BUNKERS, SAND, AND RAKES

Bunkers on a golf course can cause both pleasure and pain. When bunkers are properly designed and properly placed, they can transform a dull and boring golf hole into a challenging and beautiful golf hole. When they are poorly built they can be expensive to maintain and difficult to play out of.  We must remember however that they are  hazards.  Donald Ross once said; " There is no such thing as a misplaced bunker. Regardless of where the bunker may be, it is the business of the player to avoid it."




At Forest Creek we have different bunker styles throughout the golf courses.  The South golf course has both formal bunkers  and waste bunkers.  These formal bunkers were built with internal drainage and were filled with a sand blended for golf course bunkers in Lilesville, N.C. called the Bonsal Bunker Blend.  The bunkers on the North Golf course have a rougher and more natural feel and are all played as waste bunkers. Most of these bunkers on the North were carved out of the original sand in the places where they are located.  Where the sand is not original, it is native sand hauled from other places on the golf course site. Some have internal drainage and many do not.

Unfortunately  the quality of bunkers on golf courses is a subject of too much debate. Bunkers are judged on their design, their location, their drainage, the type of sand they contain, and the manner in which they are maintained.  Sand particle size and shape is analyzed. Sand depth and softness is measured. Drainage is emphasized so that play will never be interrupted.  Sand purity is sought with sand free of silt, clay, organic matter and rocks. Gravel in these bunkers occurs naturally and also surfaces from drain lines. Some golfers prefer that the sand be maintained in a firm condition while other golfers want softer sand. Golfers want sand of a uniform depth.


Golf architects dictate the style of bunkering. Some prefer high flashed sand while others want the sand to be flat with grassy banks coming down to the sand. Different styles require different maintenance practices. The management of a golf course must decide on the intensity of the bunker maintenance they desire. Will bunkers be raked every day? Will three days a week be sufficient? Will mechanical rakes be used or will the bunkers be hand raked?  When the bunkers fail to drain should they be pumped?  When there is gravel in a bunker must it be removed?  All these decisions effect how much bunker maintenance will cost.



The USGA Green Section reports; "As the Green Section agronomists travel the country and visit courses of all budget levels, the most common complaints from golfers involve bunkers. Depth of sand, "fried-egg" lies, lack of consistency, and even varying moisture levels are all sources of dissatisfaction. Many golfers believe they are entitled to a certain quality of lie in a bunker and that anything less is a sign of poor maintenance or bad sand, and usually both.  Unlike the other hazards on the course, bunkers now have to be "fair"." (USGA Green Section Record July-August 2008)  It has also been reported by the USGA Green Section; "American golfers have developed an unreasonable expectation for nothing less than a perfect lie in a bunker and equally unreasonable demandas for absolute consistency of playing conditions between bunkers. Bunkers are hazards to be avoided, yet many mid-to-high-end courses in the United States spend as much or more money to maintain bunkers than their putting greens." (USGA Green Section Record September 2010)  Obviously, since intensive bunker maintenance is expensive, golf courses must decide how much of the budget should be allocated to bunker maintenance and how important is a perfect lie in a bunker.

Another question about bunkers involves the placement of rakes. Where and in what direction they are placed is the question.  The USGA recommends placing rakes outside the bunker and parallel to the line of play, preferably along the outer edge of the bunker, so that it will reduce the overall chance of the rake coming into play, while also eliminating the rake's possible influence on a ball within the bunker.  It is also recommended that a low side (or sides if multiple rakes are needed for a large bunker) be selected. Climbing in and out of  the high sides of bunker causes major damage to the bunker face and surrounding sod.  Rake placement (in or out of the bunker) effects golf maintenance efficiency because the rakes must be moved to perform mowing or raking.  At different times of the year the place to put the rakes for efficiency can change.

