And some golfers never recover.

Bunkers tend to further encourage us to 'help out'.

Remember - playing golf is all about returning the club head to the bottom of the ball, the golf clubs job is to lift the ball so you always, always swing a golf club downwards.

This is against logic I know, but that's why 80 per cent of golfers never get golf.

Even armed with the above info, when you walk into a bunker, especially if it has a high lip at the front, you will naturally give in to the desire to lift and you will either dig the club into the sand a foot behind the ball or hit the top of the ball.

Either one will most likely result in you getting more practise from the sand as your ball will still be in there.

Last week, I wrote about getting set up and ready to swing downwards.

The idea was then to simply return the club head down into the sand 2" to 4" before the ball, with enough speed to take sand and ball out of the bunker.

To help give you the idea, let's put something in the way so that you have to swing downwards.

You can use the handle of the bunker rake for this, but I don't want to be responsible for local clubs having to replace them so just get a piece of 2" by 1" timber about 2 feet in length.

Lay it down in the sand coming off your right toe.

Now have a couple of practise swings leaning left and hitting down into the sand but missing the piece of timber.

If you are tempted to 'scoop' then you will either hit the timber or miss the sand.

Now put a ball opposite the middle of your feet (or even slightly forwards of the middle) and play the bunker shot - again missing the timber and entering the sand 2" to 4" before the ball.

Now that's better.

Swinging down to get a ball up will never sit well, especially in the sand - you just have to get you head around it though as it is critical.

Tony White is the golf operations manager at Gibraltar Country Club, Bowral.

He can be contacted on 4862 8615 or you can visit www.gibraltarbowral.com.au