At the 1978 Open Championship, the Road Hole bunker reared its ugly head and ruined Tommy Nakajima’s chances of a win. He was tied for the lead in the third round as he teed off on the 17th hole. After reaching the green in two, Nakajima’s first putt rolled off the green and found the Road Hole bunker. Four shots later he made it back on the green and finished with a quintuplebogey nine. The Road Hole bunker earned a new nickname that day, ‘The Sands of Nakajima.’ The Spectacles are two pot bunkers situated about 60 yards short of the putting surface on the fifth hole. The Spectacles are dastardly deep cesspools and are virtually identical. The toughest par three at the Old Course is the 11th hole, made more difficult by the presence of the Shell and Strath bunkers, which protect the entrance to the green. Tee shots that land in the Shell bunker require a long bunker shot to the green. Plugged lies are also common in the Strath bunker and can sometimes result in an unplayable lie. In the middle of the 13th fairway, just under 300 yards from the tee sit the three Coffin bunkers. They are situated side-by-side across the fairway and any player landing in them will not be able to reach the green in two shots. Any player avoiding The Coffins must next negotiate the Lion’s Mouth bunker which guards the green. The 16th hole is best played up the right side of the fairway, but out-of-bounds lingers nearby, as do the three Principal’s Nose pot bunkers. Just past the Principal’s Nose, resides another diabolic sand trap, Deacon’s Sime, which is named after a local preacher who played many rounds at the Old Course during his life. The preacher noted that the bunker should be named
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