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More unfriendly bunker condition.

?

  • A: Brand new, high quality, but unsettled sand.

    Votes: 23 32.9%

  • B: Old unkempt, hard-packed sand.

    Votes: 47 67.1%
  • Total voters
    70
B.

We encounter hard packed sand a lot on our course. It is very easy to bounce the leading edge into the back of the ball, and blow it way over the green.
 
Directly related to distance for me. If I'm 20' from the pin I'll take the fluff over hard. Go out to full swing range and it's the opposite.
 
OldandStiff said:
Directly related to distance for me. If I'm 20' from the pin I'll take the fluff over hard. Go out to full swing range and it's the opposite.
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My course is hard packed dirt/mud bunkers. I don't mind the rare shot out of a fairway bunker (I'm more of a picker to begin with). Greenside bunker? Forget it. You're almost better off taking the roller coaster ride with a putter and hope it "makes the crest". Absolute trash.
 
Super fluffy is the hardest IMO. Don't really find hard packed that tough.
 
As much as I dislike hardpacked sand, the unsettled stuff is way worse. Huge chance for a fried egg, or fully buried if it comes in steep and if you get a decent lie really hard to judge how it will come out. So 50% of the time people are going to come up way short and 50% they will fly it way long.

Our course replaced the sand in several areas right during covid when there were no rakes… and they weren’t having the grounds crew work them… it was awful. Finally started to settle in earlier this year.
 
I voted B as I believe they are harder to play, but my home course is going through redoing all the bunkers and the new sand is extremely fluffy right now. It is better then they were and expect within 12 months they will probably be perfect which is a huge upgrade.
 
Never played in A I don't think, plus B sand is just such a b*tch
 
robrandalgz said:
My course is hard packed dirt/mud bunkers. I don't mind the rare shot out of a fairway bunker (I'm more of a picker to begin with). Greenside bunker? Forget it. You're almost better off taking the roller coaster ride with a putter and hope it "makes the crest". Absolute trash.
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Hitting out of those kind of bunkers is like hitting off a cart path, the only way you're getting under the ball is with a pickaxe! Guaranteed skull city, and if there's a lip in front of you, good luck elevating the ball enough to get over it. Some of the courses around here are so bad that we declare bunkers as Ground Under Repair right from the start.
 
Am I crazy, or is hardpack sand actually really easy to play? You can just pick the ball off that stuff with your normal wedge swing...

Now fluffy sand and I are not friends at all. I can leave it in the trap, sneak it over the lip, or blast it 20 yards over the green with equal probability.
 
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TxAggie2018 said:
Am I crazy, or is hardpack sand actually really easy to play? You can just pick the ball off that stuff with your normal wedge swing...

Now fluffy sand and I are not friends at all. I can leave it in the trap, sneak it over the lip, or blast it 20 yards over the green with equal probability.
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I think this is inversely related to bunker skill. A less skilled player will find more consistency hitting out of hard packed sand. A more skilled bunker player will find they have a lot more options playing in fluffy sand, which they can use to get the ball closer to the hole under a variety of scenarios.
 
Packed sand all day, on the assumption that it's greenside. I find is just impossible to get any sort of decent shot out of it, it will come out but likely to be 20 yards through the green and running fast!
 
My feeling is that the answer depends on how capable someone is out of the sand. The better player will likely struggle with new sand that hasn’t had time to settle due to its unpredictability.

Wet sand no matter what type is always more difficult as well.
 
Wet bunker and unplayable rough behind the green means it is time to take a penalty!
2019 rule allows dropping the ball back out of the bunker for a 2 shot penalty.

Another option is stroke and distance. Take that if you have a good lie from the fairway and chunk the ball into the bunker.
Taking penalty strokes may take a lot of pressure off your game and speed up play!

I prefer fluffy sand over hard packed.
 
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Unpacked, loose and too much sand is so hard to hit good shots out of imho.

I’ll take harder packed sand any day.
 
I’ll take the fluffy sand over hard packed all day.
 
Hard packed is iffy and goes nowhere for me. A local course was bouncing back after a few storms and imposed a rule that all bunkers were ground under repair and you could take a free drop if you hit one. I hit only 1 bunker that day.
 
TxAggie2018 said:
Am I crazy, or is hardpack sand actually really easy to play? You can just pick the ball off that stuff with your normal wedge swing...

Now fluffy sand and I are not friends at all. I can leave it in the trap, sneak it over the lip, or blast it 20 yards over the green with equal probability.
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I guess it depends on what your hardpack sand is like, and what your bunkers are like. Around here the hardpack sand is like concrete - I can easily chip/bump and run off it, but if the bunker has a tall lip in the front it's almost impossible to get the clubhead under the ball to elevate the shot enough to clear the lip. It's like trying to dig the leading edge of the club into the cart path, it's just going to bounce off and hit the equator of the ball.
 
Always old unkempt sand. If courses aren't going to maintain they might as well fill them in with grass.
 
Snowman said:
I guess it depends on what your hardpack sand is like, and what your bunkers are like. Around here the hardpack sand is like concrete - I can easily chip/bump and run off it, but if the bunker has a tall lip in the front it's almost impossible to get the clubhead under the ball to elevate the shot enough to clear the lip. It's like trying to dig the leading edge of the club into the cart path, it's just going to bounce off and hit the equator of the ball.
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Yeah, I just take a square 60* chip at it. Usually that's plenty of loft to get out of trouble.
 
New bunkers are like trying get a stance on a snow drift.
 
I voted "B" only because I have not encountered the " A" variety as yet.

My club of choice for green side firm bunkers ("B") sand is my 60* near zero bounce wedge.

Any other firm bunkers, I just treat as thin lies, with the appropriate club selection to clear the lip, and advance the ball.

I'm not a good sand player, so I avoid them at all cost. I can usually get out them is one stroke, but with poor control after that.
 
While both are difficult for me I would have to say the hard unkept bunker is harder as you have to play a completely different shot than your typically bunker shot and you are not taking any sand with it either.
 
I’ll take fluffy sand 10/10 times over hard packed sand. I can dig out a bad lie but without being able to take a practice swing and being bad at chipping already if it’s hard I’m totally lost
 
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