Many thanks to Chris Hunt for the great photo tour of Muirfield. I hope to get there someday.
The biggest thing I've noticed from the photos is that all the bunkers at Muirfield are surrounded by grass which is cut to fairway height... making it easy for balls to get "gobbled up" if they roll nearby.
My question is this: Why don't more golf courses in the USA mow the grass short (fairway height) around the bunkers? Is it due to the maintainence costs from having more fairway acreage or is it because the golfers prefer hitting from the rough instead of the bunker?
I suppose one reason for having golfers hit from the rough instead of bunkers could be due to pace of play concerns.
There was a thread a month ago regarding bunkers at Bethpage being out of play because the 6" rough prevented any balls from rolling in. While most courses in the USA don't have 6" rough, the courses I play usually have thick grass surrounding the bunkers which prevents balls from rolling in... especially around the greens.
Is the American golfing public opposed to this type of bunker design or is there some other reason?
Gary