Back Bunkers

[Mark_Fine]

Joe,
You are thinking of a different hole.  You come back across the road after playing #12.

[Joe Hancock]

Thank you, Mark. So, it's #12 that has a cool back bunker?

Joe

[Mark_Fine]

Joe,
I don't recall a bunker behind #12 but there is a road beyond that green  

[Patrick_Mucci]

The bunker behind the 5th green at Augusta National Golf Club works well in tandem with the green's internal contours.  

Aside from the prototypical in-lieu-of-road bunker and angled green, what are some other examples where rear bunkering is truly strategic?

Mike,

A terrific set are at Preakness Hills in NJ.

NGLA has a great set as well.

At PHCC there were seven holes with back bunkers, ranging from short to long holes.

Back bunkers make rear hole locations incredibly strategic.
They dramatically effect approach and recovery shots.

Firm & Fast conditions really bring them into play and exponentially impact strategy.

One of the other things I find appealing about them is the change they bring to course management and shot selection.

All too often, approach shots need to carry fronting features with little or no concern for going long, now, with hole locations at the rear of the green, they must go long, but, not too long.

If the green is configured cleverly, a short approach faces a difficult putt and an even dicier recovery.

One of the best greens with a rear bunker is # 6 at NGLA. With the volcano like contour in the putting surface, hole locations between the rise in the volcano and the rear bunker are extremely difficult to approach, despite the short nature of the hole.

Shots his long go in the rear bunker.
Shots hit short have to traverse the volcano like feature in the putting surface.

A review of George Bahto's book, "The Evangelist of Golf" will provide some good examples of rear bunkering, especially on holes # 6 and # 7.

My question is:

Why don't architects employ them more frequently ?

[James Bennett]

Huntingdon Valley's first hole (A nine) has a back bunker, hidden from view.  Can't recall any others at this stage.

Mark Fine - I was at Plainfield last Wednesday, when were you there?  Were you impressed with the recent progress?

Joe Hancock - I think Merion #12 has bunkering on the left and right, although if you approach it from the wrong angle (as I did) then it is bunkered front and back.  And, man, that front/right bunker is really deep.  The road is behind the back/left bunker of course.  

Merion seemed to use bunkers in a lot of places similar to the earlier post, ie hard up against a boundary fence.  A lot of greens (perhaps #7, #10 and #12) are within 10 yards of a boundary, with sand between the fence and boundary.  It seems to work to maximise the available ground.

James B



James B

[wsmorrison]

Joe,

There's a bunker on the left flank of 12.  The rear of the green is toward the right as the green is offset quite a bit.  Number 10 has a great back bunker near the road; very aesthetic as well  

[Mark_Fine]

James,
I doubt that back bunker on #1 at Huntingdon Valley is original.  There is another one at Huntingdon Valley behind a green that really looks    and was an after market addition.  I think pictures of it have been posted in the past.  

I love the work Gil has done at Plainfield.  I played there on the Friday before Easter.  If you saw the course before he started, you'd really appreciate how dramatic the changes are.  

Joe,
I got that photo you emailed.  That is #10.  

[Joe Hancock]

Mark,

Thanks. Apparently I'm messed up. I need a donut.

Joe

[Mike_Young]

Joe,

There's a bunker on the left flank of 12.  The rear of the green is toward the right as the green is offset quite a bit.  Number 10 has a great back bunker near the road; very aesthetic as well  

I'll bet he Joe is thinking #10.  Seems to me that back bnker is multi-purpose.

[wsmorrison]

Flynn back bunker floors were often above green level usually on raised mounds behind the greens.

Here are some Flynn back bunkers on courses I had at hand:

Huntingdon Valley
A-1 back bunker was not on the original Flynn plan but may have been added by Flynn later on
A-5
B-2 (great hole!)
B-4

Cascades
A back bunker on 9 was not Flynn and was taken out in the recent restoration.
5
14 in its final Flynn iteration; it is an RTJ green in a different location for the time being
15 not a Flynn bunker, it was removed in the recent restoration
16 and 17 not Flynn but rather RTJ

Cleveland Heights
6
17 island green surrounded by sand

Brinton Lake Club (Concord CC)
6
7
9
17

Flynn took a number of back bunkers out of Glen View Club

Indian Creek (bunker floors below green level)
7
12
13
15

Lancaster CC
8
9

Pepper Pike Club
12

Pocantico Hills
12

Philadelphia Country
5,6,10,11 (one of which is NLE) and 17 (NLE)

Manufacturers
8

Mill Road Farm
8
10

Rolling Green
12 only last bunker, others flank the left side
16 (not original)

Shinnecock Hills
4

TCC, Pepper Pike
3
9

[wsmorrison]

Mark,

The other back bunker at Huntingdon Valley you refer to is no doubt the "half-moon" bunker on the Ross green at number 14.  This was, I believe, put in by Joe Kirkwood.  It was removed this winter by Scott Anderson and it looks A LOT better!

[SteveC]

Yeamans Hall has plenty of back bunkers. The Redan there is especially noteworthy.

[John_Lovito]

Mark,

The one back bunker at Plainfield is on the sixth hole.  It is back and to the right a little.

[wsmorrison]

Macdonald and Raynor had bunkers wrapping around greens on so many holes on all their courses.  I saw these features recently at Gibson Island Club, a fascinating nine holes remain from the original 18 and planned 36.  Given these bunkers are well below green level in many cases, they must have been very difficult and still are today.  I wonder what their rationale was to have so many greens surrounded by bunkers.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Macdonald and Raynor had bunkers wrapping around greens on so many holes on all their courses.  I saw these features recently at Gibson Island Club, a fascinating nine holes remain from the original 18 and planned 36.  Given these bunkers are well below green level in many cases, they must have been very difficult and still are today.  I wonder what their rationale was to have so many greens surrounded by bunkers.

Wayne,

Think ....... aerial golf

My guess is that CBM wanted to emphasize it, given his talents and competitive nature.

[wsmorrison]

Pat,

Aren't a lot of the greens open in the front and the remaining green surrounded by bunkers?  With the bunkers being sort of "U" shaped?  I know on his short holes they tended to be circled by bunkers but not that many others.  But then again, topography probably prevented a number of runup shots on a number of their holes that look open from aerial photographs.  However, I am not that familiar with Macdonald and Raynor courses.  

I thought Macdonald was a bit early to transition into the aerial game due to implements, balls and excessive ground firmness (concrete-like in summer) prior to irrigation systems.  Years later those same irrigation systems were improperly used taking golf courses to a level of softness that was never intended by the architecture.

[Robert Emmons]

Huntington Country Club , Dev Emmet 1910 has 8 greens with back bunkers

[A_Clay_Man]

Pebble beach has'em on #'s 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17 & 18.

Cypress #16 is the best example of, what I assume is/was, the multi-functionality MacKenzie found in them.

[Jay Flemma]

Isnt there a deep one somewhere on the front at Black Mesa (6 or 7) that is so deep it makes you fear back pin placements...

Then there's one at that brings a false front into play if you fear the back bunker and wanna play short...

12 at augusta maybe?  MIss in the back bunker and you're playing out towards the hazard!

[Glenn Spencer]

Robert Emmons,

I love Huntington!! Let me see here, 3,4,7,11,12,15,17 is the other one 16? or does 2 have one