Golf Smart Academy
If you struggle with bunker shots that come out low, thin, or with very little splash, this drill can clean up the motion quickly. The under armpit throw drill trains a better hand path through the sand so the club works more left through impact instead of pushing out to the right. That matters because when the club exits too far to the right, you tend to lose the club’s bounce, expose the leading edge, and often hang back with your body. The result is a bunker shot that digs poorly, skims the sand, or comes out with no height. This drill gives you a simple feel for keeping the face working open, the bounce engaged, and your body more on top of the shot.
How the Drill Works
The basic idea is simple: you are going to feel as if you are throwing something under your lead armpit through impact. If you are a right-handed golfer, that means under your left armpit. Think of tossing a small ball or slinging a frisbee under that lead arm as the club moves through the sand.
This feel changes the direction of your hand path. Instead of your hands and club extending too far out toward the target line—or even out to the right of it—the club works more around your body after it enters the sand. That leftward exit is a major key in quality bunker play.
Why is that so helpful? In a bunker shot, you are not trying to trap the ball with a square, driving strike like a stock iron shot. You want the club to enter the sand with the face still open enough for the bounce to glide. If your hands shove outward and your arms stay too straight through the strike, the club often loses that gliding action. The leading edge gets involved, the body stalls or falls back, and the strike becomes unpredictable.
The under armpit throw feel helps you do three things at once:
- Move the club more left through the sand instead of out to the right
- Keep the bounce working so the club splashes the sand rather than digging or blading
- Sequence the arms better so the clubhead can pass naturally through the bottom of the swing
There is also an important arm action built into this drill. Through the strike, your trail arm does not need to straighten and roll aggressively the way it might in a fuller swing. Instead, it feels more as if the palm works upward and under, with less hard rotation. The club exits while your lead arm begins to fold sooner, rather than staying rigid and extended. For many golfers, that shorter, more folded follow-through is exactly what allows the bunker shot to splash correctly.
Step-by-Step
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Set up for a standard bunker shot. Open the clubface first, then take your grip. Set your stance a bit open and allow your body alignment to match the shot shape you want—typically slightly left of the target for a right-handed golfer. Keep enough pressure forward so your upper body can stay on top of the strike.
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Rehearse from an impact position. Before making a full motion, move the club down near where impact would occur in the sand. From there, focus on your trail arm only. You are trying to learn the through-swing, not the backswing.
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Feel the trail hand throw under the lead armpit. Imagine your trail palm is tossing a ball up and under your lead armpit. Another image is skipping or slinging something around your body rather than out toward right field. The palm feels more upward, the club works more around, and the exit is lower and more left.
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Keep the face from rolling closed. As you make that throwing motion, avoid a lot of forearm roll or hard extension through the strike. The clubface should feel as if it stays more open while the bounce skims the sand.
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Try it with one hand first if needed. If the motion is hard to sense, make a few one-arm rehearsals with your trail arm. You can even hold the club lightly with one hand and make short swings, feeling the clubhead move around your body instead of being shoved outward.
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Add the lead hand and hit small bunker shots. Once the one-arm feel makes sense, place both hands on the club and make short splash shots. You are not trying to hit these hard. You are trying to hear and feel the club interact with the sand correctly.
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Let the lead arm fold through the finish. If the motion is correct, your lead arm will not stay long and rigid after impact. It will begin to bend and fold, and the club will finish more around your body—almost like it tucks in by your side.
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Monitor your upper body. As you make the under-armpit throw move, stay centered and slightly on top of the shot. Do not lean your chest backward in an effort to keep the palm up. Your low point still needs to be in front of the ball.
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Build up to normal-length bunker swings. Start with short, controlled motions, then gradually lengthen the swing while keeping the same through-swing feel. The goal is to preserve the same path and bounce conditions as the shot gets bigger.
What You Should Feel
When this drill is working, the motion should feel very different from the golfer’s instinct to “help” the ball out of the sand. Many players try to lift the ball with straight arms and a stalled body. This drill gives you a more functional sensation.
The club exits left, not out to the right
The strongest feel is that the club and hands move around you after the strike. If you are used to shoving the club outward, this may feel exaggerated at first. That is normal.
Your trail palm feels more up and under
The trail hand should feel as if it is working under your lead armpit and somewhat upward, not rolling over aggressively. This helps preserve loft and bounce through the sand.
Your lead arm folds sooner
In a good bunker shot, the clubhead passes through the bottom and the lead arm often begins to bend relatively early. That is very different from the long, extended release you might associate with a full swing. If your lead arm feels like it is folding and the club is finishing closer to your body, that is often a good sign.
Your chest stays on top of the shot
You should feel that your upper body remains stable and forward enough to control the bottom of the swing. The drill is not about falling away from the target. It is about changing the path while maintaining solid low-point control.
The sand sounds and feels better
One of the best checkpoints is auditory. A good version of this drill produces a more consistent, thumping splash through the sand. You should feel the club gliding rather than stabbing or skimming.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Pushing the hands out to the right through impact. This is the original problem the drill is designed to fix. If the club exits too far outward, the bounce tends to disappear.
- Leaning your upper body backward. Some golfers try to keep the palm up by tilting away from the target. That makes it much harder to get the low point in the correct place.
- Rolling the forearms too much. If you over-rotate the clubface, you can lose the open-face condition that helps the club glide through the sand.
- Keeping both arms too straight after impact. In bunker shots, a rigid, extended through-swing often goes with the club being shoved outward. Let the lead arm fold.
- Trying to lift the ball. Your job is to move the sand with the bounce, not scoop the ball into the air.
- Starting with full-speed swings. If you go too fast too soon, you will usually revert to your old release pattern. Learn the motion in short rehearsals first.
- Ignoring low point. Even with a better path, you still need the club entering the sand in the right spot. The drill improves delivery, but you must stay organized with your body.
How This Fits Your Swing
This drill is specific to bunker play, but it connects to a larger principle in good golf swings: the club’s exit direction influences strike quality. In the bunker, that relationship becomes even more obvious because the sand immediately tells you whether the club is using its bounce correctly.
If your pattern is too far in-to-out through impact, bunker shots become difficult in a hurry. The club wants to approach and exit in a way that exposes the leading edge, and your body often reacts by hanging back. That combination is why many golfers either blade bunker shots over the green or leave them in the sand with weak contact.
The under armpit throw drill gives you a better through-swing pattern: more around, more left, and more open through the strike. That does not mean you are cutting across the ball with your shoulders or forcing a steep chop. It means the club is exiting in a way that allows the bounce to do its job.
For higher-skilled players, this drill is a great way to manage splash depth and trajectory. A more organized path lets you control how the club enters and exits the sand, which improves distance control and consistency. For struggling players, it can be even more valuable because it almost guarantees a more functional strike. If you make this movement while staying on top of the shot, it becomes much easier simply to get the ball out.
It also helps you separate bunker technique from full-swing technique. In a full swing, you may be used to more extension, more rotation, and a different release pattern. In the bunker, those instincts can work against you. The shot is shorter, the face is more open, and the club needs to interact with the ground differently. The under-armpit throw feel gives you a bunker-specific release that matches the task.
So if your bunker shots tend to come out low, hot, or inconsistent, this drill is worth building into practice. Learn the short, under-and-around throwing motion. Let the lead arm fold. Keep your chest on top of the strike. Once those pieces come together, the club can move through the sand with far more bounce, and bunker shots start looking the way they should: soft, high, and predictable.
