Just to add to Paul's post, when playing from a plugged lie, strike down on the sand behind the ball and that should launch the ball out of the sand. You don't want to try to follow through with this shot - bury your clubhead in the sand.

As for where to play the ball in your stance, from middle to just in front of middle is typically the best. Remember to hit the sand first, which will result in the sand lifting the ball out. I also use an open stance, but the result should vary too much from the normal stance.

When playing in fairway bunkers, move the ball back in your stance and make sure to hit the ball first. You are trying to get to the green from a much larger distance so the idea is to play it as if you are in the fairway.

__________________
Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall