Do Golf Courses Really Need Bunkers?
Yes, and they should be visible, playable and maintainable.
- Steve Wolfard
Most of us who are engaged in the game of golf have a love hate relationship with bunkers. As players, many of us would like to see less of them in our way as we maneuver around the golf course. Superintendents and their staff can work very hard and spend 30% or more of the labor budget on bunker maintenance only to have the golf professional staff report customer complaints regarding the consistency and playability of the bunkers. Golf construction companies spend an enormous amount of time and resources with specialty machines and hand labor to craft the bunkering to an architect’s vision. A vision many times communicated using cases of spray paint, sketches and detailed narratives from the architect. There are about as many bunker “styles” as there are golf courses and every architect is compelled to provide a unique style for their clients. Some even have specialty bunker shapers who only shape bunkers.
Why do we bother ourselves with a golf feature so expensive and problematic? Well, let’s explore the benefits.
· You can use the analogy that bunkers are icing on the cake. A golf course sans bunkers is like a cake without icing. Visually bland and forgettable. Johnny Miller said to me once that all great golf courses have “significant” bunkering. I really like that quote because significant can mean many things. On an average piece of property, bunkering can be the most important visual component for creating interest and memorability. Unless the property is on an ocean, carved through a mature forest or routed through natural sand dunes, bunkers can be the best tool in an architect’s tool box to create visual interest and strategy.
· Ben Crenshaw has said that bunkers are supposed to guide you around the golf course. They are incredibly important in this regard as they can tell you where to go and where not to go. They can also be “friendly” bunkers as A. W. Tillinghast relates in Gleanings From the Wayside. Tillinghast, a Golden Age architect, would position bunkers to catch wayward balls from going into trouble such as water, ravines or deep woods.
· Strategically bunkers are important for obvious reasons. Another Golden Age architect, Alister MacKenzie, was quoted as saying the best place to put a bunker is where the golfer wants to hit the ball. This can be said another way. Bunker placement can and should draw your eye to the target and help the player really focus on how to play the golf hole.
Now let’s explore why bunkers can be a problem.
· The use of bunkers can be a crutch for architects. How do you fill space on a golf course, create contrast or frame a tee shot? Well, all too often, to accomplish one of these important tasks, sand is the answer. A bunker sometimes turns into a series of bunkers. And those bunkers need to be offset with more bunkers on the other side of the fairway. And the fairway bunkers need to be triangulated visually with greenside bunkers. Now there are 8 bunkers where 3 would have sufficed. Tillinghast was a consultant for the P.G.A late in his career and proudly said that he personally “condemned” 8,000 bunkers during his visit to nearly 400 golf courses. Golf courses were over-bunkered then and are still over-bunkered.
· Bunkers should be visible, playable and maintainable. Easy to say and hard to do, especially if you would like architecturally significant bunkers. Honestly, this design skill takes years to learn and is too complicated to discuss in depth here. Suffice it to say, mistakes are still being made on all three fronts.
· It is amazing how many bunkers only penalize the lesser skilled players. Unless these bunkers have a very important additional purpose, then what’s the point of them being there? They just increase maintenance cost and slow down play.
The main reason I broached this topic about bunkers is to encourage golf course owners, operators and agronomists to really look hard at their golf courses from time to time and consider hiring a professional to partner with and perform a bunker study. My eyes just glaze over when I see golf courses “renovate” their 30 year old bunkers by simply pulling the old sand out and putting new sand back in. This action is usually followed by a proclamation in the newsletter or on the website of “come see our new white sand bunkers”! Many times, this is a fine approach especially if the bunkers are less than 10 years old and have been built and maintained properly. But there comes a time due to over-edging, weather, flooding, the addition of sand for years and just wear and tear from the game of golf that every facility should take a step back and re-evaluate. Also, does a public facility or lower end country club really need 80,000 square feet of bunkers (that is a lot by the way)? What if they are also severely flashed due to over-edging and erosion? Sparkly new sand and a liner are not going to help much.
Additional reasons to perform a bunker study or an Improvement Plan with bunkers as a central focus.
· Restore the golf course bunkering to historical locations and strategy
· Update the bunker locations and strategy to relate to changes in the game
· Re-establish architectural style that has been lost due to over-edging, weathering and wear and tear or to establish an architectural style that was never there
· Possible reduction in the number and size of the bunkers to reduce maintenance
· Adjust the bunker style to improve playability, visibility or maintainability
· Eliminate bunkers that are strategically or aesthetically non-factors
· Eliminate bunkers that only penalize the less skilled player
As was previously mentioned, architects have created some of these problems. You may ask why should I partner with someone who might not support the vision that is best for the golf course? The architect may say all the right things, but how do I control that ego after they have been retained. Well, that is exactly why you should go look at their work and talk with their former clients (especially the golf professional and agronomist). Additionally, specific goals and objectives should be discussed and agreed to at the start of the bunker study and carried through the entire planning and construction phases. Find an inclusive partner that will work transparently, keep everyone engaged and respect the history of the golf course.
Maumelle CC 16 Green
Maumelle CC 16 Green After