If bunkers were less pristine and predictable...

[Joe Hancock]

In your mind, what average PGA Tour sand save stat would satisfy you that bunkers are presenting enough challenge? 20%? 30%? 40?

David,


That's one of those questions that affects how people think about design. If my answer is 25%, and the pro's encounter a bunker that the save % is only 10, someone is going to say that bunker is unfair, or too difficult, which leads to that bunker being changed for the sake of satisfying a statistic. Which is likely to lead to bland design.


So, I would say it should be somewhere between 5% and 75%.....


My point isn't about raising or lowering a statistic. It's as much about variability, and unique presentations based on a courses locale, and using local materials, etc, rather than the pursuit of uniformity and watching the pros play the same shot week after week, no matter how far they've traveled. And, subsequently, how design might be affected by that variability week to week....

[jeffwarne]

If the weekend televised presentation is what sets the standard for the rest of us, how much would change(for better, or worse?) if bunkers were actually presented as hazards? Would future designs have less bunkers, figuring the ones actually built would be a bad place to be?

Joe


If fewer bunkers were the outcome I would be all in favour less prepared sand and deeper pits.  Of course, I would also be in favour of all hazards being treated the same and one could take a 1 shot penalty drop from bunkers to escape the misery...just as we do with water. I would like to see pros play from crap sand, but I also recognize that sand is a hazard now and that we do want to see guys get up and down not just thrashing from sand like we see for US Open rough.


Ciao

+1
1/2 as maintained and 1/2 as many