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Rob Marshall

  • Karma: +0/-0
Grass-Faced Flat Bottom Bunkers
« on: July 04, 2020, 06:53:44 PM »
Should the ball more times than not come off the face and into the bunker, or should the fact that the ball stays in the face just be part of the penalty?
If life gives you limes, make margaritas.” Jimmy Buffett

Tommy Williamsen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Grass-Faced Flat Bottom Bunkers
« Reply #1 on: July 04, 2020, 07:28:26 PM »
I think it should be part of the penalty. Most good players would like a sand shot than an awkward severely uphill shot from long grass. Besides cutting the grass on the faces takes a lot of maintenance.
Where there is no love, put love; there you will find love.
St. John of the Cross

"Deep within your soul-space is a magnificent cathedral where you are sweet beyond telling." Rumi

Rob Marshall

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Grass-Faced Flat Bottom Bunkers
« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2020, 07:39:54 PM »
I think it should be part of the penalty. Most good players would like a sand shot than an awkward severely uphill shot from long grass. Besides cutting the grass on the faces takes a lot of maintenance.


The interesting thing is the better the shot the worse the lie.
If life gives you limes, make margaritas.” Jimmy Buffett

Cal Seifert

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Grass-Faced Flat Bottom Bunkers
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2020, 09:43:16 PM »
If you miss left on #2 at Yale (before Covid) and it stays in the grass you might not even find it. If you do it is like hitting a shot off a gambrel roof. It is part of the challenge that must be accounted for when hitting your approach.

Tom Bacsanyi

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Grass-Faced Flat Bottom Bunkers
« Reply #4 on: July 05, 2020, 12:39:42 AM »
Ideal vs. real.


Ideal is yes, the ball finds its way to the sand.


The real is, the more reliably you want this to happen, the steeper the face needs to be, and the steeper the face, the harder it is to keep the grass happy.


And if you instead design/build flashed faces to ensure a roll down, the more topside edging is required (PITA), and the tricker it is to ensure the right amount of sand stays in the face to avoid plugged lies and such (more raking).


In the end, I would rather be snagged in a grass face than plugged in a flashed face, and I would rather maintain grass faces than constantly raking 2 foot deep clumsy topside entry/exit footprints from Mr. Haverkamp in the flashed faces. So I favor grass faces for that reason plus the old school look.


One cool solution I've seen is to use a specific grass type just for the bunker faces. Colorado Golf Club has bluegrass rough, but their bunker faces are fine fescue. Because the leaf blades are so fine and soft, the ball most likely will roll down. Plus they are sparse and slow growing, so less flymowing, fertilizer, irrigation, edging etc. But the non "woke" crowd might not like the sparse, droughty look.
Don't play too much golf. Two rounds a day are plenty.

--Harry Vardon

Thomas Dai

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Grass-Faced Flat Bottom Bunkers
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2020, 03:16:06 AM »
Maintenance is an important consideration.
Bunker surrounds are maintenance intensive.
Has the course in question got sufficient staff/money to maintain them at what some may consider is ‘ideal’. Water and sand splash and humps and grass types... sand splashes out of bunkers and causes a build-up layer that most grass doesn’t really like to grow on unless it’s watered heavily and water rolls off humps even if it’s sprinkled on top so more will likely be needed the delivery of which can have financial implications.
Atb


Kalen Braley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Grass-Faced Flat Bottom Bunkers
« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2020, 02:24:17 PM »
Very old CGA thread with some interesting conversation on eye brow bunkers.


https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,23543.0/nowap.html