When buying sand for golf course bunkers there are many options now available.  There is a pure white sand from Spruce Pine N.C. that is a byproduct of mica mining.  This sand is used at Augusta National and at many golf course throughout the Carolinas.  In the Sandhills of North Carolina where there are many commercial sand mining operations we have several different sbunker sand options.  We now have "cracked " sand available to us from sand pits in Hoffman N.C. A "cracking" machine is moved around to various sand pits to do this work. This sand is used because it will stay up on steep slopes.  Because it is angular and not round it creates a steeper angle of repose.  Put simply, it will not slide as easily down the slope.  We used this sand in the bunkers at the new chipping green. When purchasing sand the cost of shipping is a large part of the price. Local sand is always less expensive.

Golf course bunkers are much more than a sandy hazard to be avoided.  They are constructed to look natural and drain quickly.  The sand within them can be natural or a product of mining and engineering processes.  They are expected to be fair and nearly perfect. They are expensive to maintain and are a major element of golf course maintenance budgets.  At Forest Creek we have developed standards and guidelines for maintenance practices.  There is a specific section which deals with bunkers. We do not always achieve the standards which are outlined there but we are always working on the bunkers in an effort to meet those guidelines. This winter we have been working on drainage issues and will begin another project to remove gravel.  We will be working on the bunker on 17 South to eliminate the bunker faces which have fallen and will be adding our new cracked sand.

FALL AND WINTER PROJECTS

Fall weather creates the opportunity for the golf course maintenance staff to take on special projects to improve the golf courses.  For the last several months we have been concentrating on  maintaining the golf courses.  Cooler weather has slowed the growth of the grasses on the golf courses and we no longer have mowing grass as our dominant activity.  We now have time fix all the troublesome areas on the golf courses with drainage and new construction. This is our chance to do the things which will make the golf courses better next year.

During this past year we were able to plant a herb garden outside the kitchen.  We also worked on bunker drainage and rock removal from the bunkers.  We created a new chipping green area with Miniverde Ultradwarf Bermuda.  We converted another green in a residential area to Champion Ultradwarf Bermuda. We removed asphalt cart paths which had been compromised by tree roots and replaced the asphalt with sand.  We eliminated seven out of play wastebunkers. We leveled tees.

repairing cart paths

herb garden

new chipping green

leveling tee on 2 South

 

 new champion green just after sprigging

 

Already this fall we have several projects underway.  We enlarged and renovated the putting green on Wellington Drive.  We regraded and enlarged the  back tee on 18 South and resodded it with Zeon Zoysia. We have undertaken a program to level and improve drainage on the left driving range tee.  We have begun drainage improvements in the bunkers on the North

 

 

drainage 9 North

 

drainage 9 North

 

renovated tee 18 south

renovated putting green on Wellington

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We have many other projects planned, including a new access path to the back of the driving range and enhancements to that "back of the range" practice area.  We plan to continue removing asphalt cart paths and improving the sand paths with more sand and drainage. We want to remove tress which are causing agronomic problems.  Repairs to our cart bridges with new decking and railings is in the planning stage.  We will run out of winter before we run out of projects.

 

COLORING FAIRWAYS

One of the trends in  the southeastern United States among Bermuda grass golf courses is the coloring of dormant turf with a turf colorant instead of overseeding with ryegrass. This trend began with the coloring of Bermuda grass greens as they were going dormant. Instead of overseeding them with bentgrass or poa trivialis, a colorant was applied. This trend has been carried over from its use on greens with success. This coloring is now common on Bermuda grass fairways and tees.  It is an undeniable fact that ryegrass overseed competes with the Bermuda grass into which it has been overseeded. This creates a weakened Bermuda grass plant at transition time and the Bermuda grass will then spend the summer recovering from this competition. Another issue with overseeding is that it needs to happen in October when our weather and playing conditions are usually excellent. It is necessary to water heavily during overseed establishment which then creates unsatisfactory wet playing conditions. Cart traffic must then be restricted to cart paths during the establishment of the overseed.  This is never a popular decision.

