Hazard Maintenance

When I started here 11 months ago one of the many problems that I faced was the playability of the bunkers.  The club had invested in a bunker renovation in 2008, and this changed the course for the better.  The bunker renovation added more character and strategy to the course as well as giving it an updated look.  Although the bunkers were designed and constructed well, I have been told that from the beginning there were issues with the bunkers playing extremely soft and buried lies were commonplace.  Unattractive and thin turf areas on the bunker surrounds were common as well.  A lot of the faces, noses and surrounds were weak and in need of attention.  Although this does not effect the way a bunker plays, visually these areas stood out.  We have implemented many tried and true methods of bunker maintenance as well as innovative methods for daily maintenance on the bunkers here at BCC.

Here is the plan I have implemented here at BCC:

1)  Although most people don't think of it, bunker maintenance is a year round challenge.  Even when the  ground is frozen in the winter we still must maintain adequate moisture on bunker faces, a lot of times more so than other areas on the golf course. The dry climate of Colorado and the extra heat given off from the intense sun reflecting off of the sand make bunker faces especially susceptible to desiccation injury.

Snow that was melted off the face and nose here on #7 green side  was shoveled onto the bunker face, helping to protect from desiccation in the winter

2)  The wind here in Boulder is especially brutal for the turf.  Using snow as well as the frost free system is essential to watering these areas and others to help keep them alive.  Wind also blew sand away from the bunkers, and this extra "top dressing" can effect the bunkers shape with the lips of the bunkers actually becoming higher than the surrounds.  We sent out a crew in the spring to physically wash the sand back in to where it came from.

3)  Coming into the spring after we pressured up the summer irrigation system we immediately fertilized the bunker surrounds.  Getting an early start is essential and as the Kentucky Bluegrass came out of dormancy we experienced a welcomed flush of growth on the bunker surrounds.   New rhizomes from the Bluegrass filled in many areas that were thinned out from winter injury.  Any areas that did not fill in were stripped and sodded.  We have implemented a wetting agent and fertility program that has been individualized for the bunker surrounds. These items will be applied on a schedule throughout the growing season to try our best to keep the surrounds looking as they do now.

Fresh sod on back bunker #3

4)  Sand depth was analyzed in each bunker, and any excess sand was removed.  We used a probe to map out what bunkers were the deepest.  4-6" on the floor of the bunker and 2-3" of sand on the flash faces are the appropriate depths as defined by the course architect.  The deeper the sand, the more difficult and sometimes impossible it is to pack.  The sand chosen during the renovation is a good bunker sand that functions correctly when maintained at the correct depths and with certain maintenance practices.  We consistently found 12-18" of sand in most bunkers. We are concentrating on correcting the sand depth on green side bunkers and we are slowly but surely making our way through the course.

Without damaging the drainage or disturbing gravel that lines the drainage on the bunker floors, the best and really only way to do this is with good old fashioned shovel work.  Each bunker is split into sections by using a probe and sand is skimmed out in order to correct the depth 

5)  Now that the sod has rooted in and the sand depth is correct, it is time to move on to contouring, packing and shaping the bunkers and their edges.

Sand is pulled down off of the edges and a reciprocating blade is run along the edge of the bunker.  This blade cuts off rhizomes growing into the bunker and gives the bunkers there distinct "edged" appearance

When the debris from edging the bunker has been removed and the sand that was pulled down distributed once more, it is now time for using a plate compactor.  Essentially this piece of equipment vibrates the top layer of sand and helps to firm the sand by forcing the particles together.  As you can see in the picture sometimes it is a two man operation to keep this plate compactor up on the edges.

6)  Bunkers now have the proper sand depth, healthy turf surrounds, firmness for playability and a distinct, edged appearance.  You will notice that bunkers here at BCC will have a 2" lip on the side that impacts a play towards the green (intended to eliminate being able to putt out of a hazard) as well as a much smaller but distinct edge on the other sides.  This other edge aids in rulings for tournaments by being able to distinguish what is rough, and what is hazard.

7)  The way that bunkers are raked on a day to day basis has also changed.  Fairway bunkers are maintained daily with a mechanical rake, or "sandpro" for fairway bunkers.  Green side bunkers are hand raked daily using plastic leaf rakes.  The equipment managers, Dave Stroup and Roy Pierce were able to fabricate this rake for the sandpro this winter.  The idea is to rake a smooth bunker but to do so by disturbing as little sand as possible to keep the bunker floors firm.

Green side bunkers are raked using large plastic leaf rakes, we use a sweeping action to smooth them out daily, but once again disturb very little sand.  

Well maintained bunkers can be very aesthetically pleasing and play as fairly as possible.  If you find yourself with tough lie, please remember that a tremendous amount of effort has been put forth to reduce the chances for that to happen.  I hope that instead you can just look at how pretty they look on your way to your birdie putt.