Why Are The Augusta National Bunkers White?

The Masters is arguably the most iconic golf event in the world, having been played at the same course since 1934, and part of that iconic appearance is undeniably down to the unique white sand bunkers at Augusta National.

The bunkers at Augusta have been filled with white sand for over 40 years, ever since co-founder Clifford Roberts saw it for the first time in the early 1970s and insisted it be installed in time for the 1975 Masters.

In total there are 44 white sand bunkers at Augusta National, each majestic and hazardous in its own way. Of those 44, 32 are greenside and 12 are located on the fairways (in fact there are 10 holes that don’t have fairway bunkers at all).

The sand that goes into the bunkers is called ‘Spruce pine sand’ and is named after the mining district in Western North Carolina in which it is found.

In fact the sand is actually quartz, a waste product of the mining process that takes place in Western North Carolina. The quartz is so pure that it tends to prevent golf balls from plugging or burrowing into tricky lies.

“I’d rake it with my hand if I needed to,” said Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, Phil Mickelson’s caddie for many years. “It fits the place so well. It brings out the green in the grass. It plays very, very well. You don’t hear about guys complaining about lies or balls getting away from them out of the bunkers.”

“It’s very soft on top and has a firm base”, said Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion. “You can’t necessarily spin it a ton, but it’s pure. What’s great about it is you have substantial high lips, but you won’t see a ball plug. Ever. It’ll hit the bank and go back to the middle of the bunker or go through it.”

The sand not only looks great, contrasting beautifully with Augusta's fairways and shimmering ponds, it also plays differently to other types of sand, and is so pure that players very rarely complain about buried lies.