This year at Forest Creek we decided to not overseed either golf course.  We have also decided  to color the fairways, tees, and  approaches on the South Golf course.  We are using Endurant turf colorant from Geoponics. This is a high quality product designed to be used on turf.  The golf course industry has responded to this trend  of coloring turf by developing better products for this practice..  These products are formulated to adhere to the grass plant while causing no injury to the plant. They are considered to be perfectly safe for both the plant and the golfer.  We applied the Endurant colorant to the front nine on Wednesday and the back nine on Thursday. The ladies golf group played the first round of golf on this newly colored turf on Thursday and the comments were very positive.  We anticipate that we will do at least two more applications throughout the dormant season to maintain a satisfactory color.

This process has been studied at the university level and the USGA has several articles which examine this process.
"Instant overseeding: coming to a fairway near you", by Patrick O'Brien, USGA Green Section Record Vol. 50 (14), July 6,2012
"Switching from traditional overseeding to liquid overseeding", by Todd Lowe, USGA Green Section Record Vol. 51 (22), November 1, 2013

7 Fairway South after coloring

8 Green and Approach after coloring

THE CHANGING SEASONS

One of the joys of being a "greenskeeper" is experiencing your profession through and with the changing seasons on the golf course. The tasks we perform will vary throughout the year and we gladly anticipate the changing weather as a part of our job.  The jobs that "Old Tom Morris" performed at Saint Andrews varied throughout his seasons. The modern farmer focuses his effort on his crop by preparing the soil and planting in the spring and harvesting his crop in the fall. The modern golf course superintendent changes  his cultural practices throughout the year based on the seasons and the changing weather. In many ways the profession of greenskeeping links the game of golf to  the land where the game is played.  A farmer is linked to his land the same way a golf course superintendent is linked to his golf course.

15 North

At Forest Creek our activities and applications have changed throughout September and October as we wind down our growing season and prepare for fall and winter. We apply different herbicides at different times of the year for different weeds based upon their time of germination. In the fall we target poa annua but in the spring we target crabgrass and goosegrass. The height at which we cut our grasses will vary with the seasons.  We raise the height of cut for bentgrass in the summer to relieve stress on this cool season grass and then lower the height of cut in the fall when the weather cools down. Bermuda grass is a warm season grass so we raise the height of the Bermuda in the fall getting ready for freezing temperatures and possible winter injury. To avoid the potential for winter cold temperature injury to the Bermuda grass we apply potassium which promotes winter hardiness.
The likelihood of bentgrass suffering fungal diseases diminishes with cold temperatures and rises with warm temperatures.  The frequency of our fungicide applications to the greens is highest in the summer and lowest in the winter. We do not usually apply fungicides to the Bermuda grass but we will treat for "spring dead spot" in the Bermuda grass in both fall and winter.This is a devastating disease which is difficult to control.  We base our spray timing on when the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees. We almost always welcome a change in the weather and the seasons.



3 South

Most of these cultural practices have been going on at Forest Creek this fall. We have raised the height of cut of the Bermuda grass fairways  from 0.45 inches to 0.55 inches and our rough from 1.75 inches to 2.0 inches. The height of cut of the greens was lowered from .135 inches to .105 inches gradually through September.  We have applied one pound of potassium per thousand square feet to the tees,  fairways, and rough along with a chelated iron supplement to enhance the green color of the turf. We have applied tebuconazole to the south golf course and propoconazole to the north golf course for "spring dead spot" control.

16 South

Historically at Forest Creek we have always overseeded our golf courses with ryegrass in the fall and our cultural practices would switch to maintaining this cool season turf at this time.  This year, the decision was made not to overseed for agronomic reasons.  The continual competition of the ryegrass and the Bermuda grass is hard on the Bermuda.and skipping overseeding will give the Bermuda grass an entire growing season with no competition.  We have overseeded the clubhouse grounds, practice areas and par three tees.

