Fix inconsistent bunker contact with the right knee secret! Watch Skip Kendall transform Corn Ferry Tour star Julian Suri’s golf bunker shot technique using flared feet setup and the key move for perfect golf sand traps consistency. Apply Here to Work 1-on-1: https://skipkendallgolf.com/application

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0:00 – 🎯 Julian’s heavy contact problem diagnosis
1:23 – 📹 Video analysis reveals right knee kick issue
2:29 – 👣 The flared feet solution from tour’s best bunker players
4:53 – 🎬 Skip demonstrates the hold-back technique
7:00 – 📏 Two bunker setups: longer shots vs high spinners

Stop heavy bunker shots! This golf bunker shots lesson reveals Julian Suri’s pattern: right knee kicking in drives club down into sand, causing heavy contact. The fix from tour’s best bunker players (Nelly Korda): flare both feet, hold right knee back throughout swing. Unlike other shots, bunkers are “very wristy”—windshield wiper motion with minimal lower body. When right knee kicks forward, club goes down; when held back, club shallows properly through sand.

What You’ll Learn:
-Heavy contact cause: right knee kicking forward drives club down into sand (not shallow enough)
-Tour player solution: flare both feet more, hold right knee back (prevents forward knee movement)
-Bunker shot uniqueness: very wristy shot unlike any other (windshield wiper motion, minimal lower body)
-Nelly Korda example: right knee doesn’t move forward direction at all through impact for golf bunker shot technique
-Finish position checkpoint: right knee away from left knee (not finishing right beside it like before)
-Longer bunker setup: stand closer/taller, land front third of green, let it roll like putt (don’t fly/spin all the way)
-High spinner setup: sit like chair (farther away), push handle down, club comes up faster, flip through for golf sand traps
-Phil Mickelson reality check: flying it hole-high with spin looks cool but it’s not the percentage play (90% of time)
-The “thump” sound: high or low pitch thump means perfect bounce contact in sand (club going aggressively through)

#GolfBunkerShotTechnique #GolfSandTraps #GolfBunkerShots #RightKneeHold #FlaredFeet #BounceControl #JulianSuri #SkipKendall

