A nice, quick read from Golf News Net was just published on how the rules apply differently to traditional ‘Sand Bunkers’ versus what is termed ‘Waste Bunkers’. Everyone knows what a sand bunker is–those annoying hazards along the fairway or by the green where your ball can fall into that provides less than ideal lies for your next shot–and you cannot ground your club prior to making your swing. Waste bunkers, on the other hand, are similar in that they can provide non-ideal lies for your next shot, but you are able to ground your club and take practice swings while in them!

Waste bunkers and waste areas were terms originally used by Pete Dye during construction of Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. There were issues with local sewage utility workers dealing with a broken pipe that was near the Harbour Town property line along hole #16, and Pete told them that they could temporarily divert the sewage water into a long, narrow area dug out to be used for a bunker that had crushed conch shells (not sand) until the pipeline was fixed–and from this the term ‘Waste Bunker’ was born!

There IS a difference in how players can play from each type of bunker–so if you don’t already know, click the link below to familiarize yourself with the rules! Not knowing the difference can cost you a major championship like it did to Dustin Johnson in the 2010 PGA Championship at Pete Dye’s Straits Course at Whistling Straits!!