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231a. Old Tom Morris Floating Bunker

 

atelier ying, nyc

 

Shigeru Uchida's 2002 in-progress house design is adapted here for a moving bunker which traps errant balls. This is not a true bunker. It is both a hazard and a feature of the golf course that can lose a ball or boost an expert golfer's drive when targeted correctly by deflecting balls farther towards the green. Please see my previous design no. 280 for a single screen deflector of this type. The theme of this design reinforces the idea of playing a golf course such as St. Andrews strategically, rather than for distance.

 

Lightweight panels pivoting on metal poles move delicately with the wind as a multi-faceted 4-leaf clover shape, a design nod to golfers of all abilities subtly laced with Scottish geniality, for the roof swallows up errant golf balls sending them down to a "golf ball communal bank" which allays the suggested green fees at the honesty box (the early golf balls "featheries" were very expensive in Morris's day that only landed gentry could really afford to play with).

 

The 2.5 meter height (at periphery) allows this bunker to be of a middle size, comparing it with the other bunkers of the St. Andrews Old Course.

 

Now golfers can rejoice when they lose a ball. Instead of facing 3 or more futile strokes to get back on the fairway, they've lowered their green fees and can take a 1-stroke penalty, always a wise decision when playing on a Scottish links course.

 

Part B of this design will delve into interior details and other functions for this structure.

 

Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.

 

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Uploaded on October 13, 2014
Taken on October 13, 2014