Golfers helping in bunkers

While this has been a very difficult time in many regards, one of the changes in golf maintenance that could possibly be positive down the road, is the shift to once again viewing bunkers as hazards. With rakes currently removed from the course, the bunkers will be less than perfectly smooth.

Bunkers are hazards. They are to be avoided. Of course, golfers will find themselves in a bunker at some point, regardless of skill level, but it is not the intended line of play. Over the course of many years, bunker maintenance has increased steadily, to the point where the labor input far outpaces the idea of a hazard. To the point where professional golfers sometimes aim for a bunker when advisable, viewing it as the least bad option, knowing that the bunker will offer a very manageable situation from which to play the next shot. While many of our golfers most likely do not aim for bunkers, the trickle-down effect is nevertheless apparent.

You can see where the golfer dug their
stance into the sand.

Here is the after shot of footprints that
have been leveled out.

However, now that bunker rakes have been removed from most courses, including Bretton Woods, many more golfers, once in a bunker, will likely find it disheveled. Again, this is how a hazard should be. We will continue to mechanically rake the bunkers, trim the edges, and generally maintain them. However, golfers no longer have the rakes to tidy up their disturbance, so learning to play from bunkers as true hazards will become more pertinent.

There is one way that each golfer can leave the bunker less disrupted for the next group though. Following your shot from the bunker, gently smoothing out the area from where you hit can help a lot. Often, when playing from a bunker, a golfer twists their feet into the sand slightly to get a good stance. Then, for their shot, they make a small hole in the sand to blast their ball out. The next step is the key: using your foot, gently leveling the indentations from your stance as well as the hole from the shot can greatly improve the condition for the next golfer. While there will still be footprints in the bunker, the next ball in will not have holes from feet or a blast into which it can settle.

As this practice becomes more common, golfers may slowly start to accept bunkers as routinely being messy. At that point, the hazard can garner slightly less of our attention and labor, leading to other tasks being accomplished.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please remember to remove any bunker sand that may be stuck to your spikes before walking on the greens.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Bunker etiquette

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org