Scenes From Over The Stonewall--II

[mike d]

what is good bunkering???  You tell me.  Like so much of golf course architecture, this is subjective.  Surely something must be said for those bunkers that resemble those which we would find on the ancient links.  Maybe the best bunkers are those found at a course like Oakmont or Bethpage Black.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  

So much more can be argued for the correct LOCATION of a bunker then its style.  I personally prefer those bunkers which make my heart skip a beat.  In the spirit of some of the grand masters, such as Mackenzie, i think it is prudent that a bunker looks more difficult to escape from than it really is.  At the same time, however, a bunker is suppose to be a hazard, first a foremost.  As been pointed out numerous times, it is sickening to hear tour pro rooting for their ball to find a bunker rather than the rough.

There are a TON of divergent opinions upon what style bunker is best.  SOmething must be said for the bunkers fitting the terrain.  Would the bunkers at Pac Dunes and Sand Hills 'fit' Augusta and Shadow Creek?  Probably not.  Do you, gramps, feel that the bunkers at Stonewall II do not fit the terrain?  SOund like it.  

[Tom Doak]

Unfortunately, for some reason all the photos come up an "x" in a box on my screen, so I can't comment on them directly.  But I did just get back from a week on site ...

I do agree with the viewers who think the "eye candy" quotient of the bunkers is a little high; I've been a bit concerned by this from the beginning.  Nevertheless, I like the look of it, so I haven't dialed it back too much.  My opening instructions were to try for the "Valley Club" look and I think these are a pretty good imitation of that.

I'm also on record that bunker styling overrated in people's evaluation of golf courses, particularly here on GCA.  But, clients seem to like the jazzy stuff, too, and everyone seems to be more impressed by Friars Head than Austin Golf Club, where Ben Crenshaw deliberately scaled back the bunker look.  I'm not going for the "Mackenzie look" everywhere, but we wanted to do something a bit flashier than Stonewall I, without getting carried away.

I wouldn't agree that we've put in any bunkers that don't have a purpose.  Sometimes that purpose is visual -- simply to overload one side of a green complex and either draw the eye to that side or frighten the player away -- but I think that all of them will affect the play of Stonewall members.

Credits:

Don Placek has been design associate on the project, and has edited some of the bunkers, as have I.  Kye Goalby has dug the majority of bunkers on the trackhoe, although Eric Iverson and Brian Schneider have also created a few, and I just finished building a couple myself!  And Kyle Franz, who was an intern at Pacific Dunes, has been the foreman of the labor crew to do all the edges and floors.  (And, for the record, none of them worked at Merion.)

[TEPaul]

Jesus, Kyle Franz is the foreman of something at Stonewall2? You better write that down in the architectural evolution of the creation of the golf course or he'll be taking credit for the golf course in 25 years Tom Doak!

That young man might be going places! It's a good thing he's so fleet of foot and maneuverable or Schneider and Goalby might have made dog food out of him a couple weeks ago!

[TEPaul]

Ally:

I like your style!

Grandpa:

Don't worry about getting something wrong on here--none of us really know what we're talking about except the architects, of course. Dissing things is just a way of life on here and none of us know what a really great bunker is, just what a really bad one is!

And it's absolutely true that what's half done in the field is not all that worth evaluating or analyzing for us! Only the architects and those that work out in the field can understand the progression of that stuff. And frankly that's the truth--man did I make a dumb mistake at GMGC the other day looking at something and getting worried about it for the wrong reasons!

Architecture is something else--the learning curve seems to never end!