The Line in the Sand
Why this drill
Greenside bunker fear is really low-point confusion — nobody told the club where to enter the sand. A drawn line settles the question: enter there, every time, and the ball rides out on a cushion of sand whether you caught it perfectly or not.
Setup
Practice bunker, sand wedge. Draw a straight line in the sand with the handle end, perpendicular to your target, and take your stance so the line sits just under your lead-side chest.
The drill
Ten swings with no ball: splash sand out of the bunker, making the divot start at the line — not behind it, not ahead. Read the sand after each swing; it does not lie. Then place balls one by one two inches ahead of a fresh line and swing at the line exactly as before, letting the sand throw the ball out. Ten balls, scoring a point for every ball that leaves the bunker on the first try with a divot starting at the line. Eight of ten and the fear is gone; the rest is distance.
One thought to take with you
Hit the line, not the ball — the sand does the carrying.