The use of parts of the fairway as an hazard was common at the beginning of golf architecture, but in the modern times has come back as quite a novelty in the have-to-be-fair golf courses, normally the low cut areas are trap-free, but Tom Doak decided to use contours of the fairway to let the ball roll into undesirable spots as was on the Links. This kind of hazard affects better players, especially because they are the only that could recognise it, and it will influence their choices.

Bunkering Style

In modern days, most of the times clients ask the architect to design which kind of course the desire in their piece of land, and therefore the bunkering reflects their desire it is often possible to see Links-type courses inland with its characteristic sod wall bunkers. It is therefore really difficult to define a typical style in Tom Doak’s bunkering. He gets inspired from different ideas from different past architects and he blends them all together with the landscape and with the desires of his clients.

In some courses, such as Pacific Dunes, Barnbougle Dunes he found inspiration in the sandy dunes, typical of the Californian coast and some areas of the British Isles, he uses to carve in the dunes bunkers to let them appear bold in the landscape, accentuating their visual influence on golfer’s mind. This kind of features has more effect on poor players than better ones, because the normally feel more pressure in executing shots influenced by hazard, further on if they are bold.