You hit a beautiful looking approach shot but it came up short in the bunker. Your disappointment is magnified when you get to the ball and realize it's buried. Don't worry. All is not lost.

Get the most lofted club out of your bag and enter the bunker from behind your ball. Realize that your first objective is to get the ball out of the bunker. Then you would like to get the ball on the green.

To accomplish these goals, set up to hit a normal greenside bunker shot. Position your weight on your front leg with the ball off the front heel. Your stance should be slightly open and almost shoulder width.

Grip down on the club an inch and dig your feet into the sand an inch.

Now here is where this shot differs from a bunker shot where the ball is resting nicely on the sand. Close the clubface. Yes, close it. This allows the wedge to dig into the sand and lets the sand loft the ball up and out of the bunker.

Aim for a spot two inches behind the ball and swing two to three times harder than you would for a pitch shot of equal distance. Your follow through will be abbreviated because of the digging action of the closed clubface. Allow for plenty of roll because the ball will have little backspin.