Worst bunkers that you have ever played in.

[trackster]

I'm not entirely certain, but I would think that my home course would be in the top 5 of "worst bunkers in the world."  Today I hit into a bunker and had my ball come to rest up next to a rock.  I also had a pile of rocks close by my ball.  After skulling out of the bunker because the dirt plays like concrete, I tried to rake the bunker. I had to take jabs at the dirt to even move the dirt.  Luckily there are only about 15 bunkers at my home course, and they are pretty easily avoidable.  Any one else have some "fantastic" bunkers that they play with.

[Missouri Swede]

Hard, dried dirt.  With farm tractor tracks dried in. No sand.

[LettucePray27]

Played a course this weekend with terrible bunkers. High lips (which typically I like), but the sand played like a shot off of the cart path... felt like each sand shot would cause damage to either a club or me physically.

[lumpuckeroo]

The 9 hole course my father is a member, fortunately only has 2 bunkers, but I think they have the sand in them from when they switched from sand greens to grass greens in the 70's and have never added sand to them since!  I think the course as one time have several more bunkers but they didn't want to mess with them so they just threw grass seed in them and turned them into grass bunkers.

[zipazoid]

A picture's worth a thousand words.

This trap doesn't 'look' all that bad, but my buddy Mike decided to leave a message to Golf Group, the firm which manages the course, Casselberry Golf Club outside of Orlando. This trap was unraked & like concrete. C'mon guys...how hard is it to rake the traps each morning?

[David in FL]

Originally Posted by zipazoid

A picture's worth a thousand words.

This trap doesn't 'look' all that bad, but my buddy Mike decided to leave a message to Golf Group, the firm which manages the course, Casselberry Golf Club outside of Orlando. This trap was unraked & like concrete. C'mon guys...how hard is it to rake the traps each morning?

While I understand the sentiment, your buddy probably just screwed the next poor schlub that ends up in that particular bunker.

I'd also offer, that playing Casselberry is pretty much a self-inflicted wound.......

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by David in FL

I'd also offer, that playing Casselberry is pretty much a self-inflicted wound.......

True dat. We got what we paid for, which was like ten bucks.

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by David in FL

While I understand the sentiment, your buddy probably just screwed the next poor schlub that ends up in that particular bunker.

My thoughts exactly.

I've never experienced a bunker THAT bad but if it truly is hard like concrete couldn't you just hit a regular pitch shot?

Question: If you declare an unplayable lie in a bunker you still have to drop in the bunker correct? ie: you can't go backwards as far as you want?

[David in FL]

Originally Posted by Ernest Jones

Question: If you declare an unplayable lie in a bunker you still have to drop in the bunker correct? ie: you can't go backwards as far as you want?

Correct.

[rehmwa]

local 'cheap' course the bunkers are pretty much 75% gravel, 25% bad sand.

If the lie is rocky, I don't hit out of them, they tear up the club head pretty bad.

Was in the bunkers twice this weekend at this very place - the lies were normal, so I actually got to practice sand shots.  (good 'thump' both times - one worked out great. the other.......let's just say that par 3 (220 yard) was my only double bogie that round)

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by David in FL

While I understand the sentiment, your buddy probably just screwed the next poor schlub that ends up in that particular bunker.

And while I understand that sentiment, did he really make that trap any worse for the next person than it already was?

Now before anyone replies with 'how dare you think that way, you defaced the course' posts, think it through. Look at that bunker. How does writing that message in the rock hard sand make play any more difficult for the next person? (I might also add we were playing in the evening, so it was unlikely there were too many players behind us. But given how GG maintains their courses, that message probably stayed there for a week)

[David in FL]

Originally Posted by zipazoid

And while I understand that sentiment, did he really make that trap any worse for the next person than it already was?

Now before anyone replies with 'how dare you think that way, you defaced the course' posts, think it through. Look at that bunker. How does writing that message in the rock hard sand make play any more difficult for the next person? (I might also add we were playing in the evening, so it was unlikely there were too many players behind us. But given how GG maintains their courses, that message probably stayed there for a week)

Given that the average Casselberry player likely has no problem rolling the ball out of one of the gouges should he end up in one, probably not......

[Fourputt]

Sometimes even well maintained bunkers can still be "bad".  This is typical of the bunkers at Fossil Trace in Golden Colorado.  They are nice soft fluffly sand, but the lies and stances you get there are crazy.  And it's often so hard to get in and out of them that players simply don't bother to rake, as you can see from a few footprints in this one.  They can be a lot worse than this, with craters so deep you would need a backhoe to get your ball out of them.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Ernest Jones

... if it truly is hard like concrete couldn't you just hit a regular pitch shot?

Yeah, I think I might be in the minority here, but I actually like - don't think I'd go so far as to say 'prefer,' but definitely like - harder bunkers like that.  Especially if we're talking fairway bunkers, because those are easy to hit out of.  If it's rock hard and you need to hit a delicate, little soft shot, maybe that's a little more difficult, but regardless, they aren't that bad.  Plus, you never have to worry about fried eggs.

Second point:  We have gotten so good (as a whole, not everybody) at being able to play out of bunkers that we've decided to start complaining about the condition of them.  I think we are forgetting that when you hit it into a bunker you are supposed to be penalized.  Whether it be because of a lip, your stance, furrows, or the type or condition of the sand, if it's something people feel is worth complaining about, then they are probably doing their job. :)

Solution:  Don't hit it in the bunker!

[Dave2512]

All about the quality of the sand. They actually run the Deere bunker rakes every morning during the peak season at the courses I play but some are full of pebbles and rocks. There are times I don't finish holes because I'm not willing to ruin a wedge to get out of a bunker. I couldn't care less about hard or soft conditions but I'm not going to scoop a club through rocks.

[chilepepper]

White silica sand or brown builders sand, I dont care, just have some sand in them. Of course.....Im not supposed to go in them in the 1st place

[boil3rmak3r]

I joined a new course last year. I call the "sand traps" dirt traps as they are simply hard pan. Imagine having to carry a 3 foot lip that's just a foot in front of your ball. Boy, there is absolutely no margin for error in terms of how far behind the ball you hit (I think 1/8th of an inch behind is what you have to do. I compare it to hitting off of a baseball infield. The funny thing is, they're accepting donations to buy sand and redo the bunkers. I think they've redone 10 of the courses 30 bunkers so far. I love the new, soft sand. Long time members of this club HATE them. They just bury the club face deep into the sand and move the ball a few feet forward. They've been playing off of dirt for so long, they need to relearn (or learn for the first time, I guess) how to hit out of a true bunker...

[AmazingWhacker]

I've been playing a course recently where they haven't added new sand to the bunkers in at least a year.  They are like concrete . .you couldn't even scratch a message in them as in the picture above.  When you walk on them you leave no footprints.  This same course also hasn't mowed or watered thier fairways in at least 7 or 8 months.  There are a lot of bare spots and other places where the seeded out fairway grass is 7-10 inches tall . .but really sparse.  $12 bucks with a cart . .you get what you pay for.

I recently played at a pretty nice course, though, where they had sloppily added new sand to the bunkers . .it was really soft and at least 12 inches deep where I landed.  When I got to my ball there was only about a quarter-sized piece of the top showing through the sand.  I whacked absolutely as hard as I could. .and did not get out of the bunker, lol.

Feast or famine in the bunkers of South Texas.

btw - I have no problem dropping behind the bunker if it's unplayable.  What else can you do?  No big deal . .I still manage to shoot really high scores.