Getting up and down out of a greenside bunker to save par is more satisfying to most golfers than making a birdie. Knowing how to get out of trouble is going to save you strokes and lower your score.
There is a great deal of fear for most amateurs in trying to hit a ball out of the sand but there should not be. You have a sand wedge or a 60 degree lob wedge in your bag just for this purpose and it was designed to get the ball out of the trap and up onto the green, trust it. For most shots out of the sand, take a normal stance and position the ball in the middle of your feet. The key is to get the club under the ball to force the sand and the ball up into the air. Most instructors will tell you to aim an inch or two behind the ball to make sure that you hit the sand first.
For most golf shots you do not want to grip the club too tight but when hitting out of greenside bunkers you must employ a firm grip. You want to make sure the club is square as it moves through the sand so you will have to keep the grip pressure strong to make the face of the club does not turn. The sand is also going to kill the momentum of your swing so don't try for a long follow through because you will be swinging too hard.
If the bunker shot you face has to come up over a high lip or you have very little green to work with, then you need a sand shot that is going to land extremely soft. To hit this type of shot you need to open up your stance and open the face of the club. Instead of making a normal golf swing, you want to try and cut across the ball from left to right if you are left handed. Watch Phil Mickelson hit a short bunker shot and see how he can pop the ball several feet into the air. This shot takes a great deal of practice to properly execute but once you learn how to hit it you can use it in other spots around the green where a pitch and roll won't work. In all bunker shots though, practice is important to build confidence and develop technique. Once you see the results around the practice green then take it out on the course proper.
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