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Dean Stokes

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Oakmont Bunkering/Set up?
« on: June 13, 2016, 09:49:28 PM »
Gents, this has always been a gripe of mine....looking at Nobilo's piece on Golf Channel as the drone flew down the first fairway I noticed AGAIN that the set up has the bunkers in the rough - ie. rough between the fairway and the line that balls would run in to the hazards.
I understand the USGA wants narrow fairways but wouldn't the course set up be better, with the sloping fairways, if balls running off the short grass ran into the traps? 
The purpose as I understand bunkers is to be gathering areas for shots not shaped correctly. Get them in the short grass!!!!!
Living The Dream in The Palm Beaches....golfing, yoga-ing, horsing around and working damn it!!!!!!!

Ken Moum

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Oakmont Bunkering/Set up?
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2016, 06:47:46 AM »
At the very least we need to stop calling them "fairway" bunkers.


I feel the same way about the tendency to swaddle greenside bunkers in rough.  And I was complaining it about even before I made my first trip to Scotland.


Going there only confirmed my distaste for it.


It appears that there isn't going to be a change, however.


K
Over time, the guy in the ideal position derives an advantage, and delivering him further  advantage is not worth making the rest of the players suffer at the expense of fun, variety, and ultimately cost -- Jeff Warne, 12-08-2010

Phil McDade

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Oakmont Bunkering/Set up?
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2016, 07:39:31 AM »
Dean:


I don't know when the drone flyovers were shot, but Mike Davis made a point during his media presentation about this year's championship that one of the few significant changes to Oakmont since it last hosted will be to shorten the rough between fairways and bunkers to prevent wayward drives from holding up in the rough prior to reaching bunkers.


See his remarks here starting at about the 1 minute mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFeiS2D8I38




Matthew Essig

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Oakmont Bunkering/Set up?
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2016, 03:15:23 AM »
You can see in a lot of places where the "rough" between fairway and bunker is mown as first cut.
"Good GCA should offer an interesting golfing challenge to the golfer not a difficult golfing challenge." Jon Wiggett

Ryan Farrow

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Oakmont Bunkering/Set up?
« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2016, 07:59:44 PM »
Dean, they spent the past 2 seasons mowing down the rough in front of bunkers in order to gather more shots. In essence you are complaining about them doing exactly what you want.


No, it is not fairway cut, but that step cut is 100 times better than heavy rough. Hard lines are a difficult thing to manage correctly, compounded with the heavy rough that this club likes, I think its a decent compromise.


This is not Bandon Dunes and is never going to be Bandon Dunes. I'm a big proponent of 1 or 2 heights of cut but I also realize that not every club should be the same. Just look at some photos of the bunkers at Oakmont and try to imagine fairway rolling directly into bunkers while still maintaining a step cut in order to buffer shots from rolling directly to the edges of thick rough.  Its a difficult proposition. As low as they cut  fairways at Oakmont it would be impossible for them to maintain the edges that you want. I don't think there is a piece of equipment that could get the job done with Oakmonts 210, rolled over, grass faced bunkers.