Explosion Shot
An explosion shot is a golf shot, usually played from a greenside bunker, where the club strikes the sand behind the ball rather than the ball itself, blasting it out on a cushion of sand.
What is an explosion shot?
The explosion shot is the one moment in golf where hitting behind the ball is the whole point. Instead of making clean contact, the player swings the club down into the sand an inch or two behind the ball. The club never touches the ball at all. The displaced sand lifts it up and out of the bunker, and the burst of sand that flies up with it is what gives the shot its name.
Most golfers know it simply as a bunker shot, and many call it a blast. All three terms describe the same basic idea. The shot exists because sand is too soft and unpredictable for normal contact: trying to nip the ball cleanly off a bunker lie leaves almost no margin for error, while hitting the sand first turns a scary lie into a repeatable technique.
Anyone who watches golf will hear it constantly. When a commentator says a player “blasted out to six feet,” that was an explosion shot.
How an explosion shot works
Everything about the shot is built around the sand, not the ball. The player aims the clubhead at a spot behind the ball, and the wedge slides underneath it through the sand. A wide, rounded sole on the sand wedge, known as bounce, lets the club skid through the sand instead of digging in, which is why a sand wedge or lob wedge is almost always the club of choice.
Because sand absorbs so much energy, the swing looks far bigger than the distance would suggest. A tour player might make a near-full swing to move the ball 15 yards. Acceleration through the sand matters more than anything else, since a decelerating club digs in and leaves the ball in the bunker.
The result, when it works, is a high, soft shot that lands gently on the green. Even so, this remains one of the hardest shots in the game to convert. PGA Tour players save par from greenside bunkers only about half the time, according to Golf.com’s analysis of PGA Tour statistics.
Explosion shot vs. splash shot
Golfers and commentators often use explosion, blast, and bunker shot interchangeably, and in casual use that’s fine. Teaching professionals, though, sometimes separate greenside sand shots into two techniques: the splash and the explosion (or bash). LPGA instructor Deb Vangellow, writing for Women’s Golf, describes the splash as the standard play from a good lie and the explosion as the digging version reserved for buried balls or wet sand.
| Splash shot | Explosion shot (blast) | |
| Typical lie | Ball sitting up on the sand | Buried or plugged ball, wet or compacted sand |
| Sand taken | A thin layer under the ball | A deep, heavy cut of sand |
| Clubface | Open | Square, or even slightly closed |
| Ball flight | Higher, with more spin | Lower, with more roll after landing |
| Main goal | Control and spin | Getting out at all |
Dr. T.J. Tomasi of the Keiser University College of Golf notes that players who only know the deep-digging version give up control, because taking less sand from a clean lie transfers more spin to the ball. In everyday conversation, though, “explosion shot” still covers any sand-first bunker escape.
When golfers use an explosion shot
The standard situation is a greenside bunker within about 30 yards of the hole. Beyond that range the technique stops working well, because sand soaks up too much power, and Golf Info Guide advises catching the ball cleaner once a bunker shot stretches past 20 to 30 yards.
The shot also travels beyond the sand. From deep greenside rough, a muddy lie, or soft ground where clean contact is nearly impossible, players can deliberately hit behind the ball and let the surrounding turf or grass push it out, exactly as they would in a bunker.
It is a recovery tool, not a scoring weapon. The sand save statistic, which the PGA Tour has tracked since 1980, records how often a player gets up and down from a greenside bunker. Per Golf Compendium’s records, the best single-season mark since tracking began is 71.54 percent, set by Michael Kim in 2025, meaning even the greatest bunker season ever still failed more than a quarter of the time.
Where the explosion shot came from
Until the early 1930s, bunkers were far more frightening than they are today. Players had to pick the ball cleanly off the sand with thin-soled irons that dug in at the slightest mistake, and the concave-faced sand clubs that briefly helped were banned by golf’s governing bodies in 1931 for striking the ball twice.
Gene Sarazen changed that. According to Golf Digest and his Wikipedia biography, Sarazen soldered extra metal onto the back of a niblick so the flange would meet the sand before the leading edge, letting the club glide through rather than dig. Similar clubs had been patented before, but it was Sarazen’s design and his results that spread the idea through the game. He debuted the club at the 1932 Open Championship at Prince’s Golf Club, won the tournament, and his method of striking the sand a couple of inches behind the ball became the template golfers still follow.
Related Golf Terms
- Splash shot — A greenside bunker shot that lifts the ball on a cushion of sand.
- Push draw — A shot that starts right of target and curves back to the left.
- Push slice — A shot that starts right of target and curves further right.
- Pull hook — A shot that starts left of target and curves further left.
- High draw — A high ball flight that curves gently from right to left.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an explosion shot the same as a blast?
Yes. Blast, explosion, and explosion shot all describe a sand shot where the club strikes behind the ball and the sand carries it out.
What club is used for an explosion shot?
Usually a sand wedge or lob wedge. Their wide soles and high bounce let the clubhead slide through the sand instead of digging in.
How far behind the ball does the club enter the sand?
Around one to two inches, though players take more sand from buried lies and less when they want extra spin.
Can an explosion shot be played outside a bunker?
Yes. The same sand-first idea works from deep greenside rough, muddy ground, or any lie soft enough for the club to travel under the ball.
Why do golfers swing so hard on short bunker shots?
Sand absorbs most of the club’s energy before it reaches the ball, so a shot of 10 or 15 yards can require close to a full swing.
Sources
- Merriam-Webster. “Explosion Shot Definition.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explosion%20shot - Golf.com. “One of the best ever bunker players reveals one of his keys from the sand.” Accessed July 2026.
https://golf.com/instruction/bunker-shots/best-bunker-player-reveals-keys/ - Golf Compendium. “Yearly Sand Save Leaders on the PGA Tour.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfcompendium.com/2018/10/sand-save-leaders-pga-tour.html - Women’s Golf. “Who Says Greenside Bunker Shots Are Difficult?” Accessed July 2026.
https://womensgolf.com/bunker-shots - Keiser University College of Golf. “Bash or Splash Out of a Bunker.” Accessed July 2026.
https://collegeofgolf.keiseruniversity.edu/bash-or-splash-out-of-a-bunker/ - Wikipedia. “Gene Sarazen.” Accessed July 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Sarazen - Golf Digest. “Did you know: Gene Sarazen designed the modern sand wedge with an assist from billionaire Howard Hughes.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/did-you-know-gene-sarazen-designed-the-modern-sand-wedge-with-an-assist-from-billionaire-howard-hughes - Golf Info Guide. “What Is A Blast Golf Bunker Shot?” Accessed July 2026.
https://golf-info-guide.com/golf-tips/bunker-golf-tips/what-is-a-blast-golf-bunker-shot/
