![\"Berkhamsted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Golfshake_-_Berkhamsted_ybpvq0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\tIf you asked someone to draw a picture of the\u00a0archetypal golf hole, they would probably sketch different shades of green to represent the definition between fairway and rough, leading to a smooth surface with a flag sticking out from it. Also likely to be present is a bunker or two – those deadly sand pits that will ruin many a scorecard.<\/p>\n
\tThese are undeniably part of the aesthetic iconography of the game, but do golf courses even need bunkers?<\/p>\n
\tWhy Do Golf Courses Have Bunkers?<\/p>\n
\tEmerging naturally on the linksland in Scotland, once typically formed by sheep and livestock burrowing into depressions on the landscape, these hazards were an integral part of many early layouts.<\/p>\n
\tOnce design principles and the strategic element of golf became more sophisticated, those forefathers of course architecture like Old Tom Morris saw that bunkers were further incorporated into the examination presented by individual golf holes.<\/p>\n
\tWhen we think of the most distinctive bunkers – and many of them have become iconic – they add a great deal to thousands of courses around the world. They have become part of the template that course designers have usually followed, but somehow the more artificial bunkers have far less charm than those that emerged naturally.<\/p>\n
\tThese days, especially on modern creations, some bunkers seem to exist more for what they add visually than how they actually impact golfers during their round.<\/p>\n
\tNot Every Golf Course Has Bunkers<\/p>\n
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\t(Image Credit: Andy Hiseman)<\/p>\n
\tThat said, not every venue in the game has bunkers, as we recently showcased in this feature article<\/a>, while many others have a limited number that rarely influence play.<\/p>\n \tJust as water and trees aren’t present on every course, bunkers could be viewed in the same manner. The likes of Royal Ashdown Forest<\/a>,\u00a0Berkhamsted<\/a> and Kington<\/a> have shown that you can offer a captivating test without the need for these sandy hollows of terror.<\/p>\n \tI spent many formative days playing\u00a0the eponymous Bute Golf Club<\/a> on the Isle of Bute, which only began to add a few bunkers within the last decade. Previously, it was all grass of varying lengths with swales and undulations to keep the golfer engaged.<\/p>\n \tWise minds have often said that the best hazard in golf is short grass – simply because it gives the player a range of shot choices to either make a recovery or play themselves into further trouble.<\/p>\n \tDo Golf Courses Even Need Bunkers?<\/p>\n