Greens with Bunkers in the Middle are Ridiculous

[trickymicky69]

i.e the 16th at Valero open

Sh1t design imo

[uttexas]

Riviera has a famous one which was replicated at Tour 18 just north of the DFW metroplex. Pin placement the day I played it was just in front of the bunker (elevated green). I hit my most purely struck iron off the tee going right for the pin (couldn't see what happened due to elevated green. Get to green and I see the trickle marks going into the front of the bunker). Now I'm left with a short sided bunker shot to a green that slopes back to front. Out of bunker, then two putt. I was not happy. [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/248352/width/640/height/480][IMG]http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/248352/width/640/height/480[/IMG][/URL] Groundskeepers must hate these also--if your ball is on the wrong side of the bunker (relative to pin), you have to pitch or flop off the dance floor. Not many amateurs can perform that shot without taking a divot out of the green.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by trickymicky69

Sh1t design imo

If you're going to type shit just type shit.

I don't think a bunker being in the middle of the green makes something shit, btw. Don't hit it on the wrong side. There are some greens with lobes on which you can't make putts, or some holes cut below tiers where you have no chance of making the putt if you're above the tier. No different - you have a medium length par putt.

[trickymicky69]

Originally Posted by iacas

If you're going to type shit just type shit.

I don't think a bunker being in the middle of the green makes something shit, btw. Don't hit it on the wrong side. There are some greens with lobes on which you can't make putts, or some holes cut below tiers where you have no chance of making the putt if you're above the tier. No different - you have a medium length par putt.

After playing Doonbeg in Ireland I have had experience very similar to uttexas above.

A beautiful shot went straight in the bunker, so for me they are SHIT

They have the whole "through the green" area, so why in the hell would they want to ruin a nice green?

I agree its my fault for finding it but I think it cheapens a great design and makes it look gimmicky.

For a high handicapper, how do you aim for the middle of the green if its been bastardised with a massive crater?

[uttexas]

Unless the course is hosting a tour event, they shouldn't put the pin directly in front or directly behind the bunker. The PGA tour average accuracy from 150 yards is about 30 feet. 30 feet=10 yards with fancy math. 10 yards long if the pin is in front of the bunker = sand 10 yards short if the pin is behind the bunker=sand. Too punishing for the recreational player. Placing the pin to the left or right of the green bunker, no problem with that.

[Golfingdad]

I don't have a problem with it, they are rare, unique, and kinda cool.  And I look at it this way:  Instead of seeing it as a bunker in the middle of the green, see it as 4 different smaller greens for one hole (front, back, left, right) that just happened to be connected.

As far as the chipping off the green part, I always assumed that courses with these type of holes would have a local rule requiring (or at least encouraging) you to move your ball to the nearest fringe or something to chip, rather than having everybody tear up the green every day.

[jetsknicks1]

I gotta say I see that as kind of gimmicky. I don't see it as being the same as tiered/sloped greens, to me that's just a normal part of golf. If I hit a shot to the middle of the green, I shouldn't have to bring my sand wedge.

[MiniBlueDragon]

In terms of playing the hole there's no difference if the bunker is a front greenside bunker or in the middle of the green; you'd still aim to carry it to the back section. The only difference is that in front of the bunker is 'green' rather than fairway/fringe/rough.

[allin]

If you like hazards between you and the hole when putting stick to putt-putt. Almost every shot should have an appropriate risk reward element. Forcing you to chip when on the green, you can putt through fringe, doesn't pass this test, especially when the trap is in the middle of the green.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by uttexas

Riviera has a famous one which was replicated at Tour 18 just north of the DFW metroplex. Pin placement the day I played it was just in front of the bunker (elevated green). I hit my most purely struck iron off the tee going right for the pin (couldn't see what happened due to elevated green. Get to green and I see the trickle marks going into the front of the bunker). Now I'm left with a short sided bunker shot to a green that slopes back to front. Out of bunker, then two putt. I was not happy.

You hit a tee shot in the bunker.

It would be like hitting a "perfect" drive that bounces into a water hazard.

Not that great a shot.

You played the sucker shot and paid the price. Whwere is the problem in that?

Annoying, but your fault. Sometimes there are trees in the middle of the fairway. A shot down the middle is not a good shot.

