take a mulligan: PGA needs rules on bunker rakes at Memorial
OK, I think Jack Nicklaus may be taking things too far -- at least on his own initiative -- to combat the improvement of technology. He's called upon the Amish in Ohio to make him special rakes that leave furrows in the bunkers, in order to make the ball fall within them and reduce the ability of the players to put spin on the ball out of the bunkers. More from TGC here.
I'm not necessarily against the idea of making bunkers more of a penalty, but Jack's approach with these furrow-producing rakes should be examined and decided uniformly for all PGA tournaments. That way, players won't have to learn a new raking system at each venue, and the tournaments can't go over the edge to "trick up" the golf course. In the end, Jack's approach may be what the PGA needs, but shouldn't the "new" rakes be examined and tested just as any other equipment?
UPDATE: The PGA official on site at the Memorial just admitted that it may have made a mistake in not prepping the players earlier about the new rakes being experimented with this week. He basically admitted that the decision to switch the rakes were made this past week. This admission by the PGA only further confirms my criticism of the process in which the new rakes were implemented.
UPDATE 2: Wow. Here's even more ammunition in support of my view. Shaun Micheel reported that Davis Love, who is a member of the PGA Tour policy board, says the board approved a standardized rake for all PGA tournaments. Nick Price echoed this view. (More here) As I said before, I don't care if the PGA wants to make the bunkers really hard -- I'd even support them using quicksand.
But I think it's really unfair on the players to surprise them at a big tournament with new rakes that had not ever been available for them to practice with. As Micheel stated, "We showed up Monday, and they were furrowed and raked sideways. Today, every trap is raked parallel to the fairway. So they changed the conditions." It's even more unfair if the PGA did this all in contravention to an accepted agreement with the PGA Tour policy board of the players, as Davis Love apparently claims.
24 Comments:
I heard the PGA said it was just an experiment and it would not make any final decisions on anything.
But this still raises a good question: should individual PGA events be allowed to experiment with how the bunker is raked in a way to make it more difficult? Players might be at a disadvantage if the special rakes are not widely available, so they cannot really practice at home with the same type of sand.
This might help the Amish community that makes the rakes, though.
I don't think this will make a big difference, but let's wait and see.
They are flippin bunkers. They are supposed to be penalties!
Pine Valley (consistently rated the #1 golf course in the world), does not place rakes in its bunkers at all to emphasize that they are, in fact, hazards. Tough luck if you land in a footprint. Play it as it lies, folks.
Jason is correct. These are bunkers and, by definition, are supposed to be hazards. That's how the R&A sets them up for the Open--to penalize players for hitting a poor shot into one.
I agree that bunkers should be penalties and I don't care if the PGA tries to make the bunkers harder. Let them.
Many of the commenters are missing my point. It's about uniformity of conditions and the ability of the players to practice under new conditions they've never seen before.
The pot bunkers at British Open courses are accessible for the players to practice on. Do we know if the Amish-made rakes have even been available to any player yet?
Justin Rose was interviewed yesterday and he didn't even know they were changing the bunkers until the reporter asked him.
I like it. I like it a lot. I'm sure everyone reading this blog has heard pros say that sand-filled bunkers are very easy for them to escape (excluding the pots mentioned above); hazards are supposed to be a bad thing.
No doubt there will be complaints this week about the unfairness of some balls coming to rest in the furrows, and others plowing through them. Oh well--stay out of the frickn' bunkers!
As predicted--excerpt from a Washington Post story today (I don't think I can do the link:
"I don't like it at all," Price said. "It's a bit of pot luck, to be honest. You can get in there and have a perfect lie when it lands on top of a groove, then you can have another one that goes in the trough, and you've got no chance."
Love didn't bother stopping to talk, perhaps because he would have said something that offended tournament host Jack Nicklaus. Mickelson, the most pragmatic of the bunch, was tied for the lead until he hit into a fairway bunker and made bogey on the 17th, and he failed to get up-and-down from short of the 18th for another bogey.
"Everybody has to play it," Mickelson said. "These bunkers are just a different variety than we're used to."
My god...what is up with Nick Price? When did he become such a primadonna?
I don't buy the pot luck argument. The game is already full of pot luck ie landing in a divot hole, catching a bad lie in the rough, getting stuck behind a tree.
You know what's pot luck? All of these tournaments where guys are hitting wedges into every green and turning the event into a putting contest. Whoever get's lucky and rolls in a few 20 footers wins the trophy. That's pot luck.
and Jack said, "Hey Price, don't hit it in the bunkers."
People who enjoy facts may want to read this article instead of the rampant (and incorrect) over-dramatization done here. Jeez.
Bunkers aren't the same week to week because they're different depths, have different sands, etc. So these have furrows. Players were given 3 days to hit as many practice shots as they wanted.
