Bunkers (cont'd) - useful life expectancy

[Michael J. Moss]

On average, assuming the bunkers in question did not have any liner installed when they where built and there is modest amount of sand “flashed” on their side walls, what sort of useful life expectancy can be expected before contamination, rocks, crust, poor drainage, etc. forces reconstruction?

They don’t last forever, do they?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Michael,

I have one course that we remodeled just a three years ago, but where we elected for cost reasons to leave out liner, that is redoing its bunkers now.  They are almost complete dirt, and the sand was high dollar (well, actually mid dollar) white when we started.  This is in a clay soil, no rocks.

On a rocky site, before bunker liners were common, we had rocks starting to surface after three years.

All in all, I am guessing three years is about right.  Five years tops.  Of course, constant replacement of sand and more drainage than just a tile in the bottom might help.

[Joe Hancock]

Mike,

I think part of the answer lies in the style of bunkers as well. If the style is a modern, laser edged bunker that gets a lot (too much?) of maintenance, things will break down and become contaminated sooner. If bunker edges are allowed to evolve (less edging), as well as the number of mechanical rakings being reduced, I believe bunkers can last much longer than 5 years without total rebuilding.

Remember, I come from a "less is more" mindset, and that includes bunker maintenance in a big way.

Opinionatedly Yours,

Joe

[Jim Nugent]

How long might the bunkers last at Sand Hills?  Also, can you explain what a liner is and what it does?  

Thanks...

[Michael J. Moss]

"Liner," gentlemen, please define?! Used primarily when sand is flashed to prevent contamination, correct?

[Bill_McBride]

For those familiar with Mike Stranz' work at Caledonia and True Blue which we just played, how the hell does the sand stay up on those almost vertical slopes that in some cases are 5-6' high??  

It would seem to me that a typical South Carolina gully washer would just wash the majority of that sand right down to the bottom, but it seems to stay up there.

[Bruce Katona]

we get 5-7 years on the majority of ours......NJ National in in the midst of a bunker program to redo them all of a few year timeframe......clogged drains were more of an issue than contamination of the sand by dirt.

[Forrest Richardson]

You should get your hands on a copy of the GOLF COURSE COMPONENTS LIFE EXPECTANCY CHART published by the ASGCA. I am sure they will send one to you — just call or write or e-mail. (asgca.org)

The chart shows sand life as well as drainage. It varies — but you can expect many regions to require work after 5 years.