Bunker Rehab

The bunker master plan is off to a great start with the recent renovations to holes 5, 6, and 7.  Those changes not only improved playability, but also improved upon an already solid design.  The redesigned green complexes are now more attractive and promote some creative golf shots.

Sand screening back at the shop

We can't renovate all the bunkers at once, so our other bunkers will need some in-house rehabilitation.    The main complaint is a lack of sand.  Sometimes this is the case and a club will find the underlying clay bottom, or hard pan as golfers like to call it.  However, many areas have plenty of sand, but it is aged, broken down, and contaminated with clay.  Do you know what clay plus sand equals?  Well, that's the simple recipe for concrete and that's how some of our bunkers feel.  Adding brand new sand is a foolish waste of money and no argument will ever convince me otherwise.  New sand is quickly mixed with old sand and thousands of dollars result in very little improvement.  The USGA recommends that all sand is REPLACED every five years.  I think we can get by with a few more years, but adding sand year after year is not a sustainable practice.

Compaction work on #3 green-side bunker

The maintenance department is surveying the course to find the worst of the green-side bunkers.  We are looking for areas with very little sand, inconsistent amounts of sand from one location to another, and other problems like roots or very poor drainage.  Since we never get any rain (sad, but true) the drainage is not the greatest concern.

The sand we are using to touch up the bunkers has been removed from the renovated bunkers on 5, 6, and 7.  We have delivered this sand to the maintenance yard and built a screen to remove any gravel, clay chunks, roots, or other debris.  The screened material is very consistent with the existing sand in our bunkers and is blending nicely.  We have already touched up over 20 bunkers throughout the course.

Roots remove from #17 bunker near path

When it comes to bunkers, there is a fine line between too soft and too firm.  If sand that has not been properly compacted, the result is fried egg lies.  If you recently saw me driving around in a bunker or two, that is the reason why.  Our staff, which has pretty much taken control of this project, returns to the shop in the late morning with a report of which bunkers need some work.  The next morning, I inspect the bunkers with a few golf balls thrown at a reasonable angle, a wedge to test playability, and my cart to get the right compaction.  I think the bunkers we have worked on are now playing much better.  The sand is firm, but there is sand and it is pretty consistent.

If you encounter a thin area, find a root, or plug a ball, please let the Proshop or maintenance worker know of the problem.  We are eager to make these hazards as friendly as possible.  However, remember that word: hazard. It's supposed to be difficult and you're supposed to stay out of there.  Good luck!!

Winter's Woes

The blog has been quiet, thought about taking the winter off, but I'm not so sure this is winter any more.  I was optimistic that rain would come in January.  The Farmer's Almanac is usually right, somehow, but here is the January forecast for Northern California:

JANUARY 2014: temperature 53° (1° below avg.); precipitation 8" (5" above avg.); Jan 1-3: Clouds and occasional drizzle, cool; Jan 4-10: Heavy rain, then sunny, chilly; Jan 11-14: Heavy rain, mild; Jan 15-16: Showers;Jan 17-19: Heavy rain, mild; Jan 20-24: Rainy periods, cold;Jan 25-27: Sunny, cool; Jan 28-31: Rainy, cool.

Unfortunately, not a drop of rain has fallen this entire month.  I've been getting a lot of questions about the impact to the course concerning the lack of rain and higher than normal temperatures.  We like the rain to flush out salts, take some pressure off the irrigation system, and get some deep watering to the trees and landscape.

The sodium content in the soil has not piled up too badly and we are managing like we would in the summer months with no real problem.  Our irrigation system is running as normal and we are staying below our budget with no issues.  Most locations only need a weekly watering.  The trees and plant material on the slope could certainly use some irrigation so we are working to repair those stations that have been out of use for a few years.

 We normally do not have to worry about checking moisture throughout the course or even turning on the irrigation more than a few times a month during a normal winter.  This year, we are seeing signs of summer even though it's six months away.  To the left, the fifth fairway has some severe signs of hydrophobic soil.  This is all bermuda grass and some of it is dormant and brown while the rest is still green.  The green portion has some water in the soil, the brown part is bone dry.  Tomorrow, we will spray a wetting agent to correct the problem and reduce surface tension to help the soil accept water again.










Just as unusual, we normally don't need to use wetting agents on the greens this time of year because regular rains keep the soil hydrated.  Number 18 green this morning was showing some dry patterns and will need a treatment tomorrow as well along with the rest of the greens.

As far as the temperatures, the warmer than normal weather has been a good thing.  The roots in the greens are as good as we could expect this time of year and I'm sure the lack of frost and warm days have helped that cause.  Many bermuda locations are still semi-green and others are greening up early.  This is not a problem as long as we don't get hit by a heavy frost.  We don't want the bermuda to go in and out of dormancy and waste it's carbohydrate reserves, much like you don't want trees blooming too soon.

More updates coming soon, thanks for reading.