They weren't given 3 days to practice on them. They raked them one way during the practice rounds, and then, lo and behold, they changed them into a completely different direction.
I don't agree with everything mulligan says, but the lack of prep time for the players was unfair. Even the PGA official admitted that yesterday on The Golf Channel.
Old Tom Morris is dead on right. To say that the players had time to prepare in 3 days is ludicrous. The players basically got the "bait and switch" pulled on them, even after the "surprise" of having furrowed bunkers in the first place. To switch the entire direction of the furrows after the practice rounds smells really fishy to me.
Once the PGA official admitted that they didn't adequately "prep" the players, I knew something was not right.
OK, fine. They probably shouldn't have changed the furrows after the practice round. What's the big deal, though. As Phil said, they're all playing the same course. I don't see how it affects the competition except that it raises scores. Just like the "unfair" deep rough, it penalizes inaccurate length and rewards straight shooters. I think Jack has it right.
A rule or guideline on the tines of a rake??? - What is next?? ...How about the number of blades of grass per square inch?
Let the supts have some room to be creative! How about varying rough lenths on the course? How about on the course OBs for the dog leg short cuts? How about difficult drop zone for players hitting the spectator tents (keeping them from going OB!)?
they are pro golfers and are being paid to play a sport. deal with the bunkers. every player is playing the same course so stop complaining
I think it is obvious that Tiger is playing against minor league players. They all fold when challenged. Most of these players would not make the pros 15 years ago. It it esay to make long putts when the field stinks.
it all comes down to the old axiom, folks; "drive for show, putt for dough". tiger is the best, and he deserves the kudos, as, he can do it all. congrats on another very fine job, tiger:)
the only problem i might fail to comprehend, within this elitist sport,is; try not to worry so much about crowd noise; as anyone that has ever stepped up to the "free throw" line, with any game on said line, has dealt with. i just dunno what the pro golfers would do with a couple thousand balloon waving morons in their face? seems the private jets taking off, above and around them, have a soothing effect, for some odd reason...(speaking of "free throws")
as far as the greens were; they were all playing on the same course, tho, the pins did seem to be part of the drainage system.
and always remember golf rule #1: swing as hard as you can (eyes open, or closed), and hope you find your ball :)
peace
post script: let alone your drunk-ass golf'n buddies brappin' one off, or gigglin, or just plain pullin' your chain, whilst you have a 6-footer for a 8-hole carry-over on the line
sheesh! so i strayed off the subject of the sand...you should try out our local mixture of river sand and clay. didn't mean to spoil the party. speak up
Zurich Classic - Where are the big boys? Sometimes a PGA tour stop is about giving back to both the sport and those who support it. The absence of most of the tour's top rated players in LA this week is unfortunate. It's not always about the tournaments prestige or purse.
A collapsible rake designed by a Wolverhampton man that attempts to solve an age old golfing conundrum is arriving at clubs around the country.
Keen golfer Bill Brisco made the lightweight golfing accessory – called a Bunkermate – as a way of tackling the problem of players not raking bunkers during rounds.
He launched the rake more than a year ago and has been contacted by a host of clubs across the country.
He said one is even looking into the possibility of ruling that all its members must carry a Bunkermate.
Mr Brisco said not all sand traps have their own rakes and he had spotted a gap in the market.
The collapsible rake can be carried in a golfer’s bag and used whenever the player finds himself in the sand.
Mr Brisco, aged 53, said: “It is rare to find a golf course these days where a rake has been provided for every bunker, many of them having to share the rake from a neighbouring bunker, or even worse the rakes provided are broken or missing altogether.”
Hallelujah !!!! I have always thought Nickalus just love to hear hear himself talk BUT this time He just may help to save the PGA Tour from going the way of the Albatross.. The "Furrow" Idea for bunkers is the best concept since Steel Shafts!
As a Player I couldn't agree more with the comments that Bunkers ARE HAZARDS and are TOO EASY. And for those of you that whine about the fact "Players should Be notified and things should be uniform so they can prepare" ....SCREW THE PLAYERS! These cry baby, coddled, so called "professionals" need to get a reality check. For those of your that dont know....The GREATEST players in History..Hogan, Snead, Palmer, Nicklaus...NEVER had the perfectly manicured, Pristine conditions on EVERY single course they played during their prime.
Golf is Supposed to be gauged on SKILL..NOT "How far can I hit it to get close to the green"..
Now if we can just get the MASTERS to adopt the The "Masters 1 ball" rule...AND abolish the ridiculous "all exempt Pga Tour" (can you name The 80th exempt tour player?) and Square Grooves. (Dont get me started on the Long Putter "BRACED" Against the Body)....We just may See the REAL players reappear and save the "game" of golf.
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