news From goLF Course maintenanCe

Dear Members,

The consistency and playability of our bunker sand has been an issue for quite some time. Normally, in order to fix the issue a large crew would have to aggressively rake the bottoms of the bunkers multiple times per week in order to dry and soften the top two inches of sand. As an alternative option because of our crew size, an attachment was ordered last summer for our bunker rake. The attachment finally arrived to us in January and would ideally have worked well in turning the sand over and helping to soften and dry the top layer.

The attachment did not work as intended. We have since customized our bunker rake to incorporate fully adjustable threaded rods which work to dig into the sand. We can raise and lower the rods daily as bunkers become too firm or too soft. Additionally as many of you may have noticed we have adopted the Australian style of raking bunkers. This means we are using lightweight brushes on the face of the bunker while raking the bottoms. This method encourages the golf ball to roll back into the bottom of the bunker rather than plug or hang up in the face. However it should be noted that when a golfer does walk up a bunker face we then have to aggressively rake the face in order to fix the footprints which disrupts the hardening process.

As always your feedback is very much appreciated. You can email me at any time at d.stover@dbycc.com

Daniel Stover Director of Grounds

Daniel Stover Director of Golf Course Maintenance d.stover@dbycc.com