Hell Bunker Photo

[Bill Gayne]

Hopefully the link will work to a picture of Hell Bunker in this month's Golf Magazine.

http://www.mygazines.com/vendors/flipbook/flipBook.php?id=454&basecall=/&pageNum=21&h=770&w=1280&type=magazine&read_articles=14399&title=Golf%20Magazine%20-%20August%202008%20(CAN%2FUSA)&can_tag=undefined

Any thoughts on the deep grass? I can only imagine getting caught up in the grass around the bunker and only being able to advance it into the bunker which is a brutal situation. For even a LPGA level player, I would think that could be a real possibility.

[Dan Herrmann]

Bill,
Just a thought about that bunker....  Brad Klein has a great essay involving Hell Bunker in his book.  It's definitely worth a read if you haven't seen it.

[CJ Carder]

Bill - I couldn't get the link to work, but I did include below a pic I took of Hell Bunker last August.  I was fortunate not to hit it in Hell Bunker, but do remember walking through the grass after I had to hit left of it into #5 fairway the 2nd day when the hole played into the wind.  I remember stumbling through there wondering how anyone ever hit it into that bunker given that it looked like you had to virtually fly it in there.

[Bill Gayne]

CJ,

Thanks for the heads up that the link wasn't working. I was able to find another picture as to how it looked at the Curtis Cup. It looks pretty hairy in the picture you posted but it looks like they really let it go for the Curtis Cup.

[Bill_McBride]

A couple of years ago there was a photo of Hell Bunker absolutely shaved, and there was some negative commentary about that and how benign it looked compared to early daY shagginess.

Let's have a vote..... How do you like Hell Bunker, shaved or shaggy?

(Wish I had my hands on a shaved photo - anybody who does, please post it).

For the record, I like a mohawk - somewhere in between.

[Bill Gayne]

Bill,

For comparison an almost clean shaved hell bunker.



I prefer a shaved hell bunker. The shaggy could be really penal.

[Adam Clayman]

The in between is simply a shaved front for gathering purposes and a hairy top to obscure and intimidate.

[Doug_Feeney]

Late April of 2007

[CJ Carder]

Definitely prefer the shaved look and play much better than the shaggy.  From my limited understanding, about the only way one can end up in that particular spot (poorly struck shots notwithstanding) is simply by strategic error and not playing far enough left when the hole is playing into the wind.  I was lucky enough to play the course in two entirely different winds.  The day prior, I had absolutely no trouble just blowing my 2nd shot clear over Hell Bunker thanks to a downwind running tee shot.  The 2nd day, my tee shot didn't go anywhere near as far, and just about any shot in the direction of Hell Bunker would have been gobbled up.  As it was, my caddy made me play about 50 yards left of it.  With those conditions, seems like the hairy grass would prevent the ball from going into the bunker.  And perhaps I'm speaking completely on my own, but I'd rather have a questionable lie out of some rough grass than be faced with the prospects of hitting something high over that bunker wall.

Bill, for comparison purposes, I played the course about 2.5 weeks after the Women's Open last summer.  I'd be interested to see pictures of how it was setup then.  My guess is that if it was hairy for the Curtis Cup, then it was likely hairy for the Women's Open and consequently my picture was taken after it had been trimmed back a bit.

[Mickey Boland]

My Hell Bunker adventure, well chronicled by my friends.


Entering Hell (Bunker)


Trying to get a line


First shot


Now what do I do?


Guess I have to go this way now.


Successful second shot.  Harder than the first.


Seconds before the one finger salute to my friend.

[Jason Connor]

From one Aggie to another, Mickey, are you sure you weren't just jumping to test the sand?

And I see no maroon on you.  That's a violation.

[Bill_McBride]

Late April of 2007

That's the one I'm thinking of.

I love the photo above of the Curtis Cup player down in the depths of Hell.  That must be how Nicklaus made 10.

[Bill_McBride]

From my limited understanding, about the only way one can end up in that particular spot (poorly struck shots notwithstanding) is simply by strategic error and not playing far enough left when the hole is playing into the wind.  I was lucky enough to play the course in two entirely different winds.  The day prior, I had absolutely no trouble just blowing my 2nd shot clear over Hell Bunker thanks to a downwind running tee shot.  The 2nd day, my tee shot didn't go anywhere near as far, and just about any shot in the direction of Hell Bunker would have been gobbled up.  As it was, my caddy made me play about 50 yards left of it.  With those conditions, seems like the hairy grass would prevent the ball from going into the bunker.  And perhaps I'm speaking completely on my own, but I'd rather have a questionable lie out of some rough grass than be faced with the prospects of hitting something high over that bunker wall.

I was surprised in June when I hit a pretty solid tee shot out in the Elysian Fields and my caddie had me play well left of Hell.  From there it was a fairly simple bump and run up the bank to 15' and a near birdie.

Apparently there is no room at all right of Hell, and I didn't have enough stick to carry it.  Left is right in that case.

