I hope the topshot bunker went out of vogue because it's silly. It punishes the weaker player and slows down play.
How boring golf must be for the shorter tee ball player these days. No more bunkers 130 to 160 yards off of the tee to try and carry. The thrill of carrying a fairway bunker off the tee to set yourself up to an ideal approach shot to the green is one of the great thrills in a round of golf.
Unfortunately I have been on at least 3 master plan plan committees that have made the decision to remove the short bunkers off the tee because it penalizes the weaker player. IMHO this is a terrible mistake that takes away a feature that would make the golf course much more interesting for them. This thought of putting in hazards that only the longer hitters can reach is a shame.
John,
I see this pattern repeated, over and over again.
Democracy has a good deal to do with it.
As clubs transitioned from a narrow power base to a broad power base, the mediocre and poor players became the majority. And, as society transitioned to the "ME" generation, this new found power manifested itself under the guise of "FAIRNESS".
As a result, wonderful features have been muted or removed over the years.
Rather than mute or remove a feature, consideration should be given to playing from alternative tees.
Yet, the "ME" generation doesn't want to play from the forward tees, instead, they'd rather mute or destroy the object of their concern, a wonderful, original feature.
I've seen so many features muted, disfigured and destroyed in the name of "fairness"
As to "Top Shot" bunkers, many of them served to obscure the land behind them, thus serving more than one purpose.
Blindness, was likely imported/transported from the UK by the likes of DR and others and found its place in golf in the form of low, but effective, top shot bunkers.