I'm with Tuck 'n Huck on this.

I think it could be done and could possibly a great course. Just because it hasn't been done doesn't mean it can't. I do think someone made the point earlier that it would have to be very well done to really be commercailly viable. That is mort certainly true.

Possibly incorporate this into a desert design, desert waste would not necessarily qualify as a bunker would it?

Paul - GREAT call re a course near desert waste... no that's not bunker per se, as it's not prepared area... you could incorporate the waste areas in as playable, from the sides, go over them etc....

That's one way this could work out very well.

I'm thinking about parkland instances, though - think about what they'd have to do around and on the greens if they weren't allowed any bunkers or waste areas or anything of the sort... to make it interesting they'd have to come up with some really funky stuff, which if done right would be VERY fun to play....

Ok, I'm getting too excited about this.  Down boy.

 

I think it can be done.  there certainly are many interesting ways to incorporate natural features in place of bunkers, in addition to slopes, ridges, valleys clothed in fairway, and well contoured greens.  you do not design for what you think the golfers want.  If you do that then you might as well do something else.  Easy to say I know and hard to hold the line there but I think it is a vital point in design.   You give them what you believe in and hope they come around to appreciate it.  I think Tucker is headed in that direction.  Do something you believe in put it out there and then expect the people to come to appreciate it.

Hell Tucker we need this in San Jose, CA, where the all rage is overdone, over-expensive, eye-candy golf.

And darn well said, Kelly.  Hook 'em horns, btw.  Gotta say I appreciated and admired your avoidance of taunting and gloating over us defeated Trojans - and we surely deserved such.  You Texas people are all class.  I mean that very, very sincerely.  

Brian - you're probably right that incorporating desert areas would defeat the overall purpose, but it sure is one compromise way this could be done, and it too would be interesting.  And don't think I for one didn't catch the drift of your last line, also.

Huck - Next time you come to town, we'll have a round at Pioneers Golf Course in Lincoln. It was designed in 1914 (I think) by William Tucker and Jeff Brauer came in and helped them redo the green complexes about 10 years ago.

No bunkers. Very fun course, I'd rank it just behind Jeff's Highlands as far as Lincoln public courses go. It's got some neat terrain and a mulititude of fun quandries around the greens. Kick boards, greens right next to big falloffs, running shots, etc.

I think it funny that Jordan is screaming about HAVING to have bunkers. Aren't the pros always wanting there ball to go in these so-called hazards.

Boy I can see some crazy green sites with awesome swales.... Bouncing the ball into places off of some wild land form....  Could be tons O' fun.

Painswick has no bunkers?

COOL!

The legend grows.

BTW Sean, don't beat yourself up too bad - to make myself feel better that I missed a great event there and likely never will see this GCA favorite, I asked my cousin (lives in N. Ireland, gets to that area where Painswick is sort of often as he has some friends who live fairly near) about it and he damn near choked laughing.  Let's just say that his take was similar to what you say here, and he called it a little mickey-mouse joke course.  So although it is revered in here, well... chalk that up to the weird preferences of this place more than it actually being a great golf course.

Understand though I remain pained (pun intended) that I'll never see it personally.  God it sounds like fun to me.

TH

Rich:  I could have sworn Painswick had a single bunker on the last hole, or somewhere.  And I would still vote for Royal Ashdown Forest as the best bunkerless course.

It is surely possible to build an excellent course without bunkers.  However, the idea of a bunkerless course exists for the novelty factor.  Show me a bunkerless course that wouldn't be BETTER if you added a couple of bunkers to it, and then you've got something!

Tom,

Yes the idea of a bunkerless course exists because it would be a novelty, but it should also be attractive because of the possibility for it to save money!!

In addition to RAF, Painswick and Kington I should add Berkhamsted which is a cracker of a course and Piltdown (which I've never played).  One of my favourite bunkerless courses used to be Portpatrick on the Mull of Galloway.  I used to play there as a child on holiday with my father and I went back a few years ago,  Blow me!  They'd built two or three bunkers.  I felt mildly cheated!  It's not a great course but there are plenty of fun holes.  I have a feeling that Rhos-on-Sea in north Wales may be bunkerless these days.  It lies a few feet below sea level and they could never keep the bunkers dry.