bunkers should be hazards

ok heres one of my biggest bugbears with golf and really need to get it off my chest ......im sick of so called experts telling us how to improve the game without continually having to increase length to contend with the big hitters .........a simple way to do this would be to put more sand in the bunkers making it a probability that if you hit it in one of them your more than likely to have a plugged ball or a really bad lie at best ...that's what bunkers were originally designed for all you see nowadays is players blasting the ball to the green hoping they will have a great lie in a beautiful manicured compact bunker to allow them to do usually what they want ......make them proper hazards again like they were designed for bring back more imagination into the game and make the pros have to think again ....grief this makes me mad

So they should.

BUT!

Courses today are made for all standards and seeing how they were in the past after a few hours play you see why. Once in one, a novice may take many attempts to get out, and being a novice doesn't rake after. Next one in then gets an impossible lie and takes a few to get out (and complains and doesn't do a great job of raking). this goes on all day and the game isn't enjoyable. So because of this the Pro's are confronted with a non-hazard. When they go to an older venue where the bunkers are hazards (Old Course, St Andrews etc) they accept them for what they are.

I have to say my comments were made at the pros not the amateur there has to be something wrong when a pro can hit 18 fairways and greens and a blaster just hits it long and if hes offline he just hits it hard again to get into a greenside bunker knowing he can get it up and down 90% of the time accuracy and touch should have a bigger reward in the game.

Surely the professional gets up and down 90%of the time because he spends the hours practicing the shots required...

I, for one, struggle to find a practice ground or range that gives the opportunity to practice bunker shots. Most that do have one rarely maintain it to any standard. I found an area where I could practice chipping from grass and half an hour a couple of times a week improved my short game & I'm sure I could make a better fist of it with the same from a bunker.

hi peter any pro will tell you that a plugged ball in a bunker relinquishes all the control out of the shot just getting it out is the main aim as I believe it should be if you miss the target and as such gives an advantage to accuracy which I believe it should do

If making all bunkers plug balls to ensure there is a definite penalty to being in them then why bother with them at all? You might was well just have the bunker as a catchment area and if the ball goes in you get a 1 shot penalty and have to pick it out and play from a drop zone. I think the issue is with the course design for a lot of the courses they play on the two main tours. If you end up in a fairway bunker at my course you will almost certainly not be able to make the green with your next shot. That is because the fairway bunkers are not massive and flat like a lot of the courses they play. All they need to do is change the shape of the bunkers and the players will then have to plot their way through the rest of the hole and relay on their accuracy to still get a decent score. The problem is the courses on the main tours are chosen because they can afford to pay the tour millions to be included. Many of the better courses cant afford the money.

100% agree, Judy. Todays Tour courses allow for a 300yd+ smash and it doesn't matter if you end up in a bunker because you can still reach the green. Bring back the Moortown's, Fulford's and Lindrick's, all true tests for accurate golf.

re judy

again I don't disagree with your argument and yes if you want to take them away do that if it means they can play virtually any shot they want out of them whats is there point a bunker should be a hazard..... full stop,,,,,,,,we have to give a player an advantage after hitting the green over someone who hits a bad shot .....ask any pro what his choice of shot would be between rough around the green or a bunker and I know what 90% of them would say surely this isn't right