Does anyone else find fronting bunkers less engaging than angled ones?

[mike_malone]

 I have been thinking of how bunkers that cause a forced carry to a green are less appealing to me than those angled into the green with an opening available. When I see those fronting bunkers I just say"carry them" and if I end up close to the hole than that is a plus. When I see an opening and an angled bunker I think "ok, I have a choice here. I can carry the bunker if needed or go through the opening, which if well designed often feeds the ball to the center of the green".
 So the fronting bunkers don't engage my strategic mind. FLANKING BUNKERS I DON'T GET AT ALL!

[Adam Clayman]

Mike, It isn't just for green side bunkers. At Lawsonia, L&M used angled bunkers, off the tee shot, to great affect, too. The player can decide, depending on other variables, which side to carry, and receive a proportional result. FREEDOM

I suppose it's one of the modern realities, that people don't want to have to think beyond "carry them".

What's worse is when the archie gives you the challenge but fails to provide the reward. i.e. Ball carries inside dogleg bunker only to find long rough or native grass.

[Sean_A]

Mayday

We need all types of bunker placement.  Although, being the sort of guy who doesn't believe courses need more than 50ish bunkers, there shouldn't be too much call for many fronting bunkers.  As for flanking  bunkers, the course which I always think of in this regard is Yeamans Hall.  Such a high percentage of the greenside bunkers are flanking that I have to believe that it is far from ideal.

Ciao

[Mike McGuire]

Front bunkers on short par 3 holes as a good percentage of players are going in via the air anyway. Front bunker defends a front pin.

Front bunkers on par fives once in a while as it dictates the strategy of the second shot.
example - If you have a back pin you might lay up to avoid a long bunker shot for your 3rd.

[mike_malone]

 Mike,
   I think golf is played in the head before the shot not on the playing field. So, my complaint about fronting bunkers is that they reduce thinking. Why do you need to protect the front pin? Why not design a hole which makes the player think which , of course, makes him uncomfortable. The vast majority of golfers cannot execute the strategy they employ but they have the most fun thinking of what to do.

[Jason Topp]

I generally agree with this caveat - fronting bunkers intimidate and therefore can provide an interesting changeup from other bunker arrangements.

 Also - it is fun to hit the ball over something.

More ideal is a front slope such as the one Jeff Shelman pictured at Midland Hills.  Such a slope is much more punishing hazard:

[jvisser]

Hi,

In general I think that too many forced carries indeed take away the thinking process and are a pain
for the less acomplished player. But there is nothing with a fronting bunker offering a possibility to hit
it close to the hole for the better player, while others have to hit the ball towards the middle of the green
and continue from there. There are also fronting bunker that people can play around if approaching
the green from the proper side of the fairway or are less of an issue than they appear to be.

The latter ones I especially appreciate. A bunker with a significant face placed some 15-30 yards or so short
of a green will obscure part of the green. From many places on the fairway, the hole appears to be
right behind the bunker, but there is plenty of room to land the ball and run it up to the green for the
player who can't hit the green and stop the ball near the hole. An example used to be the 13th at the Pan
in the Netherlands, unfortunately the face has been lowered so the effect is less.

Also I like to different angles of attack on par 3's where from the tees closest to the hole a run-up shot is
possible, but from the tips one has to carry a bunker and in case the face is a bit higher also here the
bottom of the flag may not be visible, making it harder for the expert player. A nice example here is the
8th at the Eindhovensche.

Cheers

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mayday,

I don't recall a situation, in the scenario you describe, where I wouldn't take the aerial rout.

Why would anyone select a shot through a narrower opening, one that requires more precision and is subject to random bounces ?

I suspect that your describing the  "options"  is more theory than reality.
In reality, there is no practical option unless you can't reach the green aerially.

An aerial shot, with the right club, takes the flanking bunkers out of play, whereas your strategy of running between them, brings them into play.

[mike_malone]

 Pat,

   I can't explain why an opening increases one's confidence but it does for the average player. It might just be a visual thing that reduces the stress. There is another feature to the angled bunker versus the fronting one. The carry required increases along the angle. Again in this instance you might aim over the shorter (to carry) part of the bunker but because you are an average golfer you hit it 5 yards off line and end up in the bunker. The fronting bunker usually has a consistent length needed to carry. So the angled bunker also provides thought about which part of the bunker to carry.  For  good angled bunkers it can be a 1/2 club difference in the carry from the shortest to the longest part of the bunker. This just makes that one bunker multidimensional.

 Ending up in the bunker probably happens more for angled bunkers than fronting ones becuse you believe you have planned a shot to get over the bunkers but the slighest off target you are you fall into the bunker. For the fronting bunker you only end up there when you don't hit it far enough.

 Being forced away from a front pin just to make sure you carry the hazard is of less interest to me than believing you can get short of the hole by another route.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mayday,

I've found that if I play to the mid-point and beyond, on the great majority of greens, that I take all bunkers completely out of play.

[mike_malone]

 Pat,

  Good players seem to have less fun than lousy golfers like me. I try all kinds of shots because I find them fun. If I knew I could control my shot like you I would probably do the same.