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Matt_Cohn

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Deepest sets of bunkers?
« on: June 14, 2015, 06:07:28 PM »
Lake Merced Golf Club has some of the deepest bunkers I can think of, maybe the deepest as a group overall. During my most recent round there I believe I had 5 greenside bunker shots; I could not see where my ball was landing on any of them, and in fact on 4 of the 5 I could see half of the flagstick or less.

I suppose this is more of a "list" thread than a philosophical question, but what are some of the deepest groups of bunkers out there?

JMEvensky

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2015, 06:09:56 PM »
Old Memorial has to be in the discussion.

BHoover

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2015, 06:13:24 PM »
The deepest I've seen are at OSU Scarlet after Mr. Nicklaus' renovation work in 2005.

Greg Gilson

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2015, 06:15:44 PM »
RTJ Jr's "Old" Course at The National (Australia)?

Sean_A

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2015, 06:19:54 PM »
I have only played one, but those Raynor courses with flat bunkers at the bottom of banks are pretty deep....some look like you can't see the putting surface or flag.  Woodhall Spa has some deep bunkers and so does Little Aston...a course often forgotten when great bunkering is mentioned. 

Ciao   
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Patrick_Mucci

Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2015, 06:23:22 PM »
"Steamshovel Banks" created very deep bunkers at Forsgate, the Knoll, Hackensack, Montclair and other courses.

"Systemically", his bunkers were deep and to be avoided at all costs.

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +3/-1
Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2015, 06:24:27 PM »
The UK guys have all gone to bed.  Nothing named so far would approach the depth of the bunkers at Woodhall Spa or Ganton.

There are a few Raynor courses on hilly terrain with some very deep bunkers -- Camargo has a bunch of them, as does Fishers Island.  And Forsgate, which is Charles Banks'.  Myopia Hunt Club has some scary deep ones, too ... tiny deep trenches.

Pete_Pittock

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #7 on: June 14, 2015, 06:32:17 PM »
lawsonia should win this contest

Keith OHalloran

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #8 on: June 14, 2015, 06:48:18 PM »
I remember being in some very deep bunkers at Tamarack, another Banks course.

Dean Paolucci

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #9 on: June 14, 2015, 06:55:10 PM »
I'm with Pat!  Charles "Steamshovel" Banks who was a disciple of CB Macdonald and colleague of Seth Raynor would use unusually deep bunkers as a signature feature.  You would land greenside and not be able to see the flag stick from any point within the bunker.  Blind sand shots of 15' to 20' to the green surface were common.  Having grown up at the Knoll and playing my scholastic golf at Montclair, I can attest to the full swings required to get the ball extricated and on or close the putting surface.  I say close because as Banks would create these elevated greens, he would also leave ample space from the perimeter of the green to the bunkers edge to allow for the fairness doctrine.  Many a fine player would trek out of a bunker to find the ball on the collar short of the putting surface.  At the Knoll, bunkers on 3, 4, 9, 12, 13, and 18 were blind (no pin visible).  2 and 6 are very deep but you can target the top of a flag.  Likewise the 4th nine at Montclair, 1, 3, & 4 are blind and 6 & 7 are partially obstructed.  Forsgate and Hackensack (Mr. Brightly please weigh in) have similar arrays of blind and obstructed bunker shots.  I would also add Knollwood to the discussion as another example of his signature style.  I don't think any designer integrated this feature into his work like Banks.
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."  --  Mark Twain

Mike_Clayton

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #10 on: June 14, 2015, 07:08:58 PM »
The Montgomerie course at Carlton House has only a handful of greenside bunkers from which you can see the bottom of the flag.


Greg

The Old Course at The National probably has the deepest in Australia - all built by Bruce Grant.

Robert Mercer Deruntz

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #11 on: June 14, 2015, 07:25:52 PM »
Tamarack probably wins for deepest of the Banks bunkers, with a a pretty close second with Forsgate and Essex County.




The bunker on the right is easily 25 feet deep!

