Bunker repair

We finally received some rain. We have been behind our average rainfall all year, and we still are, but we are closer to normal than before. We totaled 3” of rain in a 36-hour span from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning. That amount of rain can wreak havoc on the bunkers.

The bunkers can handle even medium to heavy rates of rain without too much trouble. The water moves through the sand and enters the internal drains and can escape as fast as it falls. As a result, there are no puddles left in the bunkers even just a short time after the rain stops. When the rain reaches rates like we have seen in the last couple of days, where it is an inch or so per hour in a single storm, then some damage can occur.

The water is flowing fast enough that it erodes the sand from the edges of the bunkers and moves it down into the center of the bunker. Once this sand is gone, if it is still raining, then the next thing to erode is the soil beneath the sand. This compounds the problem because this soil mixes with the sand and that impedes water’s ability to drain through the profile. The finer silt particles fill in the gaps of the larger sand particles and water cannot get through.

The silt laying on top of the sand is 
very obvious in this photo. All of that must be 
removed before the final repair of the bunker can
be completed.

Once the rain stops, in comes the Grounds department for cleanup work. Any debris must be blown out of the bunkers. Then the most important step is to remove the silt layer from on top of the sand. If we don’t remove this layer, it mixes into the sand and eventually reduces the drainage rate of the sand to a point where water will puddle in the bunker indefinitely. After the soil layer is removed, we must replace the sand from where it was originally on the edge of the bunker.

All of this takes time and old-fashioned manpower. Shovels are the best tools, though for some of the worst washouts we do have a machine with a flat blade on the front that can be used to push sand back into its general location. Depending on the severity of the washouts, this process may take a long time- the worst damage can take 7-8 staff members 10-12 hours to repair all the bunkers. That is 80% of our staff, and more than a full day of work just in the bunkers after one storm. We have been lucky this year to not have too many of the worst storms. But in wet years, those storms can come once or twice a week from the middle of July through August. That equals a lot of man hours spent in the bunkers.

Getting the bunkers back in shape after a storm is necessary, but slow. Making sure to do it right is more important than speed so that the bunkers perform for their entire lifespan.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please be conscious not to scuff your feet or drag your putter along the surface of the putting green. This can adversely affect other people’s putts and can damage the turf grass.

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

Golf Cart tips

 

 

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org