Gnarly Bunkers

"A hazard placed in the exact position where a player would

naturally go is frequently the most interesting situation,

as a special effort is needed to get over it or to avoid it."

-Alister MacKenzie

The Spirit of St. Andrews, p 55

Somehow the designers of golf courses shifted to principally building hazards on the sides of golf holes. Sometimes built under the branding of words like "Penal School", this plague was particularly drawn to American courses.

Bellow are some of the gnarliest, most interesting, captivating, memorable, and horrifying sandy hazards that I've been able to photograph.

Volcano Bunkers

Kiawah Ocean 4, Pete Dye

Long Island Sand Dunes

Friars Head 9, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw

Colorado Blowout

Ballyneal 7, Tom Doak

Glacial Bunker

Bethpage Black 4, AW Tillinghast

Hell Bunker

The Old Course 14, St. Andrews

Road Hole Bunker

The Old Course, St. Andrews

Sandy Gorge

Tobacco Road 11, Mike Stranz

Spectacles Bunkers

Carnoustie 14, Allan Robertson and James Braid

Dormie Hell

Dormie Club 17, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw

Future Bunker

Sand Mine, New Jersey