[Ryan Farrow]

I think the real danger in this, after watching the video and the effects of Merion hosting the US Open is that owners, clients, supers, and/or green comities might think these maintenance practices are necessary to have the same desired effect.

IMO the ease of maintenance rests with the original architect and the preservation of native grasses, contours, and their surrounds. These grasses have survived hundreds of years w/o irrigation or maintenance.

So how about those pre-Fazio bunker renovation pics?

[Dave_Miller]

"I agree with Patrick and TEPaul."

Dave:

It is extremely rare for any man to ever have the opportunity to say that! 

A happy Spring to you, my friend.

Tommy:
Believe me I thought long and hard before saying it
Look forward to seeing  you soon.
Dave

[TEPaul]

"So how about those pre-Fazio bunker renovation pics?"

Rayn:

What pre-Fazio bunker renovation pics? Do you mean what Merion's bunkers looked like and played like just BEFORE the last renovation?

The club does have plenty of those but if you'd like to know what exactly they looked like and played like before the last bunker project, believe me, I know and would be happy to explain it to you in real detail.

[Mike_Cirba]

"So how about those pre-Fazio bunker renovation pics?"

Rayn:

What pre-Fazio bunker renovation pics? Do you mean what Merion's bunkers looked like and played like just BEFORE the last renovation?

The club does have plenty of those but if you'd like to know what exactly they looked like and played like before the last bunker project, believe me, I know and would be happy to explain it to you in real detail.

I have a ton of those pics from just months before the Fazio work, as well, but I'm presently keeping them under lock and key in a basement safe in a time capsule, to be opened in 50 years or so when Merion decides to do a "restoration". 

If you think I'd post them on here and risk starting WWIII and WWIV combined, spinning the entire planet off its axis, then you're crazier than I am! 

Frankly, I'd rather run across an open Bosnian tarmac under sniper fire!!   

[Jason Mandel]

I was out at Merion last summer to watch the end of the Philadelphia Open.  While following the leader, a 19 year-old amateur by the name of Mark Miller, he hit his tee shot to the right on 14 near the 1st bunker.  The ball was not in the bunker, but in the face on the top right side of the bunker.  The player was looking for a few minutes, not able to find it until he accidentally stepped on the ball. 

Unfortunately since he was the one to step on it, and not his caddy or an official, or even a fan, he was given a one-stroke penalty.  He did manage to make a great bogey and held on to win by a shot, but I can't help but remember how those bunker faces almost cost him the title. 

I personally like the look of them but agree that the playability of them is the main issue here.  I also agree that Merion is a wolrd class course and the bunkers on a whole only enhance the experience.

Jason

[Adam Clayman]

Adam,

Can't you see yourself yelling "get in the sand?"

Mike

Not me Michael. I enjoy the challenge of whatever is thrown at me because of my error. The more impossible the shot the better.

[David Lott]

Uh, what happened to the fans of minimalism that used to live here?

500-1000 winter hours of maintenance plus a drip irrigation system to keep these babies in shape and alive!

That's not minimalism, that's capitalism--or at least a pocketful of capitalism's rewards have to be spent to do this. Not a problem for Merion, I'm sure.

The bunkers look great and I'm sure they are a bear to play from but yikes the cost. So this is hardly a model for most of the rest of the world.

[Sean_A]

Uh, what happened to the fans of minimalism that used to live here?

500-1000 winter hours of maintenance plus a drip irrigation system to keep these babies in shape and alive!

That's not minimalism, that's capitalism--or at least a pocketful of capitalism's rewards have to be spent to do this. Not a problem for Merion, I'm sure.

The bunkers look great and I'm sure they are a bear to play from but yikes the cost. So this is hardly a model for most of the rest of the world.

It does sound a hell of lot.  That is a minimum of 2.5 months for one guy to perform the winter maintanance on these babies - thats serious dosh.

Ciao

[Ian Larson]

Look guys,   there isnt a completely natural golf course anywhere in America. I dare anybody (especially the naysayers on here) to show me a course where they moved no dirt, imported no sand, all natural green sites, no irrigation, no chemicals and no capital investments made to it, oh, and it gets maintained by the sheep. Im sure if we look into each of the naysayers home courses or courses they build or maintain, we would find very "unnatural" golf courses. And whats with the "Anti-Drip Irrigation" faction on here? Use your heads guys!!!! If it wasnt drip irrigation on those faces it would be Toro or Rainbird golf sprinklers throwing water inaffectively and inefficiently. Drip irrigation is nothing but a tube emmitting water EXACTLY where it needs to go, 100% efficiency. Drip irrigation isnt some over the top ultra expensive maintenance option. And like the one guy said, they are to APPEAR natural. How many bunkers in America are natural? So whats wrong with Merion spending their OWN money to have great bunkers?

[Dan Herrmann]

Ian - there's NOTHING wrong with it!

[JSlonis]

I was out at Merion last summer to watch the end of the Philadelphia Open.  While following the leader, a 19 year-old amateur by the name of Mark Miller, he hit his tee shot to the right on 14 near the 1st bunker.  The ball was not in the bunker, but in the face on the top right side of the bunker.  The player was looking for a few minutes, not able to find it until he accidentally stepped on the ball. 

Unfortunately since he was the one to step on it, and not his caddy or an official, or even a fan, he was given a one-stroke penalty.  He did manage to make a great bogey and held on to win by a shot, but I can't help but remember how those bunker faces almost cost him the title. 

I personally like the look of them but agree that the playability of them is the main issue here.  I also agree that Merion is a wolrd class course and the bunkers on a whole only enhance the experience.

