Since the course opened in 1927 the bunkers and course has been evolving and changing. Restorative bunker work was completed in the early 1990's. Since then the course has been undergoing additional changes. The above picture was taken from satellite imagery after (left) and before (right) the most recent work to #10.The tenth hole is one of the most famous and architecturally significant holes in the US. When I first saw the new version - on the left - I thought someone had photoshopped the bunker as a joke. Turns out it wasn't. Were there reasons to change the bunker? Probably several. When I last saw the course it was hand raked - maybe it was too much raking when hitting it in the middle of a bunker - thus the added fingers. Maybe it fits in better with all the other changes that have occurred - why was this one done near the end? It looks like a lot more maintenance work now.
What I like least about the new bunker is that is clutters up the view of a beautiful hole. The bunker is now distracting and is screaming "LOOK AT ME!!". It draws my eye all around the shapes and doesn't give enough importance to the green and overall strategy. In my opinion it was also historically significant and worthy of preservation - not modernization.
This is my last dislike - here are the others: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.
I thought it would be fun to continue what Ian Andrew had started on his blog, it turns out it wasn't as enjoyable as I'd thought.
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