Repairing the bunkers on 18

Even though the major storm that swept across the property was almost a month ago now, we are still repairing parts of the course. The two most damaged bunkers were both on #18- the right greenside bunker and the first fairway bunker. Last week, we finally were able to get those back into playing shape.

This is a picture of the fairway bunker
on 18 the morning after the storm. You can 
see the bunker sand has been washed
completely out of the bunker.

Storms are never easy to deal with, but a major storm right in the middle of the season is especially difficult. Regular maintenance can only be put on hold for so long, meaning at some point our staff will have to spend less time on cleanup and start regular mowing again. That is the reason that some of the repair work has taken so long, and why some of the cleanup around the perimeter will wait until winter.

An overlooked aspect of the storm was the heavy rain that occurred along with the wind. We received nearly 3” of rain in just under an hour. That much water sheets off the playing surfaces quickly- in fact we could have scattered carts the next day; but that rushing water must go somewhere. Unfortunately, bunkers are often a low feature of the property and can sometimes be in the line of water flow and can take the brunt of the water’s force.

 

This is a closer shot of the same bunker on 18. The water
washed all the way down to the soil base
of the bunker.

Because of the natural slope of the land on #18, the fairway bunker takes an incredible amount of water. We did install a large drain just above it on the uphill side back during construction to catch as much water as possible, but in a storm like that, the drainage can’t keep up. The excess water flows through the bunker and takes the sand with it. In the case of these two particular bunkers on 18, the water took the sand, the gravel surrounding the internal bunker drains, and some of the soil base.

When a bunker is washed out this badly, it takes more than just some shoveling of sand to get it back to normal. The gravel from the internal drainage and the soil contaminates the sand. There is no good way to clean the gravel and soil back out of the sand, so it all is trash and must be removed. In this case, it was several cart loads of sand per bunker that needed to be removed. Once the bunkers are completely cleaned out, we add in new sand. We try to match the amount of sand added to the amount of sand removed, so that the bunkers are consistent with the rest of the course. But for all intents and purposes, these bunkers are nearly brand new, so they will take time to match the others.

Our goal was always to get the course back open as quickly as possible. Leaving the two bunkers on #18 as Ground Under Repair longer than normal was part of the plan as everything else was tidied up. We reached the point where it was time to fix those bunkers, and they are now back open and ready for play.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please be conscious to not cut corners with your golf cart. The inside edges of turns are easily worn out after repeated traffic.

 

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