HOYLAKE (England) — The 156 players in the field of the 151st Open Championship all have a strong opinion about the 80 or so pot bunkers which litter Royal Liverpool’s course like landmines. Few of them are effusive. Since autocorrect was introduced thirty years ago, a group male jocks has not used the word “penal”.
Some players seemed to be ok with the challenges of the sand. Two, for example, played backwards or pin-balled off the sod walls during the first round.
Jon Rahm said, “Proper penal structures”
“You’re riding your luck,” said Rory McIlroy.
It’s because Royal Liverpool bunkers aren’t built in the traditional concave shape, where sand slopes run up the walls and provide loft to help the ball roll towards the flat middle of the trap. Instead, bunker floors are flat, or slope slightly towards the walls which are mostly parallel. This arrangement increases the likelihood that a player will find his ball flush with the wall or, at least, have to bend their body in a way rarely seen by athletes who do not work a balance beam.
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After multiple incidents on Thursday, R&A lost their nerve and loosen the thumbscrews.
In a Friday morning statement, Open organizers stated that “yesterday afternoon we saw the bunkers dry out more than in the past weeks. This led to more balls going straight up the face as we would expect.” We have therefore raked the bunkers in a slightly different way to raise the sand one revet up the face of each bunker. In most Open venues, we rake the bunkers flat. However, yesterday’s drier weather conditions prompted us to make this adjustment.
It is just as controversial to change the timing as it is the actual change. The R&A has admitted that the conditions were worse in the first round. Shouldn’t this have happened again during the second round so that both sides of the draw could be treated equally? The injustice and bias that occurred in the first round is almost enough to make you wish Sergio Garcia was on the course.
This change is very popular among competitors. McIlroy stated that his 4-iron pitched onto the bunker on the 5th hole and returned to the hole. He added that he had expected to hit the ball into the face. “I didn’t know that they had made that gradual rise into the face at this point, and I was pleasantly shocked that I had a chance when I got there.” “I wouldn’t say that there is anyone in the field who wouldn’t appreciate that change.”
It’s still tempting to wonder what an 68-year old retiree from Japan thinks about it.
Tommy Nakajima, in 1978, was in contention for the 107th St. Andrews Open when he reached in regulation the green on the par-4 hole 17. His birdie shot hit the wrong side and fell into the Road Hole bunker. It was a much deeper pit than today. He had to take four shots before he could get out and he ended up making a nine. The Sands of Nakajima entered Open lore.
Nakajima did not complain about the steepness of the slope or the severity the bunker that led him to his demise. The R&A did not soften the rules for the following day’s game. The combination of a marginal drive and bad luck got him there, and this is also true for most shots at Hoylake that end up in the hazards. The R&A’s role is not to mitigate or cushion bad breaks or marginal shots. Or it used to not be. Links golf is a game of chance. It’s the heart of an ancient game.
The PGA Tour takes pride in the courses that it offers every week, as part of its futile but feverish attempt to commodify the conditions and eliminate unpredictable elements from the game. Tour members appreciate that it makes things more about execution and reduces the need for intangibles like imagination, creativity, and forbearance. Although the Tour denies that this is its philosophy, it’s what happens.
To minimize the unpredictable is to go against the very essence of links golf. At the Open, unpredictability is everywhere — in the weather, in the bounce of the ball, in the lie and even in the pressure of the British showers. In the past, this was like being pissed on, but without the warmth. The ground game is diminished when the possibility of cruel outcomes are reduced in bunkers.
It’s not a new thing to make changes to the course layouts based on mediocre player feedback. Jack Nicklaus, in an effort to create a more challenging course at the 2006 Memorial Tournament held at Muirfield Village, introduced rakes which gently furrowed bunkers. The experiment was abandoned due to locker room complaints. The experiment was abandoned after locker room complaints.
The battleground in golf has always been where players want to challenge each other and the desire not to embarrass themselves. Major championships must strive to push this front forward in favor of challenge, while remaining on the right side goofy. This goal is not achieved by softening the bunkers at Royal Liverpool.
When asked earlier this week if the new hole at 17 is too harsh, Rahm replied that it was not.
He replied, “I’d say it’s fair if you’re saying it’s true. It’s unfair for everyone.” “Like golf and life.” “Simple as that.”