Old Tom Morris

While the modern superintendent has many more tools available to him than "Old Tom Morris" had available to him, we share a common bond and heritage.  We both have cared for a piece of land where the game of golf is played and the quality of the turfgrass on that piece of land makes the game of golf a better game.  "Old Tom Morris " is considered the founder of the profession of greenskeeping.  He managed the Old Course at Saint Andrews from 1864 to 1903 and is credited with the first efforts to improve golf course conditions by topdressing and adding compost to greens.  He was also the first greenkeeper to perform bunker maintenance and to irrigate turf.

Although Old Tom Morris never left Scotland, many men who trained under him came to America as golf professionals, greenskeepers and golf course designers. Old Tom Morris was a champion professional golfer as well as a clubmaker and a greens keeper.  In the early years in America these jobs were usually joined as well.  But as the job of greenskeeping became more involved and as it came to involve more modern scientific  agronomy, the jobs were gradually separated.  Most modern superintendents have college degrees in agronomy or horticulture.  Nevertheless, for all of us, no matter how we were educated or trained, we are linked to the land by the game of golf and the changing of the seasons.

Donald Ross in Pinehurst

Here in Pinehurst, we are linked to Scotland and Old Tom Morris by Donald Ross. Ross trained under Old Tom and made his mark in America as one of the greatest golf course architects in history. 
Donald Ross once said;  "a sandy loam is by far, the very best golfing soil."  That sandy loam is what makes Pinehurst so special for turf conditions.  It brought Donald Ross here and it brings all of us to Pinehurst and Forest Creek for golf.

TWO DIFFERENT GOOSE PROBLEMS

We have been dealing with two difficult to solve goose problems at Forest Creek this year.  One problem involves migratory waterfowl (Branta Canadensis) while the other involves an invasive weed species (Eleusine Indica). When we opened the South golf course in 1996, neither one could be found on the Forest Creek property. Now we devote a great deal of effort and financial resources to controlling these pests.  The two different goose problems are Canada Geese and goosegrass.


Goosegrass

The Canada goose is a federally protected migratory waterfowl.  We are restricted in our actions to control this bird by federal law. Unfortunately the Canada Geese we have at Forest Creek do not migrate very much.  Joe Fuller is the migratory game coordinator for the North Carolina Wildlife Commission.  He was quoted in the Raleigh News and Observer as saying that the migratory Canada Goose population in North Carolina has dropped from about 200,00 in the 1940's to about 10,000  today. However the non-migratory population of Canada Geese has increased to approximately 100,000.  Over hunting and loss of habitat had caused the Canada Goose population to decline in years past.  To overcome this trend in declining goose population many years ago, a subspecies of Canada Goose was introduced into North Carolina and neighboring states.  Unfortunately this subspecies (Branta Canadensis maxima) was one which tended not to migrate.  Instead of the beauty of birds in flight formation we now deal with an urban pest and its unsanitary droppings. We have 100,00 geese who will not go home to Canada.

In a golf mecca such as ours, with multiple courses and multiple lakes, we have created an environment attractive to geese. They feed on golf course grasses and have virtually no natural predators.  Each golf course tries to make their resident geese feel uncomfortable and unwanted so that they will take flight to another golf course and not come back. This is moderately successful but other golf courses  are using the same strategies and techniques to keep geese off their golf course.

This year our population of geese expanded during  the winter.  We had two nesting pairs who produced five goslings but had populations in excess of fourty geese.  We brought in an individual who trains and manages border collies to attack our problem.  After two weeks and the continued use of multiple dogs all the geese left.  Within two weeks they started coming back.  We acquired our own goose dog, Sandy and he went to work.  We would continue to chase the geese whenever they were found on the golf course. They moved from one course to the other and back. The population numbers would ebb and flow. Canada geese are annoying and stubborn but they are not dumb. They would see Sandy or a menacing golf cart and take to the water for safety.  Finally we purchased a radio controlled model speed boat. The geese despised this tactic intensely.  After a multi front confrontation our goose population took flight and we are presently goose free. Over the years I have learned more goose biology than I wanted to learn.  I know when they nest , the behavior of goslings and when they molt.  This year I learned that they hate radio controlled speed boats.

