THE BUNKERING OF GOLF COURSES.

NZ Truth, Issue 871, 5 August 1922, Page 8

THE BUNKERING OF GOLF COURSES.

(By Arthur Ham.) A few people declare that' golf is too easy, but the vast majority of golfers maintain that it is becoming far too difficult. As a matter of fact, both, views are correct. . Golf, as it : is played m ninety cases out of . every hundred, is too easy for the plus player, while at the same time it is- far; too difficult for the average player. The chief cause of this; especially on "inland links, is the manner" m : - which courses are bunkered. • ""■ '■• "■" ■"•-■ The accompanying diagrams will 11- : lustrate my points. ■ Sketch No. 1- ■• ' ;

'I is a fairly common type of uninteresting.' hole frequently met with, and is one ; that the plus player can get no satis-: faction from — hence his argument thatgolf is too easy. The po,pr other play- : er punches his ball from bunker to ; bunker and maintains that golf Is too ; hard. This method of bunkering is, altogether wrong. It is quite possible : to bunker a course m such a manner i that the good player will have to consider each shot from tee to green, •while at the same time the poor player will have as little discouragement as" possible. In the first place' some courses have too many bunkers.. The few that are necessary should be placed m such a manner to reward a wellplayed shot by allowing an easy second, while a bad one should be punished by making a difficult second. They should, m, fact, be so placed and of such a size as to influence the execution of each shot from tee to green. They seldom affect the ..scratch man, but cause great annoyance to. the poor player, who. is generally. . sufficiently punished bs' getting:' into the rough; They should seldom be made- except to punish the bad: shot of the good player. For example, take No. 2 diagram. ■.',...

This shows a hole the same length as No. 1, but with only four bunkers. , The tee shot, 'to be well '\ placed, must carry the bunker on the : ;left and the second to the green will .i then be an easy one. '■• If the player ■ takes the safe route tq the right he i,

;Squires, a last year's junior, has served them weli this season and is m the i running for a: place m the rep. team ' : to play 'Australia. -Well . done. .Jack ! The Zanol Cup junior representative : match, Wellington . v.. Canterbury takes olace m .Christchurch on August ; 12, anrl by what this scribe' knows of the standard of junior play m the two centres, . the .Wellington selector- will' need to send down a particularly hot. combination to -extend the Holy City lads. .-.,.. „r ;. .. . .. _ .. A good friend to the schoolboys is" Jim :■■■ Whitair. ; : Jim seems to have a fatherly, control • over all the boys' j teams that play at the park, and the i boys themselves: recognise and defer to him m all things. Jim was never a hockey player, but supports and helps to manage ; the game through sheer love oi 1 good sport. This scribe.- was ; once skipper of a boys' team m the Karori Club and, believe me, it was'a' hectic job, but -thanks ; x to the influence" of Jim Whitair, the | team was the^ most united m the club at the finish. The role of peace-maker seems to rotate t; him naturally, and it's a great pity we do not' possess a multitude, more of , his calibre. . May his shado\y< never grow less, and- may the teams he picks (he is junior selector) be a credit to him.. ... Referee Ginger will probalily,?iMa.ke the' trip to control the Zanol Cup game at Christchurch. If,, however, he cannot do so, Referee Gracie will have the job of keeping the turbulent juniors m order. .• ' ;

has_ a difficult' second. _ ■ Wing bunkers here are unnecessary.- A slice into the rqtigh will necessitate a very dim-, cult recovery, and a pulled drive over the bunker, does' hot deserve .'.to-. be ; severely punished... The hole is suffi-. cieritly testing for the plus player, and the. pleasure of th,e long handicap, man is not spoilt. No. 3is an. example of a drive and pitch hole.

Here a diagonal bu.nker for the, tee shot and two -bunkers ' guard-: ing the green are sufficient to make the hole "none too easy. As before, the more difficult the drive the easier the approach, ,;and vice versa; The poor player will derive as much pleasure by carrying the left of the bunker as the good player will by accomplishing the big carry, but the latter will probably gain a stroke over the former. This is one of the great advantages of the diagonal ha2ard. The No. 4 diagram "

has this kind of hazard for the second shot. In order to get a 4 the drive rritist be. long enough and sufficiently well placed to- enable the left side of the bunker to be carried with the second shot. A sliced or pulled tee sjhot ,/will entail a really good recovery .m 'order to make certain of a5. The average playej will have to place his shots just as carefully as the good one if he. wishes 'for: a 5, and even the beginner will ndt-v find^ enough trouble to spoil his enjoyment. It will be noticeable that wing hazards are not used. This is not condemnation of them, but merely to show that they are not indispensable. Where the ground is undulating, fewer bunkers, if well placed, may be used. Courses on .which players hit down the fairway,, with all the trouble at the sides, seldom breed champions. It is possible by the thoughtful placing of a few bunkers to make a course a good test of the game— i.e.; to make the good players think hard and, at the same time, afford enjoyment to the long handicap man. Where there is a lot of play, there should be at least three tees to each hole. This will suit windy weather, but the medal tee should only be used for competitions. Too often the tees are m a shocking state on competition days.