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #12 on: June 14, 2015, 08:06:47 PM »
Yup.  17 at Tammy!  Also let's not leave Langford out of the discussion with 15 at Harrison Hills...
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

J_ Crisham

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #13 on: June 14, 2015, 08:30:34 PM »
17 th at Kebo Valley in Maine. The Taft bunker is at least 25 feet deep. Currently Olympia Fields fairway bunkers are collectively  as deep as any in the US. Trying to keep the young at bay is difficult with the US Am this August- length just doesn't do it anymore.

Bart Bradley

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #14 on: June 14, 2015, 08:49:53 PM »
Woodall Spa blows any US course out of the water.

Matt Day

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #15 on: June 14, 2015, 08:52:55 PM »
The Montgomerie course at Carlton House has only a handful of greenside bunkers from which you can see the bottom of the flag.


Greg

The Old Course at The National probably has the deepest in Australia - all built by Bruce Grant.
Joondalup would be a rival for that title?

Jason Way

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #16 on: June 14, 2015, 08:57:04 PM »
lawsonia should win this contest

+1  There isn't a feature on the entire course that isn't large in scale, including the vast majority of the bunkers.
"Golf is a science, the study of a lifetime, in which you can exhaust yourself but never your subject." - David Forgan

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #17 on: June 14, 2015, 09:08:16 PM »
I have only played one, but those Raynor courses with flat bunkers at the bottom of banks are pretty deep....some look like you can't see the putting surface or flag.  Woodhall Spa has some deep bunkers and so does Little Aston...a course often forgotten when great bunkering is mentioned. 

Ciao   

but...if we are talking "set" of bunkers, I pick Woodhall Spa.  There may be a deeper set around, but WS has to be in for a shout.  Plus, they look miles better than bunkers by Banks  ;)

Ciao
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Mike_Clayton

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #18 on: June 14, 2015, 09:40:26 PM »
Matt,

I have not played Joondalup since 1989 but given they were both designed by RTJII and around the same time it would be surprising if they were much different. That one on the par 5,4th is brutal - it might be the deepest bunker I have ever seen.

Robert Mercer Deruntz

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #19 on: June 14, 2015, 09:50:09 PM »
Woodall Spa probably has the most difficult bunkers in the British Iles, and overall, maybe the deepest.  However, the Banks courses have significantly deeper bunkers throughout. I am pretty certain that the shallower bunker at Tamarack is 5 feet deep.  Most importantly, there are at least 20 bunkers that are 15 feet deep, and another 10-15 that are 18-25+ feet deep!

Jon Wiggett

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #20 on: June 15, 2015, 03:10:12 AM »
Woodall Spa probably has the most difficult bunkers in the British Iles, and overall, maybe the deepest.  However, the Banks courses have significantly deeper bunkers throughout. I am pretty certain that the shallower bunker at Tamarack is 5 feet deep.  Most importantly, there are at least 20 bunkers that are 15 feet deep, and another 10-15 that are 18-25+ feet deep!

Are they 15 feet deep or fronted by 15 foot banks? Recon Ganton must be one of the few with consistently deep bunkers I've seen.

Jon

Thomas Dai

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #21 on: June 15, 2015, 03:53:12 AM »
Sun City, SA.

atb

Matt Day

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #22 on: June 15, 2015, 03:54:56 AM »
Matt,

I have not played Joondalup since 1989 but given they were both designed by RTJII and around the same time it would be surprising if they were much different. That one on the par 5,4th is brutal - it might be the deepest bunker I have ever seen.
Mike
Not many bunkers that are 100 metres long, need a ladder to get into and have a green perched on top of a limestone ridge  :D

Photo from google images

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/1074216.jpg
« Last Edit: June 15, 2015, 04:00:14 AM by Matt Day »

Tim Martin

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #23 on: June 15, 2015, 07:41:52 AM »
Yale has some deep bunkers most notably on 2 and 8.

BCrosby

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Re: Deepest sets of bunkers?
« Reply #24 on: June 15, 2015, 07:53:42 AM »
Deepest bunker I've ever had the misfortune of trying to play out of is the bunker fronting the 17th green at The Honors Course.

Yowsa.

Bob