The Pete Dye Pimple Bunker (smaller than really is...)

[Chip Gaskins]

Since we were talking about the old "Pimple" in the 18th at Pine Valley got me thinking of the bunkering at the Ocean Course.

I am torn on these.  They are certainly effective but they look very artificial on such a natural setting.  They also mean a sure one shot penalty.  

With the rough that surrounds them and the pushed up ground all around them they actually play smaller than they really are, opposite of say many of the pot fairway bunkers on the Old Course.

Fairway bunkers on #4 added in 2002:





Off to the right of the fairway on #9



Restricting run up access to the par 5 #11



Same bunker on #11 up close



New bunkers on inside of #18 changed in 2003

[Matt Kardash]

I like these bunkers. Then again, I am not one who beleives a bunker needs to look perfectly natural and fit seemlessly into it,s surroundings. In fact, I kinda like it when a couse looks kinda low profile and natural and the bunkers look obviously engineered. They may not look natural, but they look good to my eye. They are small, fearsome bunkers you do not want to mess with.

[Chris_Clouser]

Mark me down as one who doesn't like them.  I know Dye's style looks much more manufactured than some might like but these move it into the heavy handed category in my mind.  The ones at the new Dye course in French Lick that I saw were awful looking.  The ones that have been added at Crooked Stick over the years work a little better, but still stick out like a sore thumb.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

I'll agree with Chris here.  The one on 15 looks especially bad to me.

[Ronald Montesano]

I had enough of whiteheads as an adolescent...I don't need any more pus-filled boils on my face nor my golf courses!!!

What would we call this, the Devil's Pimple?  NOT nearly as threatening as the A-Hole.

[Tim Liddy]

It would be great if anyone had photos of the golf course in its first few years.  Much like the photos of Pine Valley illustrate, it has changed over the years. 

[Jaeger Kovich]

They may not look natural, but they definitely play like Hazard (capital H!). I asked one of the caddies if how many times he had seen people in the bunker on #11, he said only 2x, but neither hit the green from there. The problem with these is you really have to land the ball in them, they wont collect most running shots or funnel balls into them.

I think they are kind of interesting, not natural in appearance, but at least it isn't pretending to be something it isn't.

[Anthony_Nysse]

This was one of my biggest complaints with TOC, and it's well documented in the photos. The first picture shows the bunker in #4 fairway being a "blowout" type bunker. The bunkers on #9 are typicial Dye bunkers, with grassed faces and flat sand floors. I thought that there were alot of inconsistancies regarding this.

[Kirk Gill]

Is the intent of the mound itself to make the bunker play smaller?

If so, that's an interesting notion - effectively making the hazard both effectively smaller AND more severe a penalty. On that front, I like it strategically, but the mounding with the white "head" is VERY pimple-like, and to my eye not aesthetically pleasing.

Is there another way to get the "smallness" without the pimple look?

[Sean_A]

Since we were talking about the old "Pimple" in the 18th at Pine Valley got me thinking of the bunkering at the Ocean Course.

I am torn on these.  They are certainly effective but they look very artificial on such a natural setting.  They also mean a sure one shot penalty.  

With the rough that surrounds them and the pushed up ground all around them they actually play smaller than they really are, opposite of say many of the pot fairway bunkers on the Old Course.

Fairway bunkers on #4 added in 2002:





Off to the right of the fairway on #9



Restricting run up access to the par 5 #11



Same bunker on #11 up close



New bunkers on inside of #18 changed in 2003

Chip

I wonder if at least some of these odd bunkers aren't directional and meant to play small.  Here is the look of the 9th fairway from the tee and one can see the funky bunker creates a target which looks almost as if it doesn't exist.  Without that bunker it just looks as if the obvious play is way right, but that is far from the case.


A closer look.


And from the rough.


Here are others which seem to guide the player away from the poor line - sort of a gentle reminder.





Now, its a different story if that style of small bunker is the best in this position.

Ciao

[Chip Gaskins]

Sean-

Fair enough.  I think the one on 9 is a great aiming point off the tee and from the tees we played the one on 11 in front of the green wasn't close to being in play.  Now the one on 12 on the outside of the dogleg (like you say) might be a bit of overkill being there is no bailout right.  Luckily I hit a huge hook over that one and found it on the cart path....that is one crazy hard hole into the wind.

Its funny, I thought of you doing this post being we have discussed how we both love the aspects of bunkers that play larger than they are (Merion #14 & Chicago #12)





I certainly like the look of the bunkers that play bigger than they are than the pimple look, however they are both effective.
Chip

[Andy Troeger]

I like the "pimple" bunkers better than Dye's "volcano" bunkers. The one on #11 in the original post looks more like a mini-volcano bunker to me where the bunker sits at the top of a manufactured hill. At least the pimple bunkers have one side that sits low enough for a ball to find them. The volcano bunkers are pretty silly looking and not very functional from what I can tell. The ones to the right of the 2nd hole at French Lick are really strange.

[Sean_A]

Sean-

Fair enough.  I think the one on 9 is a great aiming point off the tee and from the tees we played the one on 11 in front of the green wasn't close to being in play.  Now the one on 12 on the outside of the dogleg (like you say) might be a bit of overkill being there is no bailout right.  Luckily I hit a huge hook over that one and found it on the cart path....that is one crazy hard hole into the wind.

Its funny, I thought of you doing this post being we have discussed how we both love the aspects of bunkers that play larger than they are (Merion #14 & Chicago #12)





I certainly like the look of the bunkers that play bigger than they are than the pimple look, however they are both effective.
Chip

Chip

Yes, the bunker on #11 wasn't reachable for me, but in general I think this is an excellent par 5 because of how the visuals work.  I also thought #9 a very good hole (and the bunker is definitely a guider) because of the visuals off the tee combined with a cool front to back green.  I only question the funky style, but they aren't too bad.  I think you are thinking of #13 where the tee shot is over water and yes, I didn't understand the left bunkers at all - its a terrible angle of approach over there and there is no need to protect it or guide golfers right as there is plenty of room which is clearly in view.  Though there is a heck of a lot to like at Kiawah!

Ciao   

[Dan_Callahan]

I hate those single raised bunkers. Dye has one at Wintonbury Hills on the right side of the 16th hole that is horrid. Actually, that hole has two features that I hate: the pimple bunker and a fairway that is built up above the treeline. Having said that, the hole also has a fantastic blind approach to a really funky green, so the positives and negatives balance out.