Wonder if you’re seeing anything. See how your right knee really kicks in? Well, pretty good. But you see how I didn’t go this way. When you hear that, you know, when it just, you know, I mean, everything that bottom is just hitting perfect in the sand. Did you get that? Okay, I like that. Thanks, Carlos. Milwaukee zone Skip Kendall. Skip Kendall. Skip Kendall is five under today at the ninth. Ships in for birdie. He’s tied for third. Two shots off the lead. Okay, so Julian, tell me, is there anything going on with the bunker right here? Um, I feel like tendency has kind of been to just catch him a little bit heavy. uh at times. Um I don’t know. I I like I said, I I try to feel like the buttons are over the ball throughout the back swing and then, you know, come through. Okay. Um Okay. And I’m not someone who has like a ton of mechanical thoughts and, you know, all that. So, my short game is usually a strength of my game, but this has kind of been a prevalent pattern I’ve noticed. So, just wondering if you’re seeing anything. Okay. Yeah. I’m gonna take I’m gonna just take some video real quick and I’m gonna show you a little something that I already see that I think might really help. Um, but especially from face on, the motion looks great, right? I know it’s not like miles off. No, not at all. Simple bunker shot. So, come back here. I want to show you something that what I think why there’s a little bit of inconsistency down at the bottom. So, this looks, you know, obviously great, you know, no big deal. Keeping your width coming down very good, but see how your right knee really kicks in. M I think if you look at like some like for me like I think that I think you need to hold that right knee back because I think when the right knee kicks in the club wants to go more down and I know that’s might be happening a little bit late but that still I think affects the shot. The best bunker players that that I’ve seen that I played with they all kind of like flared their feet a little bit more. Both feet. Both feet. And so they they could, you know, the lower body wasn’t doing much. This is obviously bunker shots, very wristy shot, unlike any other shot that we hit, right? But this is a very wristy shot. Like they’re, you know, kind of reholster the the sword, you know, right there. Fine. But I think like you look at like someone like uh So it’s almost like too much leg drive. Yeah. So like think about it like when when you have leg drive that goes Yeah. that way, the club’s just going to go down into the sand. You send you’ve been hitting it just a little bit heavy, right? I think either way that could cause problems. But when it goes down this way, club generally, I think, is going to go down in the in in the sand too much, you know? I think that’s going to create So, like one of the best bunker players I saw, he kept his feet like this and he just would go like this. And there’s no really lower body, the knees don’t kick in at all either direction. It was just here to here. Now, his upper body was moving. Sure. But this wasn’t going that way down there. And you watch like I I show video. I don’t have it on me right now, but like Nelly Corda, same thing. She’s she’s like right here. That right knee does not move that direction. And I think that’s a I think that’s kind of a a a big deal really for bunker play, especially soft sand because, you know, you don’t want that club to Yeah. This this needs to shallow. Yeah. You It’s You’re doing good right here. I mean, those are fine. Yeah. Yeah. But I’m just seeing that right knee. I think we can make this just a little bit better. It’s almost like feel like maybe that right foot is going to flare more that way, you know, to where you just hold it and you’re going to hold that. Now, your upper body is going to move, but you see how that right knee still kicks in. Still there. Yeah. So, it’s almost like it’s got it can’t go this way. It’s almost like you want to hold it. You want to move, right? But you’re not trying to keep the foot on the ground, are you? Yeah, in a way. Yeah. Because again, bucker shots should only be like this. It’s It’s almost like windshield wipers, you know? It’s just a very wristy shot. So, yeah. Left. Good. and just flare that right foot. So, here I’m gonna let me hit one. So, I’m gonna try to keep my I’m gonna flare that right foot, but I’m gonna try to keep my, you know, my knee from really going that way. Okay. See if I can do it. I haven’t hit a bunker shot in a while. Yeah, this is this could go anywhere, but pretty good. But you see how I didn’t go this way. And I think, you know, for the most part, I think I could do that most most every time. You know, for me, that’s I think that’s a big W through the sand nicely. Yeah. I mean, for me, I think that’s a big key for, you know, really finding the bottom, you know, making sure you know where that’s going to be every time. More consistency by not kicking that right knee in big time because your motion looks great. I mean, maybe just a little more wristy, less body, and really holding that back. Yeah. Go to the Go to the left one. So, yeah. Now, just stay there. Beautiful. Yeah, that’s more like it, you know. And I know it feel it probably feels terrible right now, but I mean, for me, that’s just been a really consistent way to, you know, to hit a bunker shot. It’s coming out nice and soft. Did you get that? Yeah, I got that. Okay, I like that. Thanks, Carlos. [Laughter] So even so so even that you know even though it’s it might look like it’s kicking in a little bit it’s a lot less. No it feels a lot less. Yeah. So that right knee would have been by the left knee right before before. So that’s a finish position now compared to right knee was finishing right by the left knee before. I think that’s a I think that’s a big deal. But I really do. And and again if you need to go further because you feel like you can’t quite get one there because you’re holding. Yeah. Just take more club, you know. That’s that’s beautiful right there. I mean, I’ll just tell you, you know, like going if I had, you know, straightforward bunker shot that was just a, you know, normal but a little bit longer, just a little bit across the green. I try to stand a little closer, get a little taller, right? I’m not trying to put max spin on it because I want it to actually bounce and maybe roll out a little bit. I I don’t want to try to fly it all the way to the hole and stop it. So, I might land it, you know, front third, you know, on the green here and kind of let it roll to the hole like a putt, you know, but I’m going to be taller. I’m just going to get up here right next to it basically and I’m just, you know, going to go through the motions, but it should come off a little bit lower. And then versus if I’m if I’m going flipping it up and I have to stop it faster, I want a little more height. I’m going to get a little further away. Yeah. I’m going to but I’m going to feel like I’m sitting almost like in a chair and then the club’s going to come way up faster this way and I’m just going to, you know, like you’re talking Yeah. what you have to do. Yeah. But two different setups, right? Sure. I think that’s, you know, what people like need to hear the most. It’s bunker game, bunker shots are not you’re going to manipulate your setup. Yeah. It’s not always the same, you know, and I I think that’s really important to know because and I, you know, you’re already basically doing that, but you know, for people to understand that to, you know, a little bit longer bunker shot, you don’t need to fly it all the way to the hole. You know, I think it looks cool on TV, you know, when Phil Mickelson, you know, flies it all the way hole, spins it, and stops it right next to the hole, right? 90% of the time that’s not the percentage. And for us mere mortals, I mean, it usually doesn’t come off that way. Land it a third of the way to the hole. Let it let it look like a putt going at it, right? Don’t you don’t have to put max back spin on it, right? You’re just going to get closer and taller. And you’re going to do the same thing. It’ll just come off lower and it won’t spin as much. The other one you’re going to sit, get way further away, push the handle down, club comes up faster, you know, flip through it. Beautiful. Ah, great shot. Great shot. Yep. Getting down, pushing the handle down, sitting. Club comes up. Doesn’t get any better than that. So, what I love hearing, I hope everyone can hear that, you know, on the video is the thump. I love hearing that. When you hear that thump, you know, when it just, you know, I mean, everything that bottom is just hitting perfect in the sand. you know, you’re using the bounce, but that club is, you know, is going aggressively. It’s great. I mean, you always want to hear that thump, you know, that kind of high higher pitch or that lower pitch thumb. It’s great. Really good. Really good, dude. Thanks for that. Really good. Yeah, of course. Great job. I’m Skip Kendall. I’ve played the PGA Tour for almost 20 years and now the Champions Tour for almost 10. I’ve been a professional for almost 40 years and I’ve teed it up with some of the world’s best players. If you’re serious about taking your game to the next level, I want to share my wisdom with you. So, click the link below, send me a message, and let’s get started to make you the best player that you can possibly

4 Comments

  1. I say the same thing in more crude terms. Pimp slap the sand with the back of your hand so it respects you. If you b*tch slap you often damage the goods (too steep). It always mystifies me why high handicaps are bad at the explosion shot. Squatting, staying back, massive early extension, and the flip stall wipe are perfect. They miss the trick of playing the ball forward.

  2. Skip, i was thinking about an ipad air because of the anti reflective screen for coaching/recording. What storage amount do you recommend? Currently I'm using sportsbox. Any tips on the ipad or models to purchase or avoid? Thanks for all the help.

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