Hazard (golf)

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Fairway bunkers at the Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Township, Michigan Oakland Hills Country Club - Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.jpg
Fairway bunkers at the Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Township, Michigan
The road hole bunker at the Old Course at St Andrews Road hole bunker.jpg
The road hole bunker at the Old Course at St Andrews

A hazard is an area of a golf course in the sport of golf which provides a difficult obstacle, which may be of two types: (1) water hazards such as lakes and rivers; and (2) man-made hazards such as bunkers. The governing body for the game of golf outside the US and Canada, The R&A, say that A "hazard" is any bunker or water hazard. [1] Special rules apply to play balls that fall in a hazard. For example, a player may not touch the ground with their club before playing a ball, not even for a practice swing. A ball in any hazard may be played as it lies without penalty. If it cannot be played from the hazard, the ball may be hit from another location, generally with a penalty of one stroke. The Rules of Golf govern exactly from where the ball may be played outside a hazard. Bunkers (or sand traps) are shallow pits filled with sand and generally incorporating a raised lip or barrier, from which the ball is more difficult to play than from grass. [2]

Contents

Bunker

A golfer hitting from a greenside bunker Golf bunker.jpg
A golfer hitting from a greenside bunker

A bunker is a depression, commonly near the green or fairway, that is usually filled with sand. Playing the ball from a bunker is considered more difficult than from closely mown grass, and to do so proficiently requires a high degree of skill. A specialized club called a "sand wedge" is designed for extracting the ball from a bunker. Specific rules of golf govern play from a bunker. For example, a player may not ground their club in a bunker; that is, the club cannot touch the ground before the swing.

According to the etiquette of the game, the player (or their caddie) is expected to smooth the area of the sand disturbed, normally using a rake, in order that conditions are the similar for all players.

Types of bunkers

There are three types of bunkers used in golf course architecture and all are designed to be impediments to the golfer's progress toward the green. Fairway bunkers are designed primarily to gather up wayward tee shots on par 4 and par 5 holes; they are located to the sides of the fairway or even in the middle of the fairway. Greenside bunkers are designed to collect wayward approach shots on long holes and tee shots on par 3 holes; they are located near and around the green. Waste bunkers are natural sandy areas, usually very large and often found on links courses; they are not considered hazards according to the rules of golf, and so, unlike in fairway or greenside bunkers, golfers are permitted to ground a club lightly in, or remove loose impediments from, the area around the ball. [3]

Water hazard

A water hazard on the Shell Point Golf Course in Iona, Florida Shell Point Golf Course - panoramio (2).jpg
A water hazard on the Shell Point Golf Course in Iona, Florida
The Swilken Burn on the Old Course at St Andrews Swilken Bridge, Old Course, St Andrews-5347471 938d81c9 (cropped).jpg
The Swilken Burn on the Old Course at St Andrews

Water hazards, like bunkers, are natural obstacles designed to add both beauty and difficulty to a golf course. Water hazards are typically either streams or ponds, situated between the teeing ground and the hole.

Types of water hazards

Two types of water hazards exist: "lateral" water hazards (marked with red stakes around the perimeter of the hazard) and water hazards (marked with yellow stakes). Lateral hazards are usually adjacent to the fairway being played (along the side), while water hazards generally cross the fairway being played forcing the player to hit over the water hazard.

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A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". The cup holds a flagstick, known as a "pin". A standard round of golf consists of 18 holes, and as such most courses contain 18 distinct holes; however, there are many 9-hole courses and some that have holes with shared fairways or greens. There are also courses with a non-standard number of holes, such as 12 or 14.

The following is a glossary of the terminology currently used in the sport of golf. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. Old names for clubs can be found at Obsolete golf clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedge (golf)</span> Type of golf club used in special situations

In the sport of golf, a wedge is a subset of the iron family of golf clubs designed for special use situations. As a class, wedges have the highest lofts, the shortest shafts, and the heaviest clubheads of the irons. These features generally aid the player in making accurate short-distance "lob" shots, to get the ball onto the green or out of a hazard or other tricky spot. In addition, wedges are designed with modified soles that aid the player in moving the clubhead through soft lies, such as sand, mud, and thick grass, to extract a ball that is embedded or even buried. Wedges come in a variety of configurations, and are generally grouped into four categories: pitching wedges, sand wedges, gap/approach wedges and lob wedges.

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Aronimink Golf Club is a private country club in the eastern United States, located in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, a suburb west of Philadelphia. Its championship layout is consistently rated among the nation's top golf courses. Aronimink is currently ranked 78th in Golf Digest's "Greatest Courses," 44th in "Toughest Courses" and 55th in Golfweek's "Classic Courses." In 2010, Aronimink was ranked #4 among the toughest courses on the PGA Tour by Links magazine.

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Golf etiquette refers to a set of rules and practices designed to make the game of golf safer and more enjoyable for golfers and to minimize possible damage to golf equipment and courses. Although many of these practices are not part of the formal rules of golf, golfers are customarily expected to observe them. The R&A rule book states that "[t]he overriding principle is that consideration should be shown to others on the course at all times."

Sand Ridge Golf Club, was designed by Tom Fazio and is located in Munson Township, Geauga County, Ohio, near Chardon. Construction on the course started in late 1995 and opened for its private members on May 18, 1998. The course was built on 370 acres (1.5 km2) of woods, pastures and wetlands located next to the Fairmount Minerals sandstone quarry in Chardon. It also contains the headwaters of both the Chagrin and Cuyahoga rivers.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oak Tree National</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenskeeper</span> Person who cares for a golf course

A greenskeeper is a person responsible for the upkeep of a golf course.

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Funnies are terms used during a game of golf to describe various achievements, both positive and negative. They are different from traditional expressions such a birdie, eagle, etc. in that they do not necessarily refer to strict scores, but to unusual events which may happen in the course of a game. They are constantly being developed and there is some variation in their interpretation and usage throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golf</span> Club-and-ball sport

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Adams Country Club</span>

North Adams Country Club is a semi-private golf course located in Clarksburg, Massachusetts. The club hosts one of the oldest Invitational Singles Tournaments in New England.

University Ridge Golf Course is a public golf course in the central United States, located in Verona and Madison, Wisconsin. It is the home course to both the men's and women's golf teams for the University of Wisconsin. Also, since 1994, it has been home to both the boys' and girls' WIAA state golf championships for all divisions. Beginning in 2016, Steve Stricker, a Wisconsin native, has hosted an event on the PGA Tour Champions every June at University Ridge. The Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course is also located on the property.

The Valley Golf Course is an 18-hole municipal golf course located in Burlington, North Carolina. It is owned and operated by the city of Burlington. Prior to 2021, it was known as Indian Valley.

References

  1. "Rules of Golf Definitions". The R&A . Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. Pelanda, Brian. "What's a 'Bunker'?: The Curious Case of How Dustin Johnson Lost the 2010 PGA Championship and Why the PGA Must Revise the Now Infamous Local Rule at Whistling Straits". Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal. 22 (Fall/Winter 2011): 67. SSRN   1909575.
  3. "USGA Explanation on Status Of "Waste Bunkers"". Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2010.