Turf News August - Bunker Project Update
11 AUG 2023
Well that was a great stretch of construction to get out of our hair!
We had planned to take care of Copperhead holes 14 to 17 during the dry weather in the summer, but mother nature had other ideas. Taking care of these holes that are sheltered and in shade during dry weather was to help us get out quick. Our construction soils do not dry, damage is created from many tractors hauling, the polymer cannot be sprayed when the stone subs are wet and sodding is just not fun in the mud. Mother nature had other plans this year and it seemed to rain on us every second day. All of this prolonged getting out of ‘Bermuda’ (that’s the turf department nickname for the holes 14 to 16!) On 14 we combined the left 2 bunkers into one with some reduction in size and the left side of 14 we eliminated the back bunker, that for the most part had been out of play. The hole looks great and the lines on the bunkering really fit the green site. On 15 we kept the same footprint on the high play front bunker. Quite a bit of sand splash was removed from in between the bunker and the green; almost 10” in fact! The right bunkers had some reductions in out of play areas. Another bunker with great lines and a better golf hole.
On 16 the right tee shot bunker required quite a bit of fills as the right out of play lobe was removed and once again the high play area of this bunker has stayed. The lay up bunkers have been turned into one to assist in washout from the steep back bank. The green side on 16 is now slightly tighter to the green and reduced in footprint. The back right area that was very low play has been removed. I personally think hitting from the rough that has replaced the bunker is a tougher shot as no spin can be created to a down hill, steep sloped green. Works are well under way on 17 as the right fairway is complete and the green sides and left fairway are getting close to gravel and polymer spraying. We will be moving to 18 early this week with some very nice changes happening there.
Our hopes were to be complete on Copperhead by September 1, but the weather has moved that closer to mid September. We have hopes to be finished 17 and 18 in 2 weeks, then onto CopperHead holes 1 and 9. We will have some traffic sodding and possibly some minor tweaks to some sod lines before we leave copperhead, but otherwise we will be complete and onward to Sidewinder for the fall.
It's been a long stretch with many holes under construction. We are down to one hole and hope to keep our construction to no more than two holes going forward. Let's just hope mother nature cooperates. Once again I do apologize for any disturbance to our works. Getting in and out of those ‘Bermuda’ holes is quite frustrating as I am sure it has bene for all of you.
Bill McAllister
Superintendent