Golf · Level 4: Intermediate · Sub-level 4.1
Bunker Play
4 tests · 40 facts · updated 13 October 2026 · markdown
Getting out of sand: the greenside splash, awkward lies, fairway and long bunker shots, and how bunker play is practised.
Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.
Test 1The greenside splashTake a test
The club never touches the ball directly.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Roughly two inches, a little more in soft sand.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
An open face glides through the sand instead of digging.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
The sand pushes the ball up and out.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Firm footing allowed by the rules; testing the sand is not.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
The open face sends the ball right of where the body aims.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
He used it to win the 1932 Open and US Open.
Source: World Golf Hall of Fame, Gene Sarazen · recall
The face is opened before the grip so it stays open.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Less height and more distance need a squarer face.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · applied
Sand, not the clubface, carries the ball out.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · applied
Test 2Lies in the sandTake a test
The ring of sand round it looks like egg white.
Source: General golf reference (club, teaching and course guides) · recall
The leading edge has to get under the ball.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Plan for it to run out on the green.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
A squarer face and a shallower entry help.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
The club slows down quickly in deep, soft sand.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
A high lip decides how much height the shot needs.
Source: General golf reference (club, teaching and course guides) · recall
The walls are built of stacked turf.
Source: General golf reference (club, teaching and course guides) · applied
A buried ball under a high lip is the toughest.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Steep in, little follow-through.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
The ring and the yolk give it the name.
Source: General golf reference (club, teaching and course guides) · applied
Test 3Fairway and long bunker shotsTake a test
Unlike a splash, sand first loses most of the distance.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
A calmer swing protects the contact.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Digging in lowers the body, so the club is shortened.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
A slipping foot ruins the strike.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
It is too long for a splash and too short for a full swing.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Some use a 9-iron or a gap wedge.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Heavy contact kills the distance.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
From a fairway bunker the aim is almost none.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · applied
Loft to clear the lip comes before distance.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Getting out comes before distance.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · applied
Test 4Bunker practice and numbersTake a test
It counts holing out in two or fewer from a greenside bunker.
Source: PGA Tour statistics glossary · recall
The tour average is close to half.
Source: PGA Tour statistics · recall
The divot should start at the line every time.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Thinking about the ball invites a thin strike.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
The ball is struck by the leading edge with no sand.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
A putt is the safest option if nothing blocks the roll.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Decelerating leaves the ball in the bunker.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Entry point first, ball second.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · recall
Each needs a squarer face and a fuller swing than the last.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · applied
Each splash should start at the line.
Source: General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides) · applied
Sources
PGA coaching and general teaching guides, named short-game, putting and statistics books (Pelz, Broadie), motor-learning research as used in golf coaching, tour statistics, and the Rules of Golf where a rule is named; original questions authored, nothing reproduced.
- General golf instruction (PGA coaching and teaching guides)33
- General golf reference (club, teaching and course guides)4
- World Golf Hall of Fame, Gene Sarazen1
- PGA Tour statistics glossary1
- PGA Tour statistics1