SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
Don't understand bounce - I just use a club to get out of the sand. I think it is 56* with 11* bounce.
When is a Bunker not a Bunker?
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Don't understand bounce - I just use a club to get out of the sand. I think it is 56* with 11* bounce.
HawkeyeMS
Ryder Cup Winner
Ours have improved quite a lot since the new course manager got the guys hand raking them. They still aren't consistent but given all the rain we've had I'll give them a bit of leeway.
Foxholer
Blackballed
A previous club 'experimented' with slightly finer sand and got it wrong by putting 4" of this in green-side bunkers of a long-ish par 3!
Balls were disappearing, never to be seen again!
You don't dig balls out of bunkers - unless the surfaxe is really soaked/caked. Shallow/thin divots are the way!
lyden
Head Pro
It really doesn't matter how much sand there is, sure it might make your life easier but what do you do once its rained and been compacted? Does your round fall apart? Get a lesson on different lies and what loft / bounce to use and you'll see how easy bunkers can be and why pros don't mind being in them.
Sorry but I disagree, with less than 1" of sand and then solid clay that has nothing to do with manufacturing shots, the bunker should not be like that!
lyden
Head Pro
If you assessed the situation first and used a club with less bounce it would be no problem. Do you know what bounce is on your wedges?
12 degree's.
I think its pretty uncertain to "assess the situation first" as you can nestle your feet down and believe you have something (sand) to work with only then to hit clay. If your striking 2" before the ball you have every chance of bouncing up and thinning the ball! If I knew it was a barer lie I would use my 60 degree and try to pick it of but that's not ideal all the time!
I was in a few bunkers at Minchinhampton yesterday and had no issues at all other than noticing 2 different kinds of sand for the 2 courses.
lyden
Head Pro
The 60 sounds like the safer option but you could take less sand with your 56, 2 inches before the ball is used as a guide but as Phil Mickelson says in his secrets of the short game it really doesn't matter.
louise_a
Money List Winner
One thing I have noticed playing few links courses is the quality of the sand in the bunkers, play the coures round Southport and they have orange sand in them, they can look very deep but I can usually get out of them pretty well. They ones at my club are shallow wth very pale sale but I often struggle to get out first time,often due to the fact that I go into the clay about an inch below the surface.
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Ours are improving but several are a disgrace with way too many stones in them, especially just under the surface. Some you wouldn't want to be playing out of with a shiny new vokey
Not more bunker trouble Robbin he he 
Region3
Ryder Cup Winner
1" of sand in a bunker sounds like heaven to me!
I'm also surprised that once you get past a couple of inches it makes any difference?
If your feet don't touch the floor in a swimming pool does it matter if the water is 3m or 100m deep?
I don't think my club passes any lower than 1" underneath the ball when there's plenty of sand to play the shot.
I'm also surprised that once you get past a couple of inches it makes any difference?
If your feet don't touch the floor in a swimming pool does it matter if the water is 3m or 100m deep?
I don't think my club passes any lower than 1" underneath the ball when there's plenty of sand to play the shot.
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
The problem with when the sand get's deep and is of a loose/fine nature - as our new sand is - is that it can pile up and can become VERY deep and especially up against the facer of the bunker very - difficult to get a stable stance. The other problem we have been having is balls plugging deep and almost submerged in the sand in the bunker - even when you are simply a bit short with a short and not very high pitch over a bunker. Plop into bunker and it disappears - and if you are unlucky enough for that to happen on the sand against the face of the bunker - where the sand is deeper and so situation almost inevitable - no popping out of ball - nope - buried in face and stuffed. Doing well to get out in two and down in four from the bunker. Is that fair when you've only missed the green by a little and you were only slightly short with your chip over the bunker.
As I said in my OP, I accept we shouldn't be in their in the first place but just looking for some consistency. I don't think "fair" comes into as you describe because the bottom line was, you/we missed the green!
Qwerty had no complaints when faced with this at Formby a few weeks back, plenty of sand to work with but attempting to get a foothold was interesting to watch!
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
Oh don;t get me wrong - you will only VERY rarely asking if a situation we come across in golf is fair - as I say to others who whinge so... 'the good Lord never meant golf to be fair'
However for a mid-handicap golfer such as I, is a 7 or 8 at a par 4 when you only just miss the green but get 'tripped-up' badly by 'unusual' bunker conditions a fair outcome for a 'minor' error? In my eyes - no not fair - but I still will say to myself - tough! But that is just me. Others are less philosophical. Anyway - having weatched Luke's bunker tips video - to the bunkers I go. I can see my errors amd what I neeed to check.
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
BTW - is that photo at Formby of that huge long mega-split level green up in the pine trees.
Yes, I think it was either a very long par 4 or even a par 5, I know Dave nailed it into the bunker with a long iron, possibly his 2nd shot, it took 2 I think to get out and he still scored I think
Tignanello97
Club Champion
Ask dj & see what he has to say about when a bunker is not a bunker ;-)
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
Yes, I think it was either a very long par 4 or even a par 5, I know Dave nailed it into the bunker with a long iron, possibly his 2nd shot, it took 2 I think to get out and he still scored I think
Played there years ago (20+) with my buddy. We had played Royal Birkdale the previous day in a company competition - morning had been foursomes - afternoon fourball. Next day on way back to Bristol we stopped off at Formby with the rest of the team and had a knock. Excellent. If I recall that green was for what seemed like a double dog leg par 5. My buddy's ball stopped at the very top of the step up with flag close by on top. I was high up in heather on the right and stuck one miles up in the air. It landed not too far from my mate's ball and almost immediately his rolled away back down the step toward the front of the green. I wasn't that popular