Sandy ,Chris and the boat

The goose grass problem has cropped up this year as the summer moved from July into August.  Goose grass is similar to crabgrass in its habit of growth and  time of growth.  They are both annual weeds which germinate at the beginning of summer and die out with freezing weather.  Goosegrass germinates several weeks later than crabgrass and is harder to control both pre-emergently and post emergently. The population grows as the seeds are spread somewhat like poa annua.  We must get this outbreak of goosegrass under control now so that we do not continue to spread seeds.  We are applying strong herbicides to try and control this problem as quickly as possible.  We are also physically removing seedlings from the greens and collars.  The strong herbicides will stunt the Bermuda but it should recover.  We are doing sod work in areas of extreme infestations.  We will utilize different timing and strategies on our pre-emergent herbicides applications  next year as circumstances have changed because of the increase in the population of goosegrass  we have experienced. Most of our goose grass problems are limited to holes 1-6 of the South and the practice areas.  We were able to use different herbicides on the North golf course this year because it was not overseeded and the problem was not found there. We regret the "spots" which you are seeing around the greens, but we are taking one step backward so we can take two steps forward.

ULTRA DWARF GREENS

We have opened the new Champion practice green in Section 16.  It is available for both chipping and putting. It can be accessed most conveniently from the North golf course by going through the waste bunker behind 12 green.

The grow-in of the new chipping green continues and is on schedule to open labor day.  We are fine tuning this area with drainage installation, new mowing lines and bunker refurbishment.

August 8,2013, six weeks

MEET THE MANAGERS

We are fortunate at Forest Creek to have a talented and diverse group of individuals working for us. You probably already know many of these people from seeing them working in their various areas. These are the managers who report to me and allow me to implement our programs throughout the Forest Creek development.Our organizational structure has separate crews for the North golf course and for the South golf course. There is also a separate crew which performs horticultural and landscaping functions. This group takes care of the clubhouse area and does contract work for the POA maintaining the entry area and roadsides. They also do contract maintenance at 30 village homes. There is also a support staff for these three groups who provide mechanical and administrative support.

SOUTH GOLF COURSE

L-R  Greg Stevens, Graham Purcell, Brandon McKenzie

Graham Purcell is the Superintendent of the South golf course. He is a native of Kildare, Ireland where he acquired a degree from Warrenton Horticultural College in turfgrass management. He came to Pinehurst through Ohio State's Global Turfgrass Management program.

Greg Stevens moved into the role of First Assistant when Graham was promoted to Superintendent. Greg first worked at Forest Creek during construction and grow-in in 1995. He is a native of Montgomery County and found his way back to Forest Creek last year. He attended East Carolina University and has a degree from Brunswick Community College in turfgrass management.

Brandon Mckenzie recently came back to Forest Creek after completing his internship and graduating from Sandhills Community College with a degree in turfgrass management. Brandon worked as a coop student at Forest Creek while going to school. He is now the Second Assistant on the South.

NORTH GOLF COURSE

L-R Garreth Williams, Chris Noll, Jeff DeMaine

Chris Noll recently moved back to the North course as Superintenent where he had previously been an assistant. Chris is from Michigan where graduated from Walsh College with a degree in finance. He moved to Pinehurst to attend Sandhills Community College from which he obtained a turfgrass degree in 2005.

Jeff DeMaine is another Sandhills graduate having obtained a turfgrass degree in 2010. Jeff's first career was in the automobile parts manufacturing industry.  He holds two degrees from Buffalo State University in New York; an AAS in Automotive Engineering Technology and a BT in Electromechanical Engineering Technology. Jeff is the First Assistant on the North golf course.

Gareth Williams works on both golf courses as an Assistant Superintendent and specializes in irrigation system work. Garreth is a native of Ystradgynlais, Wales. He has a BA in sports turf management with an emphasis on golf from Penycoed Agricultural College. Like Graham, Garreth found his way to Pinehurst through Ohio State's Global Turfgrass Management program.

