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Remodeling Sand Bunkers On Your Course
by John R. Steidel, Golf
Course Architect, Kennewick, Washington
first published in the Green Section RECORD, May/June 1985
As a golf course architect and a golfer I like to see sand bunkers.
They are one of the game's original hazards. Often pleasing to the eye,
they are an integral part of design in terms of adding interest, defining
landing areas, and creating challenge. Often sand bunkers are the only
fair method of creating sufficient difficulty on a flat, treeless, or
otherwise uninteresting site.
Having remodeled many mature courses, it's always a pleasure to get
an immediate and favorable response from golfers who see sudden improvement
in their old layouts. However, anyone tinkering with an established
course must remember that those same golfers can just as quickly become
the most severe critics if the job isn't done right. Before
Remodeling by adding bunkers has a distinct advantage over new construction,
from an architect's standpoint, in that you know how the hole is played
at all times of the year and under all climatic conditions. There is
really no excuse for misplacing a bunker on an existing course.
In contrast, it is not uncommon to find a sand bunker located out of
play on a new course, or one that unfairly penalizes golfers, especially
the higher handicapper. That often occurs because what looked good on
paper doesn't quite work that way when it becomes part of the topography,
is affected by a particularly hard or soft fairway, or is blown out
of proportion by regular winds not adequately considered at the time
of construction.
If the bunkers are to be placed or remodeled on your course, it is extremely
important that the course be considered as a whole. It is possible to
add or delete them on different holes on separate occasions and believe
you are making proper decisions, but this often results in a course
on which holes of a similar nature are all bunkered in a similar manner.
I find that the preparation of a master plan for remodeling that allows
for ideas from the ,golf professional, golf course superintendent, and
the green committee eliminates this possibility.
In retrospect, my most common mistake earlier in my career was spending
too much time worrying how the bunkers looked, rather than concerning
myself with where they were placed and how they played.
I personally prefer to look at irregularly shaped, curvelinear sand
bunkers. They should also be designed with maintenance in mind. I think
most golfers prefer that treatment, although much of the bunker design
that appears in articles of popular golf magazines today features those
with steep grass or sand faces or ones that are extremely unusual in
shape or appearance.
Obviously, sand bunkers cost money to build and maintain. At $35 to
$45 per cubic yard - more in some locations - white sand and large bunkers
can add up to a very expensive proposition. Still, I believe that the
cost of bunker maintenance depends much more upon the amount and quality
of edge maintenance than it does on the total area of the sand. Though
mechanical rakes have their drawbacks, they have made taking care of
large bunkers much easier.
It would be far less expensive to have a course without sand bunkers.
Such courses usually arise from a tight budget, often alibied by the
mistaken belief that bunkers unnecessarily cause slow play. In my opinion,
such layouts are not particularly interesting, challenging or attractive.
I find that at least 40 bunkers are necessary on even the most heavily
played municipal course to insure sufficient challenge and interest.
A course with more than 80 bunkers has them for aesthetics, special
effect, or some other reason, but that many are certainly not needed
for playability. One bunker properly located can do the job of three
or four in the wrong place.
After it has been decided where the bunkers are to go, it must be decided
what they should be like. As I mentioned earlier, many professional
and part time golf course architects worry too much about appearance.
Although I've already stated my preference in bunker design, that isn't
necessarily what I always build. Each project requires a design plan
that takes into consideration what is right for that course, its maintenance
budget, the climate, and the golfers who are going to play it regularly.
If a course is in an area of frequent heavy rainfall or high winds,
it makes no sense to construct bunkers with steep faces that will require
constant attention just to keep the sand in place. If a course is played
by mostly high handicappers, it makes sense to keep the sand hazard
flatter. However, if a course really takes itself seriously, that type
of design is unacceptable. On a course with a limited budget, the need
for hand work must be kept to a minimum, which means no steep grass
slopes, or turf fingers, or islands protruding into the bunkers, although
the use of growth retardants may help some. Finally, I have nothing
against either oval-shaped or pot bunkers if they are appropriate. Many
great courses have sand bunkers that are pretty unremarkable visually.
An architect should not force his style upon a course.
