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Fairway Bunkers

• Steve915 68 Posts

  Sun, Apr 7 2019 10:31 PM

  I'm so sick of fairway bunkers in WGT.

   

  Sure, you can say avoid them, but if you get in one, it's a one stroke penalty.

  All you can do is take a pitching wedge and maybe get 75-100 yards....there is absolutely NO WAY to get any significant yardage out of a fairway bunker.

   

  WGT should fix this.

• alosso 21,070 Posts

  Sun, Apr 7 2019 10:37 PM

  It has been this way as long as I've been playing the game. By chance, it might be not a bug but a feature(?)

• SimonTheBeetle 3,643 Posts

  Mon, Apr 8 2019 1:05 AM

  Steve915:

  ...if you get in one, it's a one stroke penalty.

  That's how it is in RL golf as well, isn't it? It depends on the conditions of lie you end up with, but usually it is very very hard to clean-contact the ball and stick it to the pin in that situation... even for professionals.

• andwhy67 2,816 Posts

  Mon, Apr 8 2019 4:57 AM

  Steve915:

  Sure, you can say avoid them, but if you get in one, it's a one stroke penalty.

  this is where a decent short game comes into play

• Robert1893 7,721 Posts

  Mon, Apr 8 2019 10:20 AM

  Steve915:

    I'm so sick of fairway bunkers in WGT.

  Sure, you can say avoid them, but if you get in one, it's a one stroke penalty.

  All you can do is take a pitching wedge and maybe get 75-100 yards....there is absolutely NO WAY to get any significant yardage out of a fairway bunker.

  WGT should fix this 

  While I can understand the frustration, I don't think there's anything that needs to be fixed. Yes, you can only advance the ball a (relatively) short distance, but something in the game has to be penal.
  
  Additionally, a player can still make par from many (but not all) fairway bunkers. As noted above, a player just needs to develop his or her short game. I've saved a lot of pars from fairway bunkers.
  
  By the way, yes, the answer really is to avoid them. Play it safe and smart and that should take care of the issue.

   

• Mythanatos 2,216 Posts

  Mon, Apr 8 2019 10:21 AM

  course management.

  Things to absolutely not cut it close on. because there is no recoverability. it's a stroke.

   

  1)Water. 

  2) Out of Bounds. 

  3) Greenside bunkers to a tight downhill pin. 

  4) Fairway bunkers greater than 80 yards from the pin. 

   

   

  Five yards closer isn't worth risking any of those in a stroke play game. in a match play it's a different story. different decision making process.

• lonniescott711 4,206 Posts

  Mon, Apr 8 2019 10:41 AM

  You`re actually long over due for club upgrades . When playing from the tips you will need clubs with more bite . You have decent wedges but your irons are lacking . So start working on upgrading your long clubs as it will help improve your game .

• borntobesting 9,706 Posts

  Mon, Apr 8 2019 11:26 AM

  SimonTheBeetle:

  Steve915:

  ...if you get in one, it's a one stroke penalty.

  That's how it is in RL golf as well, isn't it? It depends on the conditions of lie you end up with, but usually it is very very hard to clean-contact the ball and stick it to the pin in that situation... even for professionals.

  And these fairway bunkers aren't your muni course barely with any sand bunkers, These are U.S Open and British Open bunkers. There is a big difference. On my home course there is so little sand in the fairway bunkers I can hit any club I need to get to the green. Much like the hard sand at Kiawah Island. 

• Faz2000 93 Posts

  Mon, Apr 8 2019 5:01 PM

  Mythanatos:

  1)Water. 

  2) Out of Bounds. 

  3) Greenside bunkers to a tight downhill pin. 

  4) Fairway bunkers greater than 80 yards from the pin. 

   

  Actually, that's a great list. Very true. I stay away from the wet stuff and OOB, but #3 is a bit of an issue. I get too aggressive on the approach, and a slight mishit (there's a few on Pinehurst, from memory, especially) where you slip off into the sand and forget about par.

  Fairway bunkers it's usually a matter of being lazy and rushing the shot instead of properly allowing for margin-for-error on the shot.

• middbrew 318 Posts

  Tue, Apr 9 2019 7:09 AM

  Personally, I like the challenge of a realistic course, that includes those fairway bunkers. If we take those out what's next, no more back tees? Only slower greens?

  As was mentioned, it's all about course management just like the pros do. Learning the holes intricacies can play to the players advantage or at a minimum keep him/her on the same level as their opponent.