Jerry Emery: They’re ruining golf by removing sand from bunkers

There is evidently a system-wide strategy to bastardize the game of golf by the Golf Superintenden’s Association of America. Having recently played at both Creekside and Dryden Park in Modesto, at Van Buskirk and Swenson in Stockton, and Rancho Maria in Santa Maria, each of their respective superintendents has decided, for whatever reason, to eliminate sand from their bunkers and force golfers to attempt to escape from bare and very little dirt. The dirt is raked loose, to a depth of half an inch every two weeks or so. Of course it dries out within a day and golfers are left with hardpan until the next round of light raking.

Being short-sighted more interested in saving a few dollars, the superintendents have not noticed that frustrated golfers have stopped trying to rake a bunker and fewer are playing their courses.

The only municipal course that I have played recently that is bucking this negative trend is the Escalon Golf Course, which has improved its greens, added bunkers and filled them with real sand. Fellow golfers, to play the game as it was intended play at Escalon Golf Course.

This story was originally published June 27, 2016 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Jerry Emery: They’re ruining golf by removing sand from bunkers."