Bunkering Mismatches

[Wade Schueneman]

I just looked at the website for Trump's Aberdeen course and there are about 93 photographs of the course in the gallery (some of which are quite nice).  However, it reminds me a bit of Doonbeg in that the bunkering does not seem to properly accentuate the great land.  I love stacked sod bunkering, but it does not look right to me amidst raw, massive dunes.  It looks right at TOC, or Carnoustie or Deal etc.  Stacked sod bunkers seem to fit expansive courses with lots of micro topography better.  On the other hand, dramtic dunesland like that at RCD, Sand Hills, Cypress Point seem to beg for raw munkering.  Am I jumping to the wrong conclusion here?

Any thoughts?

[Sean_A]

Wade

I think we have to remember that the number one functional goal of bunkers is to keep sand in them.  Pots work well on both levels of wind having minimal effect (deep holes with steep faces) and if deep enough, the sand is contained even after bunker shots.  I agree that aesthetically the more open/freeform/blowout style looks better on more wild land and that for flatter, more cramped links the pots look very good.  I think the key for the blowout style to be successful there has to be a lot of land and a knowledge that the sand will not blow onto fairways and greens very often - when the sand does blow its in a relatively minor area of rough.  The blowouts necessarily are larger and more to scale of an expansive property while pots are much smaller in scale (it usually doesn't make much sense to build hug pots as the sand could more easily escape unless the wall was massive) and suitable to smaller scale courses.  This is an area where pots have a huge advantage of the more open style.  Bunkers can be built relatively easily wherever the archie wants them and the lay of the land both in terms of land gathering to sand and housing bunkers can be utilized easier.   

I don't mind mixed styles of bunkering to suit particular areas of a property, but many do not like this and that may help explain why pots (revetted or not) tend to be the default style for links.  There is sort of a third style, that of the County Down style with eye brows and less circular shapes of pits (Aberdovey has recently converted to this style).  I think many folks give a pass for the poor playability caused by the rough because they are so attractive - just as folks do for some pots that are really too small and thus can cause havoc when trying to escape.  Its all about compromise, but I would say pots have been around long enough now that folks almost expect to see them on links.   

Ciao

[Bill_McBride]

This might be my favorite bunker-on-a-dune in golf - the blow out to the right of #13 Pacifiuc Dunes!   Note that there are formal aspects to the bunker, it's not all natural.