Pot Bunker
A pot bunker is a small, deep bunker with steep walls — the classic pot trap on links courses.
The pot bunker comes from Scotland and is part of the bedrock of golf design. Unlike sprawling fairway bunkers, it is round, small and deeply recessed, often with high walls faced with turf. The name describes the shape: a pot from which the ball has to be dug out again. It is typical of links courses on the coast, where wind and dunes shape the game. In German terminology it is also called the pot bunker. Its strategy is simple and brutal: anyone who ends up in it almost certainly loses a stroke.
In practice, the motto out of a pot bunker is only one thing: get out, nothing more. An example: your ball lies half a metre in front of the steep front wall, barely two metres from the edge. An attack on the flag is impossible because you cannot get the ball steeply enough over the lip. So you take the sand wedge, open the clubface to the maximum and play the ball sideways or even backwards onto the fairway. The loss of one stroke is factored in — worse is the second attempt from the same bunker.
The typical mistake is the greedy hero shot. Anyone who attacks out of a deep pot bunker with too little loft or too flat a launch angle bounces off the wall and stays put — or ends up in an even worse position. From a wall position, even the backward shot is allowed and often smart. Avoidance is better anyway: on links holes it is worth looking at the course map, because pot bunkers are deliberately placed where the average tee shot lands. Anyone who knows them plays short of them or around them.
FAQ
What is the best way to play the ball out of a pot bunker?
Take the sand wedge, open the clubface to the maximum and concentrate on only one thing: getting out of the bunker. If in doubt, play the ball sideways or even backwards onto the fairway instead of attacking the flag. A factored-in one-stroke loss is better than the second attempt from the same bunker, which ruins your scorecard and your nerves.
Am I allowed to play backwards from a wall position in a pot bunker?
Yes, that is within the rules and often the smartest choice. If your ball lies close to the steep front wall, a forward shot is technically impossible — then you play the ball sideways or backwards into a playable spot. Picking out under penalty according to the normal bunker relief rules is also allowed if no playable direction remains.
How do I avoid pot bunkers on a links course?
Study the course map or the yardage book descriptions of the holes before the round. Pot bunkers are deliberately placed where average tee shots land — on links courses often sunk invisibly into the ground. If in doubt, play shorter from the tee and take a club that does not reach the danger zone instead of going with the driver on sight.