Ernie Els, like so many other South Africans, was one of the best green-side bunker players in the world.

However, he perhaps doesn’t get enough credit for his superb fairway bunker play throughout his career.

The four-time major champion was one of the best from fairway bunkers during his prime years.

This enables him to pick the ball cleaner than most from the top of the sand.

Now amateur golfers around the world may be able to emulate Els’ silky skills from fairway bunkers.

The beauty of his tips is that they are so simple in nature, and none of them require a change in technique.

Ernie Els’ secret to help amateur golfers improve their fairway bunker play

Els was speaking about how amateur golfers can improve their fairway bunker play during one of his instructional videos way back in 2014.

“Always take enough loft in order to clear the front lip. Escaping at the first attempt is your No.1 priority,“ the South African insisted.

“You need a stable base to your swing, so shuffle your feet into the sand so that you don’t lose your footing mid-swing. The consequences of even a slight miss-hit are exaggerated in the sand, so the emphasis is on making a clean strike.

“Choke down on the grip an inch or so, as that helps prevent you catching the shot heavy. Also take one more club, as that enables you to make a more controlled, three-quarter swing which again helps optimise the strike. If you execute the shot correctly, you’ll get plenty of backspin, so be bold and pitch the ball up to the flag.

“If the ball is sitting down a little in the sand, you’ll have to play more of a running shot. I recommend taking maybe as much as two more clubs – for instance, a 7-iron instead of a 9-iron. Put the ball a little further back in your stance, make a shorter swing and strike down and through.“

Follow that simple guide to success and you too may be able to hit soaring iron shots from fairway bunkers.

As Els highlighted, the absolute key to improving your fairway bunker play is ensuring that you get the ball out first, so never bite off more than you can chew when it comes to club selection.