Not all bunkers are created equal. Some demand a lob wedge. Others demand a prayer. And five hazards on the major championship rotation have earned reputations so fearsome that even the world\u2019s best players don\u2019t aim at them; they aim away.<\/p>\n
Watch What\u2019s Trending Now!<\/p>\n
PGA West\u2019s \u201cSan Andreas Fault\u201d defines vertical survival<\/p>\n
Pete Dye built a 20-foot vertical wall and named it after California\u2019s most dangerous fault line. The comparison fits.<\/p>\n
This greenside bunker doesn\u2019t care about distance control or spin rates. It cares about one thing: whether your ball can clear the lip. William Mouw learned that lesson at the 2025 American Express. He entered the 16th hole at 6-under and walked off at 2-over<\/a> after recording a 13\u2014eight strokes surrendered to a single hazard.<\/p>\n The escape tool: a 60\u00b0 to 64\u00b0 lob wedge with a fully open face. Swing vertically. Pray loudly.<\/p>\n Oakmont\u2019s \u201cChurch Pews\u201d eliminate forward progress<\/p>\n Oakmont\u2019s most infamous hazard stretches over 100 yards between the third and fourth fairways. Twelve grass ridges, each three feet high, segment the sand into a maze of impossible lies and blocked stances. Forward progress becomes fantasy. The ridges eliminate any chance of advancement toward the green, transforming a single mistake into a lateral escape at best.<\/p>\n Tom Fazio expanded the bunker in 2005, making it wider and meaner.\u00a0 Tiger Woods <\/a>understood the message. At the 2007 U.S. Open, he refused to hit a single practice shot from the Church Pews. His reasoning was blunt: he didn\u2019t \u201cpractice negatively.\u201d<\/p>\n