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.