Back 9 angc

[John Shimp]

There is 1 fairway bunker on the back on 18.  The tee "hazards" or strategy are about angle, stance/lie, and some trees.  Given no rough or "junk" off the fairways makes this lack of bunkering even more remarkable.  Is there anything approaching this on a great course?

[Matthew Petersen]

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe there's a single fairway bunker on Fisher's Island

[Scott Warren]

Matthew,

There is one on #9 and one between 12 and 13, but not really in play.

[Kalen Braley]

Living in an area that has more than a few pine tree lined golf courses... I've found fairway bunkers really aren't necessary.

Usually they only cut back the trees just far enough to make room for the fairway and the 1st cut of rough.  As a result, anything offline usually goes into the trees and is almost always more of a penalty than going into a bunker because your path to the hole is rarely clear. So you're left with a punch out or at best a very low percentage shot to get to the green.

So its probably a good thing that ANGC doesn't have a lot of extra fairway bunkers as they are completely unneeded in my view.

[Patrick_Mucci]

John,

The elevation changes and slope of the fairways along with the dogleg nature of many holes, diminish the need for fairway bunkering.

But, it is unique

[David_Tepper]

"There is 1 fairway bunker on the back on 18."

John Shimp -

Aren't there 2 bunkers on the 18th fairway?

The Olympic Club Lake Course has only one fairway bunker on the entire course.

DT

[Kalen Braley]

Not to nitpick, but technically the big bunker on 10 is a "fairway bunker" even if its not intended to ensnare the drive. 

[John Shimp]

Pat,  totally agree. Amazing property for golf allows for no fairway bunkers.  Awesome for a championship course.

Kalen, 10 is the most mackenzie looking and least important hazard on the course.  Agree it's a nit. Not in play except for the 30 hdcp.

To push a bit further, do many of the green side bunkers on the back matter?  Which are good misses?

[Matthew Rose]

I find it compelling how year after year, the course does so much to influence the result. Positively and negatively, not just a big, brutal, penal slog. During other times of the year I sometimes wonder to myself if the course really does deserve all of the superlatives that it gets.

But whenever this tournament is on, I can never stop marvelling at how much it wants to involve itself in the event.

[David Camponi]

It and PV are the 2 best parkland courses in the world; as far as what most consider a "parkland" in the traditional sense it is the best w/o question.  Width, Strategy, amazing green complexes, the elitist on GCA may not think so...but it is.

That just happened.

[Cory Brown]

Living in an area that has more than a few pine tree lined golf courses... I've found fairway bunkers really aren't necessary.

Usually they only cut back the trees just far enough to make room for the fairway and the 1st cut of rough.  As a result, anything offline usually goes into the trees and is almost always more of a penalty than going into a bunker because your path to the hole is rarely clear. So you're left with a punch out or at best a very low percentage shot to get to the green.

So its probably a good thing that ANGC doesn't have a lot of extra fairway bunkers as they are completely unneeded in my view.

Sounds like fun .  The course had far fewer fairway bunkers when it opened, and the bunker on 10 was originally a greenside bunker, but the green was moved.  I agree with Pat about the topography and use of the land being so good as to not need many fairway bunkers.

[Jim Nugent]

The course had far fewer fairway bunkers when it opened, and the bunker on 10 was originally a greenside bunker, but the green was moved.  I agree with Pat about the topography and use of the land being so good as to not need many fairway bunkers.

With some time on my hands, I went to the GD article on how ANGC has changed. http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/georgia/augusta-changes.  I counted the bunkers.  Here's what I found:

1934:  29 bunkers in all.  8 fairway bunkers, 2 "in-betweeners" about 40 or so yards short of the green.

2011:  44 bunkers in all.  11 fairway, 1 in-between.

On the face of it, there are now two or three more fairway bunkers.  Not sure we can simply compare numbers, though.  e.g. #3 used to have one large fairway bunker.  Today, compliments of Jack Nicklaus, it has 4 smaller ones, in the same place.  (The club wanted to put a lake over there: Jack convinced them to change the mounding/bunker configuration instead.)

Also, looks like some of the fairway bunkers in 1934 didn't come into play, at least for good players.  That includes #2, #14, #18, #6 (a small bunker was placed 50 yards off the tee: I guess that counts as a fairway bunker), and maybe #8.  Now, I think all the fairway bunkers come into play, except on #10. 

[Matthew Rose]

Now, I think all the fairway bunkers come into play, except on #10.

Actually, according to that article, Tom Weiskopf actually drove it into that bunker once. So I guess it could be considered "in play".

I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen more often in the future.