Jason

I'd like to echo what Jason has stated above.  The same thing happened to the Pro I was playing with that day.  We nearly lost his ball on the third hole.  He hit his tee shot about 2 yards off the right edge of the green and it took us almost 5 minutes to find his ball.  He ended up taking an unplayable lie after a shot that was barely off line.  He would have been in much better shape if he had hit a far worse shot that missed the green by 15-20 yards.

I love Merion, it was great before the bunker work and it is still great, but I'd be really surprised if the bunker edges and faces aren't different from their current state by the time the US Open rolls around.  I realize hazards are supposed to be hazards, but I also think there should be some correlation between the quality of a shot and how it's penalized and given the current setup, that just isn't the case. 

Thinking about it a bit more...On the other hand, maybe given the relatively short length of quite a few holes, the current bunker setup might prove to be a worthy defense and one that the club and the USGA thinks is worth keeping.

[Adam Clayman]

Look guys,   there isnt a completely natural golf course anywhere in America. I dare anybody (especially the naysayers on here) to show me a course where they moved no dirt, imported no sand, all natural green sites, no irrigation, no chemicals and no capital investments made to it, oh, and it gets maintained by the sheep.

http://www.pasturegolf.com/

[Ron Farris]

I think this thread is a good reason I enjoy visiting GCA.
It also reminds me that " Bunkers are not a place of pleasure, they are a place of punishment and repentance, to paraphrase OTM. 
It also seems to me that it has been stated on this site that Pine Valley spend an incredible amount of money to maintain its natural look.  Maybe natural at high end private clubs is expensive? 

[TEPaul]

"Look guys,   there isnt a completely natural golf course anywhere in America."

Ian:

If somebody on here is saying or implying that for a golf course to be natural looking nothing much can be done to it (earth moving or maintenance) they don't know what they're talking about plain and simple. The deal in architecture with the "natural" school is just that it "look" fairly natural. That's what the old architectural cliche "to hide the hand of man" means. 

[James Bennett]

It also reminds me that " Bunkers are not a place of pleasure, they are a place of punishment and repentance, to paraphrase OTM.  

Merion bunkers are terrific, especially given the clay base below.  Even the reeds in the bunkers (eg #10 and #13 I think).  Unique.  I hope they last to the US Open - I will enjoy watching JB Holmes (or similar) extricating his second shot from the bunker on #10 (short 4) that has come to rest amongst the reeds.

A pedantic point about bunkers being hazards.  Aren't the bunker faces NOT part of the bunker, and are actually 'through the green'?

James B

[JSlonis]

It also reminds me that " Bunkers are not a place of pleasure, they are a place of punishment and repentance, to paraphrase OTM.  

A pedantic point about bunkers being hazards.  Aren't the bunker faces NOT part of the bunker, and are actually 'through the green'?

James B

True in the literal sense...but in the case of Merion, the faces and surrounds of the bunkers are more of a hazard than the bunkers themselves.

[Patrick_Mucci]

How many of those defending the bunkers at Merion have actually been on site to see them ?

How many have played them ?

If you haven't seen and/or played them, how can you defend them ?

[James Bennett]

Patrick

to be frank, I found the narrow fairways and the thick bluegrass rough to be more of a challenge (read 'too tough for me') when I had the good fortune to visit 2 years ago.  Perhaps it is different today.  Perhaps it was because I played in early spring when the grass in the bunker faces was not as thick as some here might experience in summer.

Then again, I only had good lies (sp?) in the bunkers, including a memorable up and down from the front of #12.

James B

[wsmorrison]

How many of those defending the bunkers at Merion have actually been on site to see them ?

How many have played them ?

If you haven't seen and/or played them, how can you defend them ?

How many of those decrying the bunkers at Merion have actually been on site to see them?

How many have not played them?

If you haven't seen and/or played them, how can you decry them?

[TEPaul]

"If you haven't seen and/or played them, how can you decry them?"

Because, Wayno, this is GOLFCLUBATLAS.com's infamous Discussion Group and most all the people on it think they know everything. What does seeing or playing a course or even setting foot on it have to do with it? 

The thing that's just killing me at the moment is the number of people on here taking Merion to task for the money they spend on their course accusing the club of setting a bad example. What happened to the simple logic that other clubs should learn how to maintain their own courses and manage their own affairs in a way that best suits their own bottom lines?

Have you payed your annual "bunker drip irrigation" assessment yet, Wayno? How about the annual "firm and fast turbo-boost tune-up" assessment?  

[Sean_A]

"If you haven't seen and/or played them, how can you decry them?"

Because, Wayno, this is GOLFCLUBATLAS.com's infamous Discussion Group and most all the people on it think they know everything. What does seeing or playing a course or even setting foot on it have to do with it? 

The thing that's just killing me at the moment is the number of people on here taking Merion to task for the money they spend on their course accusing the club of setting a bad example. What happened to the simple logic that other clubs should learn how to maintain their own courses and manage their own affairs in a way that best suits their own bottom lines?

Have you payed your annual "bunker drip irrigation" assessment yet, Wayno? How about the annual "firm and fast turbo-boost tune-up" assessment? 

Tom

Me thinks you exaggerate, as per normal.  I don't think anyone is "taking Merion to task".  My impression (and my comments certainly) is that the comments were observations.  Do you really believe anyone cares how much Merion spends on maintenance other than the folks at Merion and perhaps the odd chap looking to learn from Merion's experiences?

Ciao

[ChipOat]

Gadzooks - a Merion bunker thread without our beloved Emperor!  Tommy must really be on strike this time.

David Lott:  The old "white faces" also required a lot of labor-intensive maintenance (although not as much as today, to be sure).  However, the hourly cost/hour has risen significantly more than the required number of person-hours in the last 20+ years - that much I know.

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