America's Fiercest Bunker

[Patrick_Mucci]

There used to be a bunker to the right and short of the 17th green at The Medalist which I considered the most difficult bunker I ever encountered.  Primarily because of it's depth combined with its steepness.

Having played The Knoll, Forsgate, Hackensack, Essex County, Montclair and Rock Spring, I'd have to give "Steamshovel Banks" credit for building the fiercest bunkers, in general.

[Kevin Pallier]

I've not played it yet, but could it be Hell's Half Acre?

There's no way to avoid it by playing around it and you're likely hitting a fairway wood or hybrid off the deck to carry it... that's pretty fierce.

Scott

I think your post is in reference to the fact if one tries to go for the green in two ? I would have thought most would lay-up short of the peninsula green with their seconds. There's a lot of sand in there but it's only around a 100m carry or so. For mine there's plenty of others at PVGC that will test one's nerve - particularly off the tee.

[Scott Warren]

Scott

I think your post is in reference to the fact if one tries to go for the green in two ? I would have thought most would lay-up short of the peninsula green with their seconds. There's a lot of sand in there but it's only around a 100m carry or so. For mine there's plenty of others at PVGC that will test one's nerve - particularly off the tee.

No, I'm talking about the second shot.

From Ran's review: 7th hole, 580 yards; Relatively speaking, this hole occupies the flatest stretch of property on the course, so to give the hole life, Crump left what would become probably thecourse’s single most famous hazard – Hell’s Half Acre, which bisects the fairway from the 285 to the 380 yard mark...

[Sean_A]

I have no idea of the fiercest bunker, but in addition to being deep and steep, the bunker must be front and centre, one that the golfer must take on every time he plays.  I would also say that there must be little alternative other than to to be forced to take on the full brunt of the bunker; meaning there isn't an easier out playing away from the hole.  While in play, to the rear of greens isn't nearly as likely to catch as many balls as front and centre and it won't intimidate as much either.  To a lesser degree side bunkers are the same.  Much of the fiercness of a bunker is its visual impact and the immediate knowledge of what can happen to a score if the bunker is found - especially if you have experienced its bite.  However, the impact doesn't have to be all about a huge bank or what not, it could merely be a shadow (as in pot bunker shadow) that suggests all the evil a golfer can think of.  This sort of bunker is far and few between.  Out of curiosity, which course(s) in the States have the most of this sort?

Ciao

[Mark McKeever]

I have to throw the 13th at French Creek in there.  Not the bunkers on the corner, but the "dreadful pit" short left of the green.  I took a picture of it, but the lighting is terrible so I wont bother posting it up.  It sits way below the fairway and nearby green complex.

Dan Herrmann, do you have a good picture that represents the death and destruction this bunker posesses?

Mark

[Terry Lavin]

I'll echo Tim Bert's nomination of the right greenside bunker at Pacific Dunes.  That is one gnarly piece of bunkering.

My second nomination would be the front and center greenside "Devil's Asshole" bunker at the Dunes Club in New Buffalo, MI, for the reasons mentioned by Sean Arble.  A player has to contend with this bunker with just about every shot into the 9th green.  Another reason that the bunker is doubly hard is that you have to play it twice, because it's only a 9-hole course!

[Sean_A]

I'll echo Tim Bert's nomination of the right greenside bunker at Pacific Dunes.  That is one gnarly piece of bunkering.

My second nomination would be the front and center greenside "Devil's Asshole" bunker at the Dunes Club in New Buffalo, MI, for the reasons mentioned by Sean Arble.  A player has to contend with this bunker with just about every shot into the 9th green.  Another reason that the bunker is doubly hard is that you have to play it twice, because it's only a 9-hole course!

Terry

I like how you think.  Heres hoping I never have to stand in front of your bench.

Ciao

[Dan Herrmann]

Mark,
Here's a picture that only begins to capture the depth of the bunker at FC #13.  If you're in there, all you can see is bunker and fescues.  I think it's probably 25' below the green surface.

(I jokingly call it the Volkswagen Bunker because it looks like you could bury a couple VW beetles in there and never miss them!)

[Garland Bayley]

So many nice cute little bunkers. How about something in 5 and 7 acre range?
Plus, the sand is extremely soft, and seldom raked. Saving par? You might think more about 4 strokes just to get out of the foot prints! Sometimes to enable progress around the golf course to continue, a hand wedge is the best expedient.

Is that played as a bunker!?  Holy crap!  How many rakes does that thing have around it?  That has to be a waste area, no?

My understanding is that during the US Am, they raked portions of them and declared the raked portions bunkers. However, during regular play it doesn't matter if it is a bunker or not. If you are in a foot print, you are SOL. If you hit it out of the footprint and don't make it to the grass, it runs back down until it finds, guess what, a foot print, to stop in.

[Mike Sweeney]

Lou Duran in the "Left" bunker at Yale #8. LOL

[Tim Bert]

While perhaps not the fiercest bunker, this is one of the fiercest lies I can recall in a bunker...

[Jim Franklin]

Front left pot bunker on #2 at PV. Took me 6 shots to get out the first time I played there. Fortunately I eagled the hole the last time I played there so exacted some revenge.

The left bunker on #6 at Pac Dunes is pretty brutal especially if you plug in the face as I did recently.

[Mac Plumart]

Perhaps one of these really isn't a bunker...but Mark Pritchett seemed to love both of these...
 

[Roger Tufts]

Left bunker at #1 at Myopia and also the short-left bunker at #13 at Myopia... Others there get nominations from me...

Front bunker on #9, Back bunker on #14.

[Doug Spets]

Just about any of the bunkers at Hamilton Farm in Gladstone NJ qualify.  Two come to mind.




The par 5 14th hole.  The bunker in the center of the picture is about 30 yards from the center of the green...so it takes a very precise shot to get it close.  All shots from this bunker are blind.



The par 3 17th hole.  The 17th plays anywhere from 200 to 130 depending on the tee.  Anything right of the green gets in this enormous bunker, which almost always results in a blind shot.

I've never seen a course with as severe a set of bunkers as Hamilton Farm.  Very few will be played with high levels of confidence.  In general, the sand in the bunkers is pretty fluffy and heavy.  I don't know if either qualifies for "Fiercest Bunker" but I haven't played many that were tougher.

[Dan Herrmann]

How about the bunker fronting the green at Merion East #12?  It's really deep and you have OB just beyond the green.  Last time I played from there (a downhill lie near the front of the bunker), I'm proud to say that I skulled it over Ardmore road halfway up #13!  Oops!

[Roger Wolfe]

Left greenside bunker at Royal New Kent's par 3, number 3.  You have to go down steps to get into it... at least 15 feet deep.  Obnoxious and hidden from the tee!

[Scott_Burroughs]

4th at Sand Hills:

[Bill_McBride]

I had a very tough time when I trickled the ball into the little back bunker on Old Macdonald #6, the Long hole.  Took me three to get out, with the third shot well played.  Small but fierce little bastard pot bunker.

John, please tell us how you REALLY feel about that bunker!