Forum > Rants

Christopher Watmore

After having a very miserable weekend on the Golf Course brought on mainly by those pesky holes filled to some and varying extents with sand. I feel I need to get the answer to the topic question.

I'm not a great player from the sand. I'll admit many times I'm in a bunker I don't know where the ball is going to go when it comes out. However I am good enough to not make the mistake of leaving the ball in the sand. Or I thought I was until this weekend.

Playing our club Championships on four holes (2 each round) I encountered Greenside Bunkers. All had same features, high steep vertical faces, bit of an over hanging lip. So anything shooting or into the face wasn't getting out. So you had to get the ball airbourne from the sand. Now to my amazement, each bunker had been raked presumably by the greenstaff before the rounds so as the sand leading into the bunker continued on a downward slope right to the foot of the face. Meaning on every shot you had a downslope lie. Now on normal ground I know the ball launches very low of a downslope. Having it in a bunker, made me wonder how the ball is supposed to get airbourne.

Sure enough on three of the holes I left the balls in the bunker numerous times before having to take my medicine and play out backwards towards the tee. Carded a 7 on a Par 3, an 8 on a Par 3 and a 12 on a Par 4 as a result of this. Completely ruined both my rounds.

The other bunker I had problems with recording a 6 on again a greenside bunker on a Par 3, had been visited before me by a fellow competitor in one of the groups ahead and they'd decided not to bother raking their great heffing hoof prints. So in this bunker not only did I have the downslope lie to contend with but also getting out of a deep footprint.

John Pettitt

I am nowhere near being an expert on bunkers, Chris, especially those arpound the green.

I have no trouble from fairway bunkers but those pesky ones round the green are what I avoid like the plague, with the added consequence that, as I do not get in them very often, that I am not very good out of them.

Having a handicap that means I do not have to make that many pars means I can usually take the greenside bunkers out of play.

Christopher Watmore

Dave ley

David Lythgoe

I am sorry to say but that is what is happening at many Clubs today. Some of the Green Staff don't understand Golf. Also the people who end up as Greens Chairmen don't really understand how to look after a course, but enjoy telling the Greenkeeper what to do.

The number of courses I have played where the Sprinklers around the Greens are set at 90* spray, so the Greens are soft and the surrounds are like concrete.

TheLyth

Dave ley

Loud Mouth b.a.

Anyone read the question?

http://golf.about.com/od/beginners/ss/rakingbunkers_3.htm

David Lythgoe

Anyone read the question?

I have Sanders, and it's not only the raking of bunkers that is a problem, hence the comments.

Bunkers were designed so that the sand stuck on the 'face' and then all that was needed was to rake it back into the base. A bunker should always be raked Face to back so a ball should always run into the bottom.

Now you ask the question why isn't it done this way? The answer is that the Greenstaff are not taught it and the Greens Chairman doesn't know that it should be done this way.

On modern US style courses the bunkers don't have Faces and are built to be tendered by machine.

Christopher discribes a bunker where the bottom is raked towards the back and the Face left alone, hence the slope.

TheLyth 

Loud Mouth b.a.

David,

I attended a school re-union a week ago and even my old P.E. teacher now calls me 'Ivan' instead of the former handle of 'Sanders' so you are more than welcome to do so even though we have not been formally introduced. I venture to do likewise.

I note your reply, and your anticipation  of my next question.

Apologies if I caused offence. I appreciate that after watching months of politics it has probably encouraged the giving of answers to questions not asked but personally it frustrates the hell out of me and always will.

Nevertheless my comment was not meant as a personal slight, although it may have been so interpreted. 

Possibly no-one rabbits on more than me over side issues, but I do always first  try to address the exact issue raised.

Enough said.

David Lythgoe

Ivan,

No offence, just that some Threads on here can end up on another Planet, never mind another County.

TheLyth

Christopher Watmore

Got to go before the Comittee tomorrow to explain why I've slammed the course and staff this weekend.

I know my paint skills aren't great but I want to know why a cross section of our bunkers looks like this:

When I feel and see bunkers at other courses that are like this:

I know which ones I'd sooner play out of around the greens or anywhere on the course.

David Lythgoe

Is the flag left or right?

TheLyth

Ian H

https://www.bestcourseforgolf.org/content/greenkeepers/course_set_up/guidelines/
bunkers

from the R&A , 100mm sand from bottom of bunker throughout seems to be the message