Golf Glossary
Bunker
In short
A bunker is a deliberately built, sand-filled area on a golf course, usually a hollow. It counts as its own area under the Rules of Golf. You may play the ball from a bunker but must follow some restrictions, above all the ban on touching the sand before the stroke. There are fairway bunkers, greenside bunkers and pot bunkers.
What is a bunker in golf?
The bunker is one of the best-known hazards in golf. It is a specially prepared area with sand, often a hollow bordered by turf or earth. It is meant to test your skill, because a shot from sand is different from a shot off the grass.
The 2023 Rules of Golf treat the bunker as one of the five areas of the course (Rule 2.2). A ball is in a bunker as soon as it touches sand inside the edge of the bunker or lies where sand would normally be. Bunkers are not penalty areas. You simply play the ball from the sand.
Bunkers have two roles: they are a danger and they are part of strategy. Anyone who avoids them often takes a longer route to the green. Anyone who uses them deliberately can solve a difficult shot. Beginners especially fear them, but with some practice the bunker becomes a normal playing situation.
Types of bunker: fairway, greenside and pot bunkers
Bunkers are classified by position and shape. The three most common types are:
- Fairway bunker: it lies beside or on the fairway and catches tee shots and long shots. The ball often lies well, but the distance to the green is long. A clean strike is needed.
- Greenside bunker: it lies right next to the green and protects the flag. The shot is short, but the ball must come out softly. The club is usually a sand wedge.
- Pot bunker: it is small and deep with steep walls, often with stacked turf. It is found mostly on links courses in Scotland and Ireland. A ball in a pot bunker can often only be played sideways or backwards.
To be distinguished is the grass bunker, a hollow without sand. Under the Rules this is not a bunker but normal ground, since sand is what makes a bunker. You will find an overview of all areas of the course on the topic page about golf course layout.
Rules in the bunker: do not touch the sand
The main rules are in Rule 12. Before the stroke you may remove loose impediments such as leaves or stones and movable obstructions such as bottles. The sand may move as you do so, as long as you do not test it on purpose.
Rule 12.2b prohibits touching the sand with a hand or club to test its condition. You also may not touch the sand right in front of or behind the ball, brush the sand in a practice swing or strike the sand in the backswing. You may, however, dig in your feet, put your club down, smooth the sand or lean on your club. The condition is that you gain no advantage for the stroke.
If you breach these rules, the general penalty applies: two penalty strokes in stroke play or loss of hole in match play. Striking the sand with your club in frustration after the stroke is allowed, as long as it does not improve your next stroke.
Unplayable ball and relief in a bunker
If your ball lies in the bunker so that you cannot or do not want to play it, you may declare it unplayable under Rule 19.3. That normally costs one penalty stroke. You have three options: stroke and distance, meaning you play again from where you made your previous stroke; back on the line from the hole through the ball's position while the ball stays in the bunker; or laterally, dropping within two club-lengths inside the bunker.
There is an extra option for relief outside the bunker: you go back on the line behind the bunker. This costs two penalty strokes in total. It is worth it if you have little chance of a good shot from the bunker.
Free relief with a drop is available for abnormal course conditions such as an animal hole or ground under repair. Then you drop in the bunker without penalty, or take relief outside for one penalty stroke.
Practical example: a par 4 with a greenside bunker
A par 4 is 340 metres long. Your drive lands on the fairway after 200 metres, stroke 1. Your second shot comes up short and rolls into the greenside bunker, stroke 2. You play a bunker shot to two metres from the flag, stroke 3. Two putts make strokes 4 and 5. Score: a bogey.
Different outcome: after stroke 2 the ball lies against the steep wall of the bunker. You declare it unplayable and take relief outside with two penalty strokes. Strokes 3 and 4 are therefore already counted, and your next stroke played is your fifth. If that stroke reaches the green and you need two putts, you write 7, a triple bogey.
If instead you stayed in the bunker and dropped sideways for one penalty stroke, your next stroke would be your fourth. A score of 6 or better would then be possible. The right decision depends on the lie of the ball and your confidence.
Bunker shot and typical mistakes
A bunker shot works differently from a normal shot. You do not hit the ball but the sand a few centimetres behind it. The sand carries the ball out of the bunker. That is why it is also called an explosion shot.
- Take a sand wedge and open the clubface slightly.
- Dig in your feet so you stand securely.
- Swing firmly and all the way through, even if the ball is close to the green.
- Look at the spot in the sand behind the ball rather than at the ball itself.
- From a fairway bunker use an iron or hybrid, strike the ball first and keep a quiet stance.
Typical mistakes are a timid swing, so the ball stays in the bunker, or a shot that hits the ball itself and flies past the green. If you practise regularly, you quickly learn to take the right amount of sand. A coach can show you the technique and the right wedges.
Bunker etiquette and telling it apart from other areas
Good etiquette means leaving the bunker as you found it. Enter at the lowest point, not over the steep edge. Afterwards smooth your footprints and the mark of the ball with the rake. Put the rake back where the course asks, which is outside or inside the bunker depending on the course. Smooth sand is fair for all playing partners.
Differences: a bunker is not a water hazard. Water is a penalty area, with a penalty stroke for relief. A bunker is not rough either: rough is grass, a bunker is sand. A grass bunker is again not a bunker. And a sandy area without bunker status, such as a sandy path, may be treated differently under a Local Rule.
These differences matter for the Rules because each area carries different duties and options. If you are not sure, check the Local Rules or ask the Committee.
Try it at Golf Lounge
You practise bunker shots best on a real course. The 9-hole “Black” course at Golf Lounge Resort Hamburg is par 33 with par 3 and par 4 holes, plus water hazards, bunkers and protected greens. It is playable from April to December with the DGV Platzreife. Up to four players can be booked together, and you book tee times online. That lets you learn sand play, rules and etiquette in a manageable round.
Frequently asked questions
What is a bunker in golf?
A bunker is a deliberately built, sand-filled area on a golf course, usually a hollow. It is its own area under the Rules of Golf and not a water hazard. You may play the ball from the bunker but must avoid touching the sand before the stroke. There are fairway, greenside and pot bunkers.
What is the difference between a fairway bunker and a greenside bunker?
A fairway bunker lies by the fairway and is reached with long shots. The aim is to strike the ball cleanly. A greenside bunker lies right beside the green and calls for a short, delicate bunker shot, usually with a sand wedge. Both follow the same rules but the technique differs a lot.
What is a pot bunker?
A pot bunker is a small, deep bunker with steep walls, often with stacked turf. It is found mainly on links courses. The ball can sometimes only be played sideways or backwards, which is why pot bunkers are feared. Relief is possible as an unplayable ball.
May I touch the sand in a bunker?
Not before the stroke to test its condition, nor behind or in front of the ball, nor in a practice swing or backswing. You may dig in your feet, smooth the sand and put your club down. A breach costs the general penalty under Rule 12.2b: two strokes in stroke play or loss of hole in match play.
What do I do if my ball is unplayable in a bunker?
Under Rule 19.3 you can declare the ball unplayable for one penalty stroke and play again, drop laterally in the bunker or back on the line. Alternatively, you go back on the line behind the bunker for two penalty strokes. Check first whether a normal stroke is possible.
As of: October 2026