RULES & HANDICAPPING
By Ed Gowan
@#&*# Or as they are better known to those who play the game of golf — bunkers
T
he “hazards” of the old Rules of Golf are now “penalty areas,” but in my mind, all bunkers are still hazardous. There’s no question that the concept of playing from sand originated in seaside Scotland, as no other game or area of the world takes such pleasure from sand pits. The word “bunker” first appeared in the Royal & Ancient’s Rules in 1812 without any explanation. It must have been part of the local lexicon, noting that what we now know as “loose impediments” could be moved away from the ball, “but nothing can be removed if it lie on sand or in a bunker.” Other clubs did not adopt the term for some time, although in 1815, the Links of Aberdeen Rules noted, “In playing out of sand or loose ground, the player shall neither beat down nor drew away the sand or soil from the ball.” A fact for some 200plus years in the rules that seems to be lost on some current players.
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The Perth Golfing Society adopted the word in 1825 in common fashion, indicating that although the word originated in the 1750s as a “sleeping berth,” the habit of sheep to bed down in sandy hollows that both removed the turf covering sand in the seaside dunes where golf was played and created the wonderful challenges we now replicate worldwide. In typical Scottish fashion, creating obstacles was easiest achieved by replicating the work of the sheep, and sand hollows proliferated as means of creating interest on otherwise open turf “fairways.” As winds often eroded or flattened edges, stacked turf borders both protected the outline of bunkers and added more challenge for golfers. As Robin Williams so eloquently noted, “They put a flagstick in the hole to give you hope, then put all sorts of @#&*# in the way” — a more colorful word for the bunkers we now love so well. Sand has become as much a part of golf courses throughout the world as
a putting green, as you will rarely find one without its sandy guardians. The words “putting green,” coincidentally, also appeared without explanation in the Rules of Golf in that same 1812 edition from the Royal & Ancient. But, that’s another story for the next issue. Here’s what you need to know today: 1. Don’t improve the lie of the ball, area of swing or line of play. 2. Don’t touch the sand either behind or in front of the ball. 3. Don’t test the condition of the bunker with a practice stroke or probing. Unlike the last 207 years, we can now move impediments from around the ball without affecting the lie, area of swing or line of play. If you’re interested in further exploring the significance of “@#&*#’s” in Scotland, why not join the Arizona Golf Tour for the 150th British Open at St. Andrews in 2021 and watch the world’s best attempt to navigate the 112 named bunkers on the Old Course! Then after the Open finishes, you’ll have the chance to experience them yourself. See the AGA website, AzGolf.org, for more information. n
www.azgolf.org
