Five easy steps to dealing with good-lie bunker shots

If you have a good lie, there are five easy steps to get you out of your unexpected trip to the sand trap:

1) Play the golf ball off the inside of your left foot with the feet about a foot apart.

2) Use an open stance where the feet are aimed six feet left of the flagstick and an open club face where the club face is pointed four feet to the right of the flagstick.

3) Be in a position where your knees are pointed in towards each other a bit with the weight equally distributed in both feet if you are hitting from a level lie.

4) Break the wrists abruptly on your backswing and make sure you take a full swing.

5) The harder the sand, the slower the swing. The softer the sand, the faster the swing.

Most of the basic mechanics in a full swing must be used in this shot.

The USGA definition of a Bunker- A 'bunker' is a hazard consisting of a prepared area of ground, often a hollow, from which turf or soil has been removed and replaced with sand or the like. Grass-covered ground bordering or within a bunker is not part of the bunker. The margin of a bunker extends vertically downwards but not upwards. A ball is in a bunker when it lies in or any part of it touches the bunker.

Jamie Olson is a member of the LPGA and is currently the First Assistant Golf Professional and a Teaching Professional at Leisure World Country Club in Mesa, Ariz., a private, 36-hole retirement community. Jamie is also a Teaching Professional for the LPGA Girls Golf Club. In her spare time she participates in many charity tournaments. Jamie teaches all ages, individual or group lessons.