LANDSCAPE AND HORTICULTURE

Lee Bunch

Lee Bunch has been working at Forest Creek since 1998 and has been in charge of our landscaping operations throughout that time. Lee grew up in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina and graduated from the Landscape Gardening program at Sandhills Community College.

ADMINISTRATION

John Mims

John Mims is my administrative assistant and is the HR manager for Forest Creek. John retired from the miltary after a career in Special Forces and Delta Force. John has filled many roles during his long tenure at Forest Creek and has been the shaper on many of our construction projects including the new chipping green where he is pictured.. John attended the University of Florida, graduated from Fayetteville State University, and holds an MBA from East Carolina University.

MECHANICAL

Lynn Lane

Lynn Lane has been the Head Mechanic at Forest Creek since 1996, the year the South golf course opened. I have said many times that my mechanic is my most valuable employee.. I can do anything which my superintendents can do as well as they can. What Lynn does, I cannot do.  Lynn and his staff of two assistant mechanics are responsible for keeping our equipment functioning and our mowers sharp.

GOOSE CONTROL

Sandy the border collie

The newest and youngest member of our staff is Sandy.  Sandy is a border collie and joined Forest Creek several months ago to help control our Canada Goose problem.  He is from Moore county but like Garreth his bloodlines are Welsh.  He is still young and he is still learning his craft of goose herding.  He goes home at night with Chris Noll where he shares space with Chris' two other dogs and his three children.

NEW MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT

Golf course maintenance requires the use of many different types of equipment.  Some of the pieces used are common to construction and agriculture such as trucks, tractors and backhoes. The majority of the equipment however is very specialized and designed for the unique needs of modern day golf courses. Fairway mowers, triplexes, and walk behind greens mowers are specially designed and engineered for the intensity of modern day golf maintenance. We are fortunate that FCI has made a commitment to acquiring the equipment necessary to keep our golf courses in the condition that we can all be proud of.  Last year we added new fairway mowers, rough mowers, tee mowers, and utility vehicles to our fleet. This year we are adding new greens mowers, blowers, rollers, and sprayers to our inventory. Most of the equipment that we buy is specialized and only manufactured after we place an order. Our new equipment this year has an international flavor.  We have acquired 10 new 18 inch wide Barroness greens mowers which are designed and manufactured in Japan.  We have two new Agrimetal greens rollers and tractor mounted blowers scheduled to arrive from Canada. Agrimetal  designs and manufactures their specialized equipment in Drummondville, Quebec outside of Montreal. Our new skid sprayers are manufactured in Rocky Mount North Carolina. Most of this new equipment is needed to replace older worn-out equipment that we have been using well past its expected life. We hope this new equipment will allow us to create a better product on the golf course.

New greensmowers and skid sprayers

ULTRADWARF GREENS

CHAMPION GREEN

The grow-in for our new Champion green in section 16 is moving along nicely.  This green was planted on Thursday June 6. It will be six weeks since planting today. I estimate coverage at 80-90%.  The following sequence of pictures shows the steady growth of this new green.

June 8,2013

June18,2013

July 1,2013

July 15,2013

MINIVERDE CHIPPING GREEN

The reconstruction of our new chipping green culminated on June 26, 2013 with the sprigging of this green with Miniverde ultradwarf bermuda grass and the sodding of the features with Celebration bermuda grass.  A second load of sod was installed on July 10.  This project was a team effort from the Forest Creek golf maintenance staff in which dirt moving, feature shaping, irrigation installation, and grassing were all done" in house".  We feel that this is a significant improvement to the Forest Creek practice facilities.  Our plan continues to be to open this area back up for practice around Labor day.

Shaping by John Mims June 10

Irrigation installation June 18

New bunker ready for sod  June 26

Sodding old bunker June 26

Sodding new bunker June 26

More sod around newly sprigged green July 10

Recently mowed greens surrounds July 10

Miniverde grow-in at three weeks