[Rick Shefchik]

I just heard one of the broadcasters covering the third hole webcast say that the USGA wants that front bunker to play as a hazard. He said the USGA hears players urging their ball to land in the bunker rather than in the tough greenside rough; players get up and down more often from the bunkers than the rough, "and the USGA doesn't want that. They don't want bunkers to be safe havens."

What the hell do they want? If they're going to grow greenside rough so thick that getting up and down is a total crapshoot, then what do you do -- or can you do -- to a bunker to make it equally penal? Remove the rakes? Fill it with oatmeal? Alligators?

I agree that bunkers should be hazards, but if the USGA wants all recovery shots from around the greens to be equally difficult, why not just remove the bunkers?

[JohnV]

No one said they want all recovery shots to be equal.  But they also don't want players to routinely be yelling "Get in the bunker" because they know it is so much easier. 

As anyone watching the telecast yesterday could tell, the bunkers are not as simple as the players get to play out of every week on the PGA Tour (with the exception of the Memorial).  They didn't do it with special rakes, they just fluffed the sand up from the bottom rather than wetting it down like the tour does.  Even when the ball doesn't plug, it is still a lot more difficult to get spin on it.

[Rick Shefchik]

Thanks, John -- that clarifies things a bit. But I doubt that fluffing the sand is really going to make these guys root for their ball to land in the greenside rough. I think you'll keep hearing "Get in the bunker" until the penalty for landing in the sand is equal or worse than nestling into the tall grass.

[John Kavanaugh]

I'm sure their shrinks tell them to yell get in the bunker so that when they are they hit the shot with more confidence.

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