Gary Nicol's short game secrets: Downhill lie in a bunker

In our quest to learn how to improve shot selection, The Golf Shack Academy on tour found our way to Archerfield Links, East Lothian, Scotland. Whilst there, we caught up with Gary Nicol, European Tour coach at TPEGS coaching, also based at Archerfield.

Bunker play is one of the most common parts of the game that is neglected by amateur golfers during practice. We asked Gary for a few tips on how to approach bunker play, specifically when faced with a downhill lie in a bunker.

What we have to understand first of all, or accept, is that we might not be able to get this within two or three feet as we won’t have a lot of control over it.

Due to the downslope the ball is going to come out low and fast, so to counter that a little what we are going to do is open the face a bit to create a little more loft to try and get the ball to pop up more to avoid it running out so fast and low.

I’m going to stand level with the slope and not lean into it. If I do that the club will bottom out before the desired point of impact and catch it thin.

Keep an eye on the website for more video tips from Gary Nicol in the coming weeks.

About Gary

Renowned European Tour coach, TrackMan Master and Certified Mind Factor coach Gary Nicol is available for private coaching at Archerfield Links. Gary has successfully coached golfers of all abilities over a 25 year period and spent 16 years traveling around the world. He has worked with over 30 Tour Pros including numerous tournament winners and Ryder Cup players. Gary offers a range of private coaching programmes including – individual one hour lessons, playing lessons, video lessons and analysis. All this is delivered to your email address and smartphone for you to watch and learn from, wherever and whenever you want.

About Archerfield

The Performance Centre located in East Lothian, Scotland is regarded as one of the finest golf Coaching and Fitting Facilities in Europe. It boasts state of the art technology from; TrackMan, V1 Video, GEARS, SAM PuttLab and SAM BalanceLab.

They provide an enhanced level of coaching for all levels of ability and world class Junior Coaching programmes.

If you are looking for new golf equipment then look no further, they are now custom fitting PING, Titleist and Callaway golf clubs with a wide range of components and club options available. Their custom fit experts will work with you to find the best solution for your game.