ball. If the sand entry is too early, you will tend to chunk the shot.
• Over-closing the clubface. If the face shuts down too much, the bounce cannot do its job.
• Trying to help the ball up. The club should strike the sand and let the loft and bounce do the work.
• Making too big of a turn. The motion should stay compact, not turn into a full swing.
• Stopping the club through impact. You still need the club to pass through the sand with enough speed.

How This Fits Your Swing

This drill is especially useful if your bunker motion looks too much like your full swing. In a full swing, some width can be helpful. In a bunker shot, though, too much width often makes the club travel too far around you and too far behind the ball. That creates the exact delivery you do not want in the sand.

A good bunker action is typically a little more upright, compact, and centered. The narrow backswing helps you match that pattern. It gives you a better chance to enter the sand in the right place, keep the bounce working, and control the strike without needing perfect timing.

It also fits well with golfers who get too shallow in the bunker. If your tendency is to approach from too far inside or let the club flatten excessively, this drill gives you a practical way to shift the motion back toward a more functional shape.

Think of this drill as a correction for the player whose club gets too wide, too deep, and too far behind them. By narrowing the backswing, you make the strike simpler. And when the strike gets simpler in the bunker, your contact gets much more reliable.