[trickymicky69]

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1

I gotta say I see that as kind of gimmicky. I don't see it as being the same as tiered/sloped greens, to me that's just a normal part of golf. If I hit a shot to the middle of the green, I shouldn't have to bring my sand wedge.

what he said......

otherwise we should have bunkers like putting greens and you can use your putter in them

[iacas]

Originally Posted by allin

If you like hazards between you and the hole when putting stick to putt-putt. Almost every shot should have an appropriate risk reward element. Forcing you to chip when on the green, you can putt through fringe, doesn't pass this test, especially when the trap is in the middle of the green.

Every shot should have an appropriate risk-reward? Sure - but the penalty for failing in this case to hit the ball to the proper section of the green is that you can't hole your next shot, and you'll have a medium-length putt for par.

The bunker at Riviera isn't exactly taking up a ton of space:

You still basically have two greens (either front/back or left/right, depending on how you want to look at it). What if you looked at it this way given the flag position above: I missed the green well to the right but was still putting. Woo! Only if you "miss the green" (the "left" one) long AND right are you "punished" - and why shouldn't you be?

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1  If I hit a shot to the middle of the green, I shouldn't have to bring my sand wedge.

A shot into a bunker is not a shot to the middle of the green.

[jamo]

A shot into a bunker is not a shot to the middle of the green.

Exactly. Just treat the half of the green that doesn't have the pin like it's part of the fringe. If you really want to aim at the middle of the green, completely eliminate the half without fit pin form your mind, and hit to the middle of the half of the green with the pin. And if the pin is in front of the bunker, don't even think about the part of green behind it. If you hit into the bunker, you flew the green.

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by trickymicky69

Quote:

Originally Posted by iacas

If you're going to type shit just type shit.

I don't think a bunker being in the middle of the green makes something shit, btw. Don't hit it on the wrong side. There are some greens with lobes on which you can't make putts, or some holes cut below tiers where you have no chance of making the putt if you're above the tier. No different - you have a medium length par putt.

After playing Doonbeg in Ireland I have had experience very similar to uttexas above.

A beautiful shot went straight in the bunker, so for me they are SHIT

They have the whole "through the green" area, so why in the hell would they want to ruin a nice green?

I agree its my fault for finding it but I think it cheapens a great design and makes it look gimmicky.

For a high handicapper, how do you aim for the middle of the green if its been bastardised with a massive crater?

You don't aim for the middle of the green unless your sand play is better than your putting. Aim left or right, or take too much or less club to isolate the other parts of the green. Otherwise just live with the possibility of landing there if you play a shot into it. For a high handicapper, you shouldn't be mad because 90% of the time aiming straight at it will result in a safe landing. It's not the bunker's nor the designer's fault you aimed straight at something and hit it. If you want someone to blame, check the grips on your clubs; the pair of hands on them are attached to him.

It's an interesting place to put a bunker; it really changes the way the hole plays. It sounds no different than complaining about a bunker down the right off the tee that you always hit into; it's your problem if you end up in it and if a bunker isn't in the way then it's not doing its job. Bunkers are supposed to get in the way. They shouldn't just penalize bad shots, they should protect the green or target areas.

Does it make a difference if it's a par 5 you hit a 3 wood into vs a par 4 you hit 7 iron? The par 5 would make the bunker a good play; reach in 2, get up and down for birdie and guarantee stopping the ball in the middle. It's a shallow and small bunker so I doubt it'd be a hard shot. Otherwise you could lay up and hit a pitch right at the pin, still a possible birdie. On a par 4, it's a bit more penalizing but still depends on what club you hit and the pin position.

You shouldn't be mad because every hole isn't a birdie chance; you're not good enough to make more than a couple birdies at best anyway. There should be some holes that are but they're usually the most boring.

[mchepp]

Groundskeepers must hate these also

I have found that greenskeepers dislike bunkers in general. Our greenskeeper is always bellowing about the cost of maintenance.
That said I love the design feature. it is something different, unique and makes the hole play entirely different each day you play it. I don't think every course needs one but once in a while is a nice change up.

[DocPangloss]

Maybe I'm a bit of a course design postmodernist, but a bunker in the middle of a green sounds interesting, not "ridiculous". More to the point, I can't think of a course design decision that would seem "ridiculous". The course is supposed to challenge you - if you want generic course design then stay on the driving range and practice green.

Now if we are talking about shit course design from the standpoint of maintenance.... that's another story.

[GaijinGolfer]

I dont see what the big deal is.  If you hit your shot where you intend to, the bunker shouldnt be an issue.  All it does is penalize you for hitting to the wrong side of the green.