The short game prowess of a PGA Tour player is enough to make any of us envious, especially their ability to make bunker shots look less than routine. In fact, often times a professional would rather miss a green in a greenside bunker than be in four inch primary rough.

When Jack Nicklaus and the PGA Tour competitions staff decided jointly to give the players a new challenge in the bunkers at Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in late May, it certainly sent most players into a tail spin!! The bunkers at Muirfield Village were prepared with a wooden rake made by the Amish that featured 2” long wooden prongs spaced 2” apart. The result were bunkers that when raked produced “furrows” deep enough for the ball to fall into, leaving only the top half of the ball visible. The bunkers certainly became hazards again, and players had to think more about their tee shots and approach shots to the green, in order to avoid the “furrows”.

The controversy was the talk of the locker room, some players feeling that the concept “tricked up” the famous Nicklaus layout. However, the statistics showed that players greenside save percentage only decreased by less than 10 percent, and Carl Pettersson's winning score of 12-under was comparable with recent year’s winners.

These guys are good!! But in reality, there is certainly some merit to making routine bunker shots more penal….how it develops over time, we’ll have to wait and see….!!