Proper selection of sand for new or remodeled sand bunkers is a subject
that should not be dealt with lightly. For the most part, golfers and
superintendents know what sand works best in their area. If sand is
too coarse or packs too easily, it won't stay in use very long. The
United States Golf Association has tested some sand characteristics
to determine their suitability for bunker use.
Some touring professionals have expressed a dislike for silica sands.
Apparently these sands don't allow a player to stop the ball as easily
on the green. It has been my experience that such sands are easier for
the average golfer to play out of, and clients seem to like their brilliant
white color. Once again, you must consider who will be playing your
course before making a decision.
Two years ago I was retained by the City of Spokane, Washington, to
provide golf course design services for three municipal courses, including
the picturesque Indian Canyon Golf Course, which was to be host to the
1984 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. Part of the job required
preparing plans and supervising the renovation of the course's sand
bunkers, which over the years had fallen into considerable disrepair.
During
Indian Canyon was designed by H. Chandler Egan, a former U.S. Amateur
Champion; it was built in the early 1930s by a WPA crew (Egan also had
a hand in the redesign of Pebble Beach). The Indian Canyon Course is
not long and the site is heavily wooded and very hilly. In my opinion,
Egan designed the best hilly golf course I have ever seen. The greens
are medium in size and many of them are well designed. There are no
fairway bunkers and only 23 on the entire course. The bunkers generally
frame the greens, and even if they are in front of the greens, they
tend to be set toward the sides.
I was fortunate to have a set of Egan's original plans as a guide. Some
bunkers on his plans were either never constructed or filled in over
the years. The City and I saw no reason to change the design of the
course.
It was obvious, however, that whether or not the Public Links Championship
was going to be played there, the bunkers needed work; just edging them
would not be enough. Sand had built up the lips on some to over 18-inches
high. They weren't lips anymore - they were cliffs! Turf around the
bunkers had grown in considerably, and there were other signs of old
age. The edges were broken, turf had encroached on the original design,
and sand that should have been in bunkers had washed down and out, creating
a mess at the lowest point. This was partly caused by the original design,
which did not install drainage lines.
The work was done by the City crew with my supervision during the fall
of 1983 and spring of 1984. It was completed just in time for the tournament.
The renovation required a lot of hand labor, which I believe helped
maintain the course's original flavor. Drainage was installed at the
low points of all bunkers.
The result has been very successful. The bunkers play very well and
look great. I doubt that anyone who hadn't played the course in a year
or two noticed any difference, even though the total area of sand surface
was probably doubled. The result requires more maintenance by hand and
the bunkers are a little steeper at Indian Canyon than on many of my
other courses, but as the local USGA committeeman kept advising me,
that was how it should be, because Indian Canyon is a special golf course.
He was right, of course, but I didn't tell him that every course is
special to some golfer.
This is not a technical article because building good sand bunkers is
not all that technical. Successful sand bunker remodeling requires the
involvement of at least one individual who can properly balance the
artistic and the practical with the golf. I would like to offer three
points to keep in mind if you are thinking of reconstructing or adding
bunkers on your golf course.
First, make sure the hazard is necessary. I have found that a twenty
yard long fairway bunker, properly placed, is often all that is needed
to tighten a landing area. The proper place is generally beyond a good
drive of a short hitter from the regular tee, yet set far enough out
so that the bunker cannot be carried by the best golfers from the tournament
tees.
Second, pay special attention to drainage, both inside and outside the
bunker. A complaint I always hear from golf course superintendents is
that sand washes off the faces. This can be eliminated if most water
from higher ground is intercepted and redirected before it gets to the
bunker. Furthermore, the sand face itself should never be built on a
slope greater than 3:1. Steeper slopes mean daily hand raking. Remember
also to drain your bunkers. Whether it's in the form of sump, drainline,
or both, it isn't just the heavy shower that causes problems, but it's
also nightly irrigation.
Finally, know in advance what you are trying to build, especially in
relation to the maintenance it will require. Be wary of trying to build
a bunker like the one you saw on television last week or one your green
committee chairman saw on his vacation in Palm Springs. Even if you
could duplicate the hazard, it probably won't work as well on your course.
Proper study, planning, knowledge of construction and maintenance were
prime factors in our success at Indian Canyon and I believe they are
the keys for all successful remodeling. After
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