[Joel_Stewart]

I've watched a little of the PGA today and find it odd that Southern Hills and Augusta look very similar.  Did Keith Foster want Southern Hills to look like ANGC?   Would Perry Maxwell like the current look?

I've tried to Google some old images of Southern Hills to see if they had rough edge bunkers but couldn't find any old photos.

[Matt_Cohn]

interesting

[Patrick_Mucci]

Joel,

Look at photos taken from prior tournaments at SH.

I'm not so sure that the bunker configurations are substantively different.

However, the sand might be whiter,

What's puzzling about the work at SH is that C&C built a sporty, architecturally consistent, well received nine hole course adjacent to the practice facility, yet, they weren't involved in any prep work for the big course, which would have seemed to have been the natural choice.

Rees Jones and others interviewed for the job, but, they chose Keith Foster.

When I speak to our mutual friend I'll ask him about the issue.

[ed_getka]

I don't really have an opinion about the bunkering, but was wondering  about the sand color. When I see the golf live the sand seems tan and appropriately colored. When the network does their flyover hole descriptions the sand looks blindingly white. Is this a photoshop type thing since  they do some computer overlays to show distances and such? I know at least some of  the image shown is real time because on one hole I saw a car driving by behind the green, plus the ubiquitous greenside fans are  in the image. Any ideas?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Yes, watching today I was struck by how much the front left bunker at SoHills 18 looked like the front left bunker at ANGC 18.  Perhaps Maxwell rebuilt the one at ANGC, since we know he did do some work there.  Someone had to be responsible for changing the original Mac ragged edge bunkers to the smooth, near ovals we see now.  Maybe he had something to do with it.

I agree with Pat that the Maxwell saucers haven't changed much, although they may seem a touch larger than say. 1970 and the Dave Stockton win.

Keith Foster has built a nice reputation in classic course renovation and is gaining on CC, Rees and others in that field, reputation wise.

Speaking of ragged edge bunkers, it also struck me that one reason many here like that look is that it is so unique compared to the now typical smooth look.  I think back in the day when courses were in general so ragged, the smoothness and green of ANGC must have stuck out just as much then, and it became crystal clear to me why it was so influential.

It also struck me that

[Tom_Doak]

Maxwell's bunker style was not nearly as ragged as MacKenzie's.  The original bunkers at Crystal Downs had a ragged top edge, but no capes or bays and much less "jiggedy" of a line than most of what we see today.  The bunkers at Prairie Dunes were very plain for most of their lives, until Dave Axland jazzed them up recently ... I've never seen old pictures of it to say whether that's a restoration or a modernization.

[Patrick_Mucci]

In viewing photos from "The 1993 Masters", The Making of the  Masters" circa (1932-1935) and "The Masters" published in 1976, the configuration of the bunkers appears systemically consistent.

The jagged nature many alllude to appears to be illusory.

While the border of the bunkers wasn't quite as crisp 30 years ago, it doesn't appear that there's been much of a departure in the general configurations between 1932 and today.

[James Bennett]

I don't really have an opinion about the bunkering, but was wondering  about the sand color. When I see the golf live the sand seems tan and appropriately colored. When the network does their flyover hole descriptions the sand looks blindingly white. Is this a photoshop type thing since  they do some computer overlays to show distances and such? I know at least some of  the image shown is real time because on one hole I saw a car driving by behind the green, plus the ubiquitous greenside fans are  in the image. Any ideas?

Ed

could this be the moisture content?  During the event, the greens have been well watered, which is likely to also affect the greenside bunkers, and 'de-white' the sand somewhat.  If the other photos/overlays were taken at less stressfull times (ie less water in the greens and surrounds) then a whiter sand is likely to be seen.

James B

[Dunlop_White]

As for Maxwell's bunker style(s), historic photos at Old Town reveal sprawling bunker shapes (with capes, bays, and tongues) that encompass a large area or landform. They most definately had jagged edges, most of which were also encased with eyebrows of broom sedge.
Some even had "islands of turf" within the bunker.

Ours were much more charismatic than the simple lines and dished-out shapes we see at Augusta and SH's...... More like the original photos I've seen of Crystal Downs!

[Pat Brockwell]

I was a grunt at Southern Hills in 1975,76,77.  Day in and day out the bunker edging could become a little shaggy, even some bushy bermuda eyebrows (which I always thought was the best), but for events they always had us clean them up.  To my memory they were always fairly plain in shape, like today.

[Chris_Clouser]

I must have missed this thread.  Perhaps I can clear up a few misconceptions.  

Maxwell's bunkering style varied throughout his career.  He had basically two styles that used at various times.  The first was what I personally refer to as his "Oklahoma" style.  It included simpler shapes and lines, but nothing like what we see at Southern Hills today or on many of his courses.  They were a little rugged and rough at times.  He used this style primarily in Oklahoma in the early and later parts of his career.

The other style he used had a more artistic flair.  This may be one of the areas where Mackenzie influenced him.  This was apparent on the bunkers he constructed at Crystal Downs and it was used by him on most of his courses through the rest of the depression, including courses such as Old Town.  He even used this style on some of his renovation work during this era such as the bunkering at Gulph Mills (Hole 8 in particular that I can think of), the rebunkering of Colonial for the 41 Open and even on the bunkers at Augusta to an extent.  Those bunkers at 7 and 10 were not originally so clean cut and uniform in shape.  Just look at some photos from that period and you will see this.

Prairie Dunes was somewhat in between the two in style as it had some of the simpler shapes as well as some of the more complex bunkers by Maxwell.  Holes 2 and 10 would be good examples of the simple shapes, while 9 and 17 had some of the more complex looking bunker designs.

Ironically, Southern Hills was in the middle of this "artistic" period and Maxwell departed from this style and reverted back to the simpler bunker shapes that he had used throughout Oklahoma.  I'm not sure why he would have done this during this period, but it was obviously a conscious decision on his part.  

The bunkers that exist today at Southern Hills and many of the courses in Oklahoma bear no real resemblance to his original style.   And by no means was his bunker design anything like the "clamshell" bunkers that you see so many people associate with his work.  That is merely a condition the bunkers have taken over years of maintenance by particular clubs.  

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