Bunker sand consistency

Bunkers are a hazard. As such, a golfer is not supposed to be in them. Of course, golfers are in bunkers all the time. We spend a great deal of time maintaining the bunkers but there are some important points to remember when discussing the consistency across the course.

First, as stated, the bunkers are not from where golf is supposed to be played. The bunkers are designed to shape a player’s approach to each hole and provide some difficulty. They can force players to make decisions about how best to complete a hole or where best to hit the next shot. But they are not the intended target in any circumstance.

There are many reasons that bunkers can be different across the course. There is nothing intentional that we are doing nor anything different in our treatment of each bunker that can specifically cause bunkers to be different from one another. We will cover some of the reasons that bunkers can be different but keep in mind that these are hazards.

First, the age of a bunker is important. We have bunkers that were built in 2007 ranging all the way to 2018. This wide selection of ages will lead to differences in a couple regards but contamination is a main concern. Regardless of our efforts, soil will slowly contaminate the sand. This can allow the sand to be compacted much more than straight sand. So, a newer bunker will have newer, cleaner sand and will therefore be softer no matter our maintenance.

We also periodically add new sand into the bunkers. For a time, this can create a bunker that is fluffier than others. It is expensive, but more importantly, very time consuming to add sand to every bunker all at one time. So, we break it up and only do a portion of the bunkers at any one time. We have a spreadsheet that shows where we have added sand, what bunkers are due next, and how much to add. This will also create some inconsistency, but it is short-lived, because the new sand integrates with the old sand quickly.

Water can also play a large role in how the sand feels. Bunkers that are regularly hit by irrigation can stay wetter than others. Even greenside bunkers can receive differing amounts of water depending on their location: is it set back from the green a little more? Or maybe it is on the shady side and the grass surrounding it does not need as much water so the sprinklers on that side run less? The sunnier bunker will also dry out faster no matter if the same amount of water is applied. On one hole, a sunny bunker will play different than a shady bunker even if everything else is the same.

Continuing with the impact of water, rain also plays a role in how bunker sand differs. The less times sand in any bunker is disturbed, the more settled it is. So, an area that washes out when we receive a heavy rainstorm is disrupted and areas that are not washed out aren’t moved. We must shovel the sand back into place to repair the bunker which automatically loosens the sand and makes it different than other sand even inside the same bunker.

None of this is meant to suggest that we do not aim to keep the bunkers as consistent as possible. Our maintenance is the same across the course. Yet, several circumstances mentioned are not related to our maintenance program but still can cause inconsistency. Overall, it is important to keep in mind that the bunkers are for strategy and not a primary playing surface, and that one can come across many differences during a round with which to contend.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please remember to remove any bunker sand that may be stuck to your spikes before walking on the greens.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org