Bunkers are hazards

 Most of the comments I've heard the past month about our course concern bunkers and their condition. Many comments about balls plugging when the sand is dry, balls getting stuck on the faces of bunkers because there is too much sand on them, time to replace our white sand with the tan variety because it is much more "consistent," etc. I went to Bandon Dunes last week with a group of members from Glendale CC and got a 3 round reminder that bunkers are hazards. They are not fair, the ball plugs, the ball gets stuck wherever it lands, there are rocks everywhere, sometimes you can't hit the ball the direction you want because there are steep banks that get in the way, sometimes you have to take a penalty for an unplayable lie, and there is gorst waiting to poke you if you're not careful!

This bunker is just in front of the 1st green at Old Macdonald. If you hit it close to the face, you'll be taking a penalty and moving back to get a swing at it. And when you take your drop, yes, it will plug.

Clint hit a shot into this bunker at Pacific Dunes and it plugged deep in the sand. Most of them did. Notice the rake job by the last guy that was in there. He probably wasn't very happy with the shot he had to play- too much sand, plugged lie?

Here I am in a bunker on the 14th hole at Pacific Dunes. It's a short par 3 and I pulled my tee shot left into the sand. The ball ended up too close to the edge to take a swing and hit it toward the hole. I sat on the
bank and hit it at the back of the green. Not where I wanted to go, but I got it out on the first try. I hit a bad tee shot into a hazard, my fault.

Kevin Suther hit it into this fairway bunker at Pacific Dunes. Rocks, steep slopes, and no sand are all conditions present here.

Kevin plays his third shot from this bunker on the 18th fairway at Pacific.

He also hit his fourth shot from the same bunker!

My favorite bunker I saw on the trip at Pacific Dunes. Gorst, weeds, and rocks. Now this is a hazard. If you hit a shot into this bunker, good luck.

Sometimes we forget that bunkers are hazards and the conditions in them may not be what we want. Just remember, you hit a bad shot to get there and sometimes you have to pay your dues.