Ground control to Major Tom...

[Mike McGuire]

What about putting sand back in grassed over fairway bunkers?

Our course has plenty but they are mostly not in play for single digit players.

The look (with sand) would be give some contrast but the seniors and ladies will whine.

[Ben Sims]

Tom,

I think you might've missed what I was saying.  I was making a HUGE hypothetical argument that IF those two courses were built today exactly as they sit, that Brack would cost much less.  I based that conclusion on a few factors; namely the number of bunkers, size of irrigated area, and earthmoving in general. 

As it is though, Bandit is about 10 years old and Brack is about 80 years old (albeit with a brand new renovation). Sorry if what I wrote came out as confusing, but I was just trying to illustrate to the reader that good courses and compelling bunkering are aren't necessarily cost or size driven.

Apples to oranges is indeed the correct statement my friend.  I'll try and keep that in mind when comparing the bunker positioning and esthetics where comparing courses.  I'll be doing the same in three weeks when I play Ballyneal and Common Ground on consecutive days.

[Tom_Doak]

Ben:

I understood your post just fine.  The point I was trying to make was that it wasn't a straight comparison.  If you draw a site like Brackenridge with great trees, you don't need so many bunkers or so much irrigation ... but you don't often have sites like that for modern courses.  Most are like the other course you mentioned, wide open with unplayable vegetation at the sides, so you have to build them wider and put in more bunkers to give people SOMETHING to look at besides wide open-ness.

And even then, building bunkers (which was the original topic here) never costs $1 million.  I wonder what IS the biggest number anyone's spent on bunkers?

[Ben Sims]

Ah, I guess I snafu'd that one up pretty good then...

Back to the thread!  At which of your courses did you build the least bunkers (or I should say, least square footage in bunkering) and how did you determine their placement?  Was it merely by landform and shot value like you mentioned at Pacific, or was it more closely tied to turn points and yardages?