Intentionally using different sand

[Matthew Schulte]

Just returned from playing Pinehurst.  It gets better every time.  

I can't think of any other course that intentionally uses multiple types of sand in their bunkers.  I thought I remembered this being a complaint expressed by some the players during the 1999 US Open.  I agree with the notion that a bunker should be a hazard.  I just can't think of another world class course with such unpredictable bunkers.  Some are sugar white sand, and others are a more gray brown.  The sand depth is also quite unpredictable.  As if recovering to those greens isn't challenging enough!

What is the reasoning for this?

Do they plan on leaving them as they are for the next US Open?  

[SteveTL]

Shark's Tooth in the Florida Panhandle has differerent colored/textured sand in several places...  Probably not worthy of comparison with Pinehurst 2, but a very fine new Norman course.  The darker sand at Shark's Tooth is a transition to the pine flatwoods forest in many places.

[TEPaul]

M Schulte:

That's very interesting and I'd bet (quite a lot) that that is not intentionally done to create unpredictability. They're probably just experimenting with different types of sand to determine which one they want to use. I've seen that on a number of course apparently including Merion not long ago but they were just experimenting.

I wish unpredictability of sand was the intention but I've never seen that done on purpose in America. Consistency of sand surfaces in America is apparently one of the most insidious little incursions into a fundamental strategic feature of golf (the unpredictable sand bunker). Consistency of playability from bunkers basically reigns and shaking that desire in America seems nigh on impossible now.

I wish it wasn't so and I certainly admired the bunkers of Royal County Down--while the sand may have been the same the random unpredictablitiy of their bunkers (architecturally and not necessarily to do with sand surface) was one of the best features. Some weren't bad and others were frightening leading one to learn which ones to really avoid and which ones didn't make that much difference. That was a great example of the true "experience" factor in golf and the way it should be on a golf course, in my opinion.