From Bunkers, Pits & Other Hazards...thanks to Mark Fine and the other works mentioned here as our reference...
Harry Shapland Colt (1869-1951)
Born in England, Colt was a lawyer turned golf architect. His first parley into design was with Doug Rolland at Rye Golf Club in England. A fine golfer all his life, Colt went on to design or remodel hundreds of courses including many of the best in the world. His longtime partner, C. Alison, worked with him on a majority of these projects.
Quotes:
“I firmly believe that the only means whereby an attractive piece of ground can be turned into a satisfying golf course is to work to the natural features of the site in question.” From The Book of the Links: A Symposium on Golf (1912)
“The characteristics required of a hazard are that it should be difficult but not impossible to play out of; that it should not be a cause of lost balls; and that strokes played out of it should be calculable as regards strength and direction, and should depend for their success on skill and not on brute force alone.” From Some Essays on Golf Course Architecture by Colt and Allison.
“The diagonal hazard provides sport for everyone and the subsequent scheme of a hole can give advantage to the one who bites off the biggest slice of the hazard…”
“A bunker stretching right across the course should always be avoided, and, unless there are natural hazards, ‘pot’ bunkers are preferable to others.”
— Colt believed a course should start off with a sympathetic frame of mind for the weak, and at the same time be as severe as he likes with the first-class player.
— Believed that a test of accuracy must also be provided for tee shots. The player must learn to take a line, and not just blaze away at right angles to the teeing ground. Requiring accuracy off the tee could also be enforced by placing the hazards near to the green, even when there may be no bunkers off the tee.
— He favored distinctive features so a golfer would go away remembering each hole individually.
— Disliked blind shots, though he realized they were sometimes unavoidable.
— Used diagonals on carry shots to offer safer options and a risk/reward decision.
— Used center hazards with safe paths down the sides.
— Believed “a good sprinkling of lateral hazards” is necessary to test accurate driving.
— Avoided overuse of any one type of hazard.
— Two “non-hazards” that Colt loved were plateau greens and “hummocky” ground. He felt a narrow plateau for a green or a few hummocks in front of one will very likely cause as much trouble and amusement to a player as a gaping chasm stretching across the line of play.
— Liked turf hollows as well as mounds because they provide for difficult stances and lies
— Advocated variety in the shapes and sizes of bunkers. He hated symmetrical pots, or banks, or humps.
— Worked at making artificial hazards not look artificial.
— On short holes in particular, he supported the use of water hazards if nothing more than for the sake of variety.
— His most common natural hazards were sand, heather, long grass, gorse, and water.
— The reward and penalty for negotiating a hazard should be in proportion to one another.
— Justified deeper, but escapable, bunkers near the green as these shots are short.