BUNKER MAINTENANCE

Fall is a great time to catch up on many of the projects that are impossible to fit into the schedule during the growing season when most, if not all, of our time must be focused on simply mowing the golf course and preparing it for daily play. Fall and winter, if the weather allows, offers the opportunity to shift our attention to bunkers, landscape maintenance, tree removal and pruning, drainage installation and a host of other projects.

Over the past few weeks, although the mowing operations have continued in a reduced capacity and leaf removal operations were ongoing, the GCM crew has had the opportunity to shift it's focus to some of these projects. The most notable of which is the bunker maintenance.

As many of you may be aware, the bunkers received a  fairly significant "face lift" nearly 10 years ago when all of the sand was replaced, the drainage systems were inspected and repaired and several of the bunker edges were repaired. Since that time, more so in the last couple of years, some problems have begun to crop up. So, this fall, resources were directed to correct many of these concerns.

Each bunker has been addressed individually based on it's specific needs but the first step in several of the bunkers was to repair/rebuild collapsed faces (3 green side, 5 green side, 15 green side, and several others). These are the areas that you may have noticed with the plywood strips used to separate the new sand and soil. The wood will remain for the winter months to allow time for the new sand and soil to settle and compact. In the spring (or perhaps sooner if conditions allow) these areas will be sodded.

In addition to repairing several of the bunker edges, all of the bunkers have been inspected for proper sand depths. It is no surprise that new sand was required in many areas (150 tons to be exact). What may be surprising to some is that most of the bunkers had sufficient sand quantities but the sand was not evenly distributed. What we discovered is that in many cases there was an abundance of sand on the low end of the bunker and too little sand on the high side. Over the years, it seems some of the sand has moved around within the bunker. The sand movement was likely a result of the daily raking operations compounded by wind and/or rain erosion. The fix was simple but time consuming...relocate the sand to achieve a uniform depth throughout the entire bunker.

The new sand is the exact same material as existing but, in the bunkers where new sand was added, you will notice that the new material is cleaner and brighter white than the existing material. This is an aesthetic issue that will be resolved in time as continued raking and cultivation mixes the new and old sands.

The work is well underway and will likely continue for the next several weeks with portions of the work, primarily any sod installation, wrapping up in the spring.

Please understand that the bunker sand in many areas, at least for the next few months, will be soft. It will take some time for the new and relocated sand to settle and compact to desired levels and firmness. The good news is the winter rain and snow will certainly accelerate this process and I anticipate the sand will be firmed up and ready for play by the spring.