The Bunker Simulator - How Bunker Mate Lets You Practice Sand Anywhere

Quick answer: Bunker Mate is a portable bunker simulator - a 24" x 15" three-layer mat that reproduces the feel, flight and feedback of a greenside sand shot without any sand. You hit real or foam golf balls off it, indoors or out, and the distance the mat slides tells you instantly whether your club entered correctly or dug in behind the ball.

In this post, WhysGuy will cover:

• Why we built a bunker simulator in the first place.
• How Bunker Mate is designed, and what it can do for your sand game.
• How to practice with it - with both foam balls and regular golf balls.

If you want the technique itself first, start with our guide on how to hit a bunker shot.

Why We Built a Bunker Simulator

Tour players hit effortless bunker shots that scare the hole time after time. They find them so straightforward that many say they would rather be in a greenside bunker than in greenside rough. Yet for amateurs, sand traps are widely treated as dangerous places from which disasters emerge.

We think that gap comes down to a lack of knowledge about proper bunker technique, not a lack of talent. Bunker play is low-hanging fruit for amateurs given the right knowledge and the right tools.

Why can amateurs improve so quickly? Because a proper bunker swing flows naturally out of a proper setup. Get the setup consistent and, with a little practice, you will start hitting the high, spinny shots that make your playing partners jealous.

The problem is access. Most golfers have no practice bunker worth using, and the ones that exist are often poorly maintained, packed hard or full of footprints. That is the problem Bunker Mate solves.

How Bunker Mate Is Built

Bunker Mate looks simple. The design process was not.

The challenge was to create something that simulated the feel and ball flight of a typical bunker shot without using sand to propel the ball. We experimented for months across combinations of materials and ultimately had to develop our own fabric with a specific yarn, pile height, texture and weight per square meter.

The fabric is laminated onto an internal polymer "bounce" layer with just the right resistance to digging, over a bottom rubber layer for weight, traction and durability.

That combination not only feels like a sand shot - it produces enough feedback for you to know whether you struck it properly, fat or thin, with both a real golf ball and a foam ball.

What Bunker Mate Does for You

Beyond the fact that hitting shots off it is genuinely fun, it is designed to give you the feedback you need to get better out of real sand.

• Immediate feedback on every strike - you know at once whether you dug or entered correctly.
• Practice anywhere, indoors or outdoors.
• Suits all skill levels.
• Works well in full golf-swing simulators.
• Teaches you the setup and delivery a real bunker shot needs.

How to Practice With It

Bunker Mate works with regular golf balls and foam balls (2 included with purchase). The two will not travel the same distance - a foam ball goes less than half as far as a real one, which is what makes indoor use practical.

After every shot, there are two pieces of feedback worth watching.

If the mat travels more than six inches toward your target, you came in too steep, hit too far behind the ball, or both. Under six inches - or not at all - and your entry point was correct.

With a Regular Golf Ball

• Objective: without blading it, hit a regular golf ball off Bunker Mate without the device moving more than six inches.
• If it moves more than six inches, you have either hit too far behind the ball or come in too steep.
• Note: with a wide open clubface, as used for high, soft bunker shots, it is possible to pass the clubhead under the ball without the ball going anywhere. This is perfectly acceptable and an indicator that you are keeping the face open appropriately.

With a Foam Golf Ball

• Objective: the same - no blading, and the mat moves less than six inches.
• The foam ball will travel less than half as far as a regular golf ball. That is expected, not a bad strike.
• Note: because the foam ball is light and sits on top of the fabric, it may stay in place after a good swing with a wide-open face. This is normal. Close the face a touch and it will travel.

Common Bunker Mate Mistakes

• Judging yourself on ball distance instead of mat movement. How far the mat slides is the honest signal. Ball flight varies with face angle and ball type; entry point does not lie.
• Panicking when the ball doesn't move. With a wide open face that is a good sign, not a mis-hit - especially with a foam ball.
• Digging with the leading edge. If the mat rockets forward every time, you are steepening into it. Open the face to expose the bounce and let it skid, exactly as you would in sand.
• Expecting real-ball yardages from foam. Foam balls are for space-constrained practice. Use them for entry-point feedback, not distance control.
• Only practicing one shot. Vary your face angle and swing length on the mat the same way the course will ask you to.

Key Takeaways

• Bunker Mate is designed to mimic a real greenside bunker shot and to teach the setup and entry that shot needs.
• It works with foam balls or regular golf balls, indoors or outdoors.
• The mat's movement is your feedback loop - under six inches means you entered correctly.
• You can now work on your bunker game from your living room, which removes the usual excuse for never practicing it.

Check out our YouTube channel for drills and tips: