Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-04-20

Ond shot is as likely to make the green
as a good one, or, even after Il topped
drive, the green may be made in three.
Now, at the Mid-Surrey course, an artifi-
cal gully crosses the line at 100 yards.
and it is the deepest at the ends. so that
it will stop a topped ball and punish more
severely Il pulled or sliced one. No good
golfer need concern himself about an OBJ
stacle so near the tee, however, and the
only bunker to be considered is an arti-
fetal one of sod. crossing the course 225
yards from the tee. 1t is six feet high
and has a trap or the far side so that
after fine drive it is necessary to play
high iron shot on which there must be
plenty of cut so that the ball will not
roll, If the green is to be gained in two
After a short drive or Il weak second
shot it is very hard to reach this green in
less than four.
Seaside courses rely mostly on sand
bunkers, usually natural ones on the links
abroad but the inland courses have to
depend on the severity of the artificial
sodded banks. They are usually six feet
high, with a ditch on the near side hav-
ing 4 bottom of sand or small pebbles.
The bottom is never permitted to harden,
so that a niblick or maShie may always
hit well under the ball. The bunkers are
usually placed to protect the putting
green, the straight line through the fair
green being purposely left clear to afford
the pleasure of making fine drives and
second shots. But there are all sorts of
traps on the right or left. to punish q
player who deviates from the true line.
When a sOdded bunker crosses the fair
green it is usually a low one, merely high
enough to check a topped or half-tOpped
ball and drop it into the trap before it.
One of the holes ON the Mid-Surrey
course, Of 800 yards. is all plain sailing,
except for the side traps and a siX-foOt
! bunker before the green. A drive, brassy
and full iron shot should make the green,
but after a short drive it would be impos-
| sible to get on in three. There is no
| chance for long third shot to roll on
| the green.
''The English plan of making high
| sOdded bunker mas many advantages [
| believe, over the solid earth banks usual
| ly put up here. The English bunkers are
| not so wide as the bunkers | have seen
| here, but as it is forbidden in both cOun-
| tries to play a ball from the face of a
| bunker, this makes little difference The
| English plan is to construct, first a tim
| Der frame or skeleton bunker against
which soil is packed, and the bank thus
| obtained is sodded with turf. This is
| easier work, and not so expensive as the
| building up of a solid bank of earth and
| such bunker will not cave in during
wet weather nor be broken down by
| frost. The grass grows luXuriantly on
the prepared bed, and should patch die
out it is quite easy to change the subsoil
or freshen it up by fertilizers. When a
putting green is not guarded by a bunker,
the English plan is to guard it on all but
narrow space in front by sunken traps
on the sides to compel accurate work on
the short-approach shots. Sodded bunk
ers before a green are generally six feet
high and the shallow ditch on the ap-
preaching side is six feet, or possibly
| eight, in width. American green's com
mittees might find it profitable to build
the English style of bunker. New York
| Sun.