Chipping bunker improvements

The October bunker renovation on holes 5, 6, and 7 finished with some left over sand.  Part of conducting this work within a seven day window is making sure we have enough product, so we erred on the side of caution.  We stockpiled some bunker sand in the shop for future use and needed to use up what remained.  Most bunkers call for a major overhaul complete with a lot of earth moving.  The chipping bunker just needs some sand to practice shots so it was an obvious choice to be renovated in-house.

The most important part of a bunker is the drain line underneath.  You don't putt on roots, and you don't  play off drain lines, but both are extremely important.  We inspected the exit drain of the chipping bunker and found it to be crushed.  The drain within the bunker was also contaminated and required replacement.  To the left, Jose Luis and Oso pose next to sod over the new drain line while Abel waits in the background.  Seems to me like they are having fun with this.

The overall shape of the bunker is pretty disfigured from many years of sand being splashed up on the face.  We dug out much of this sand, to be used as divot mix, and packed in a new floor with native clay.  Proper construction would require the complete removal of the sand, but that would have taken us all the way to the green and a small project would become a huge project.  We did what we could, providing a much better practice space in the short game area.

The other bunker in the short game area has 3 palm trees growing in the bunker.  We decided to leave this bunker alone to provide examples of the new bunkers and old bunkers to players wanted to practice from both surfaces.  

What did you do to the greens?

We've been getting that question a lot.  Green speeds have picked up to over 11 feet on the stimp meter and it's left the membership guessing on the reasons why.  Hopefully this post will shed some light on  the factors that contribute to the recent improvement.

Green speed is not developed over night.  I get asked all the time, "did you speed up the greens?" for some tournament or for weekend play.  The greens are going to be nearly the same as they were the day before and probably the day before that.  Unfortunately, there is no dial in the maintenance shop that behaves like a dimmer switch.  Boy, how life would be simpler if that switch did exist.

Green speed is determined by a combination of many factors and many cultural practices.  Mowing, of course, is one of those factors and we pretty much mow every day.  The height we cut the grass is another factor, but it is very rarely changed, only during aerification does it raise up to avoid some sand and drop back down when the greens have healed.  Returning to our normal height was part of the speed increase, but the greens are much faster now even though the height is the same as before.

Rolling the greens certainly influences green speed, but we also do this every day.

The way we water can influence green speed and we monitor moisture very closely, but we rarely dry them out completely to get crazy fast, hard greens.  You'll see this in the major tournaments when the greens look near death on Sunday.  If the PGA shows up, we'll go that route, but not for a Mens' Guest Day, sorry.

Growth regulators, chemicals that slow the vertical growth of turf, are very useful for improving the health and speed of greens.  We use these year round.

So far, we have a list of items that are normal practices which will keep the greens rolling along.  Now we get to the a few items that can turn greens around and make a major improvement.

First off, fertilization.  I once worked at a course that had some amazing roots throughout the course, nearly 12 inches in many locations.  The putting green began to have some problems on the surface, which turned out to be superficial fairy ring.  The roots still looked excellent, but the turf up top was wilting and spotty.  The owner was talking to the superintendent who told him about the impressive root system.  The owner replied, "I don't care, I don't putt on the roots." He's right, but good roots usually means a good surface.  Last year at this time, we had a little over an inch of roots.  Today we have between 3 and 4 inches.  That means we have stronger plants that are dense, withstand traffic, need less water, and resist disease.  Our fertility program will improve the soil over time and will constantly be adjusted based on soil reports and conditions.

The other big item that makes big improvements is aerification and sanding.  When we aerify, we break through layers, reduce thatch, provide new drain channels, introduce more oxygen, and deliver valuable nutrients to the soil profile.  When performed properly, aerification can bring greens back to life and greatly smooth the surface.  The sand application is just as important as punching the holes.  We put a little extra on the greens to "cap" the holes to prevent the dimpling effect that will cause bumpy greens for months.  The sand fills in the small imperfections and also insulates the growing points of each grass plant.  This protects the plant from foot traffic and mechanical damage like scalping.  Our newly purchased, light top dresser will take care of our sanding needs between aerifications and is essential to keep the greens rolling as well as they are now.

In closing, green speed is based on the cumulative effect of many separate efforts.  Not a single item on this list can be ignored if excellent greens are the goal.

Bunker Review

The annual fall maintenance week was a bit more exciting than past years with green-side bunker renovations on #'s 5, 6, and 7.  Earth Sculptures Inc., one of two companies responsible for our lake renovation on #17, did an excellent job in a very short amount of time transforming these three green complexes.

There were multiple problems that needed to be addressed during this project.  The existing bunkers are nearly 30 years old and the drain lines have stopped working, the sand is contaminated, and the edges are many feet away from the original dimensions.

 #5 was a dramatic change, completely reshaping the left side bunker and lowering the initial grade to show off more of the bunker.

The seventh hole received similar treatment, lowering the area in front of the left, front bunker by over 2 feet.  Before the renovation, this bunker could not be seen from the fairway.











The right green-side bunker was sloped back to front, had severely contaminated sand, and offered very little playing area between the turf after years of shrinking.

Below is a shot of the initial coring process.  Believe it or not, this bunker had nearly 2 feet of soil just like all the others.  Adding sand is not the answer once the sand gets contaminated.

The finished product is two pics below with Izzo enjoying some fresh, soft Tifway Bermuda.

 To the left are some of the problems we encountered.  Here, the contractors are trying to determine the original edge so they are not building on sand which could collapse under the weight of equipment.  Small scale renovation projects over the years have moved the edge and capped built up sand with clay.  This area is soon covered with more sand from golf shots blowing sand out of the bunkers.  The result is a layered mess which all needs to be removed so proper, long-lasting construction can be completed.



This photo is the right, green-side bunker on the sixth hole.  At some point, grass slopes were built on the face of the bunker to prevent plugged lies or to reduce bunker surface, I can only guess.  Once again, this all needs to be removed so we are building on a firm surface.

 Once the bunker is formed and matching the contours of the existing green complex, the edges are marked and carved in with an excavator.  The left, pot bunker on #7 was widened to provide a much larger playing surface.  The bunker had regressed to a v-shaped hole and all the balls would come to rest in the same spot as did irrigation and rain water that could not find a drain.

 I leave you with a portion of a USGA article dealing with bunker maintenance.  I shared the advice in the second paragraph many times, but it is hard for golfers to accept.  Eventually, bunker sand gets too old to serve its purpose and must be replaced.

 Sand Purity: This factor measures the level of contamination in the bunkers. The presence of silt, clay, and organic debris in the sand can act as an impediment to drainage by reducing the infiltration rate of the bunker sand. Contaminated sand is often hard. The appearance of rocks in the bunkers is distracting and disruptive to play. 

Little can be done to improve the purity of sand without taking out the old sand and replacing it with new sand. It is tempting to top off the bunkers with a few inches of new sand, but this process will not remedy the underlying problems. Within a short period of time, these new bunkers will look just like the old ones.