Bunkers are some of the most feared and spectacular hazards on a golf course. When a golf course architect designs a hole, there are many different purposes for the placement and configuration of each bunker.
Each individual bunker is unique in shape, placement, materials and golf shot playability. Bunkers provide some of the most visually appealing and hole shaping delineations of the golf course. They can be divided into two categories: "Greenie" Bunkers -- which are part of the complex surrounding the green -- and fairway bunkers, which require a full shot to reach the green.
There are many bunkers which have received nicknames and others that have had become part of golf's lore for their difficulty and drama.
For example, the 18th Greenie Bunker at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, is famous for when Bob Tway holed out a short, uphill shot out of the sand to miraculously defeat Greg Norman in the 1986 PGA Championship.
During the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, the Church Pew Bunkers between Hole Nos. 3 and 4 were on the players' lists to avoid at all costs.
Overseas, the 17th Hole at St. Andrews' Old Course features the legendary "Road Hole" pot bunker, where Constantino Rocca famously needed three shots to escape, as he lost the 1995 British Open playoff to John Daly.
Whistling Straits, in Kohler, Wis., site of the 2004 PGA Championship, is a Pete Dye design that features approximately 1,000 bunkers across the links-style design. Further South, the newly redesigned Dye Course at The PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., features links-style coquina waste bunkers as its hallmark.
Meanwhile, next year's PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., will bring back memories of the 1996 U.S. Open, when Tom Lehman found himself caught in the fairway bunker on No. 18 -- which was washed out by a tremendous storm just before the start of the Championship. Lehman would finish one shot behind Champion Steve Jones.
Whether you are a scratch golfer or beginner, it is important to study the bunkering at the courses you play, and determine what the playing conditions are for that day. Be sure to ask yourself, "Can I recover from this bunker and save par? Or will it cost me one or more strokes?"
Strange as it may seem to the average golfer, highly skilled players will often aim for a bunker, as opposed to chancing a bad lie in the uncut areas.
To improve your game, be sure to go to your practice area, and try to recreate the bunker shots you may experience during a round. Then, determine your ability to execute each type of shot. Planning, practice and avoidance of difficult bunkers will lead to lower scores.
You can work on your game at the magnificent bunker complex at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Here, you can simulate play out of nine different bunkers from around the world. For more information, visit www.pgavillage.com or call 800-800-GOLF (4653).
For those of you in areas with practice facilities that are open this time of year or where there are indoor practice areas, you can find a PGA Professional near you to work on your bunker skills by visiting the Zip code search on www.PlayGolfAmerica.com.
Until next time, here's to better golf!
Rick Martino is Director of Instruction for The PGA of America. He teaches at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and is ranked among the Top 50 instructors by Golf Digest Magazine. The author of the PGA Manual of Golf (Warner Books/$34.95), Martino can be reached at (800) 800-GOLF or by email at pgalearningcenter@pgahq.com.