Jeez I love playing that course!

[Mickey Boland]

From one Aggie to another, Mickey, are you sure you weren't just jumping to test the sand?

And I see no maroon on you.  That's a violation.

Headcovers

[Doug Ralston]

CJ,

Thanks for the heads up that the link wasn't working. I was able to find another picture as to how it looked at the Curtis Cup. It looks pretty hairy in the picture you posted but it looks like they really let it go for the Curtis Cup.

Am I the only one humble enough to just chop it to the middle of the bunker from here? I have no clue how to get it up going straight ahead, and it doesn't look like enough room for a backswing to get it out going backwards.

Doug

[Mark Studer]

Mickey- It looks like you drove it a little too close to the short par 4  5th green at Royal Dornoch.  Thanks for sharing the photo...Dornoch is just so much fun to play.  John VanderBorght posted a couple of my Hell Bunker photos from 1997 and 2003 showing how it has changed. I'll see if he can relocate them.

[Bill_McBride]

Definitely the 5th at Dornoch, you can see the path climbing up to the 7th tee behind the 6th green in the distance.  Great golf holes all.

#5 there is fun, it's so similar to the 3rd and 4th with the gorse left and a premium on driving down that side, but it's merciful after the previous bullies given its length.

[DMoriarty]

[JSlonis]

Hell...August 2003.  Very dry summer.

[DMoriarty]

Hell...August 2003.  Very dry summer.

Dry?  That is red hot!

[JSlonis]

Hell...August 2003.  Very dry summer.

Dry?  That is red hot!

Ahh...fixed above.  Not quite that "red hot" in hell....

[Bill_McBride]

My Hell Bunker adventure, well chronicled by my friends.


Entering Hell (Bunker)


Trying to get a line


First shot


Now what do I do?


Guess I have to go this way now.


Successful second shot.  Harder than the first.


Seconds before the one finger salute to my friend.

Mickey, I am very glad that no photographing SOB buddy was shooting my disasters in both the Short Hole bunker (#8) and Struie Bunker (#11).  Those bunkers are to be avoided, I got up against the wall of each and made triple on both par 3s.   

[Melvyn Morrow]

I think the interesting question that Bill asked is more than relevant.
Before I give my opinion I like to ask just what is a bunker in the eyes
of most on GCA.com?

Is it a hazard and therefore to be treated with caution,
Or is an inconvenience that only comes into play on a wayward shot
Or is a trap for the overconfident golfer
Or something else

I believe they fill all the above and more.

I love the sand trap and the deeper they are the more respect golfers will give them, thus making them far more effective. This allows the architect to challenge the golfer, IMHO the humble bunker more than any other hazard (including a small stream - which I would not describe as a hazard but certainly an inconvenience) cannot only make or break the hole, the game but also the golfers day. So I am not a keen advocator of water as a hazard but then I am first and foremost a links man. Shallow bunkers are no deterrent to a reasonable golfer, depending to the consistency of the sand they become a non event.

As for Bill question bald or hairy, I would encourage all courses to go bald. Leaving tall or long grass just catches the ball and may well stop the trap working, by either stopping the ball in its tracks or stop the forward motion of the rolling ball before it drops over the edge. Either result spares the golfer the pleasure of getting out of a DEEP bunker.

I just cannot see the reasoning behind long grass on the edge of a bunker. Either bunkers are a hazard in their own right or they are not, dressing them up with a beard is IMHO not sporting, and this practice should cease at once.

So what is your opinion, clean shaven or a beard – deep or shallow?   

Don’t forget that some of the old photos show the reverse play and I will mention no names but standing on a wall of a bunker is, well just not on – makes you understand why a certain golfer was in the bunker in the first place.      

 

[Kalen Braley]

Melyvnn,

If a long beard is good enough for Old Tom, then its good enough for my bunkers!! 

I think the facial hair on bunkers is really contextual.  In a place with lots of long fescues and other naturally occuring long grasses, I think it looks good and fits right in place.  Certainly in a parkland stlye course, or desert golf it can look out of place.  So whichever looks best is the way to go whether it be, two day stubble (light rough), 2 weeks of no shaving (long rough), or 6 months, (high grass).

In terms of playability it doesn't bother me much because it just adds to the hazard and gives it more teeth.  Which is a good thing especially for american style bunkering which tends to not be much of a hazard especially compared to the pot bunkers found over the pond.

[Mickey Boland]

Mickey- It looks like you drove it a little too close to the short par 4  5th green at Royal Dornoch.  Thanks for sharing the photo...Dornoch is just so much fun to play.  John VanderBorght posted a couple of my Hell Bunker photos from 1997 and 2003 showing how it has changed. I'll see if he can relocate them.

As my distance mysteriously begins to evaporate, there is no such thing as driving it too close to a par 4.  What I did get a little too close was my second shot to the right side of the pin.  Ball drifted, and drifted, and drifted until it rolled all the way off the edge.