Broomsedge bunker style?

[Joe_Tucholski]

Was looking at Broomsedge and the below picture shows a bunker style I've never seen before.  It looks like they dug out the bunker, put in the drainage pattern, only put sand in the area of the drainage channels and then grassed the rest.



Anywhere else that has this type of bunker?  Is this just a temporary thing while the course grows in?


Edit: got the photo to show up

[Rob Marshall]

Looks to me like the bunkers we put in at my club. They looked exactly the same, then we killed the grass in the bunker and filled them with sand.

[Ben Sims]

I’m guessing that’s not sand in the herringbone. Likely gravel. Sand will be added later once the sod in the bunker establishes. Maybe. Unless they’re doing liners.

[Joe_Tucholski]

Thanks guys.  After posting I kind of had the realization that must be what was going on.  Zooming in and it does look like gravel.

[Joe Hancock]

Sod liner in the bunkers vs. synthetic or aggregate liners.

[Anthony_Nysse]

TacomaTurf: URGENT!!! DO NOT GO INTO THE BUNKERS!!!

[Sean_A]

Sod liner in the bunkers vs. synthetic or aggregate liners.

Do they flip the sod?


Ciao

[Blake Conant]

Sod liner in the bunkers vs. synthetic or aggregate liners.

Joe, I hope it works and becomes a new way to line bunkers in the south. Save a ton of money that way. Is there worry about the bermuda creeping back up through the sand?

[Mark_Fine]

No they don’t flip the sod.  They will kill the grass after they add the sand. That is gravel in the drainage areas.  Pretty common practice these days especially for clubs with lower budgets.  The sod IS the liner.  Helps with rock migration and also helps hold the sand in place. 

[Anthony_Nysse]

Sod liner in the bunkers vs. synthetic or aggregate liners.

Joe, I hope it works and becomes a new way to line bunkers in the south. Save a ton of money that way. Is there worry about the bermuda creeping back up through the sand?

If it does, nothing a non-selective herbicide from a spot sprayer or hand-picking cant take care of. (I hope to see more of this)

[Sean_A]

Have folks had issues with liners? I have been to three courses whose bunkers were recently redone. Liner sticking up through what I think is too shallow a layer of sand. On one occasion the face was exposed and I could get a stance…just kept sliding down the face. That’s probably a case of the face being too steep for the combo of layer and sand choice. Anyway, I am not overly impressed with lined bunkers.


Ciao

[Joe Hancock]

Sod liner in the bunkers vs. synthetic or aggregate liners.

Joe, I hope it works and becomes a new way to line bunkers in the south. Save a ton of money that way. Is there worry about the bermuda creeping back up through the sand?

No, but like any Bermudagrass, there will be chemical burnback on occasion to keep the edges in place but not too crisp.

[cary lichtenstein]

I love the look

[Quinn Thompson]

What if we just stopped building new bunkers where liners were needed - whether it be grass liners, mat rolls, or billy gravel…?


Wouldn’t that be grand ? Let these small crews give their attention to the playing corridors and greens, or, vote Republican and send the maintenance staff home.


Every new course built should be concentrated on firm greens and good turf; any time wasted shoving sand back up a bunker bank should be docked on an Architect’s pay. The rains are getting worse - we’re fools if we keep on digging.

[Joe Hancock]

What if we just stopped building new bunkers where liners were needed - whether it be grass liners, mat rolls, or billy gravel…?


Wouldn’t that be grand ? Let these small crews give their attention to the playing corridors and greens, or, vote Republican and send the maintenance staff home.


Every new course built should be concentrated on firm greens and good turf; any time wasted shoving sand back up a bunker bank should be docked on an Architect’s pay. The rains are getting worse - we’re fools if we keep on digging.

Philosophically, I don’t disagree (not meaning, “I agree”, either), but….when you or I put up the money to build our own course, then we will have the opportunity to make that decision. Meanwhile…..let’s find reasonable, organic solutions to help meet golfer expectations and maintenance demands.

[Niall C]

Or we could go the whole hog and not bother to cut any grass, that would really save money.


Niall

[Quinn Thompson]

Or we could go the whole hog and not bother to cut any grass, that would really save money.


Niall

No, thats the whole point: let the crews concentrate on the turf ( the golf that matters ) and be done with it. As I type this, places like Broomsedge are getting pummeled by storms and typhoons and rainfalls that seem to only get stronger; year after year.


I live in Japan now, for the last 10 years. I’m observant enough to know that the rains have gotten out of hand ( yes ! in that short span of time, the rains have gotten out of hand ) - every Greenkeeper in Japan would agree with that, in their own bashful way. Every hole that is dug here and lined and filled with sand will wash a dozen plus times a year. Better Billy Bunker is the newest gimmick to arrive here to combat the problem; BBB has never seen a Japanese typhoon before…and last year was the most typhoons on written record.


If you’re gonna dig a hole these days, in heavy soil, be smart about it. I think boys like Jones and MacKenzie had it so figured out, so long ago: this Georgia clay ain’t ready for bunkers…

[Jerry Kluger]

I was at Lawsonia last year and they told me that they were doing bunker renovation in-house by removing the existing sand/dirt and then putting in two layers of sod killing each layer as they installed it and then putting the sand over it.  This process is easier and less expensive than liners and that the reason for the sod layers or liners is to prevent rocks and other materials from coming up from under the sod or liner and into the sand and it is not for drainage which is handled separately.  So far as I can see Broomsedge has installed drainage and then they will kill the grass and install the sand over it.

[Wayne_Kozun]

I live in Japan now, for the last 10 years. I’m observant enough to know that the rains have gotten out of hand ( yes ! in that short span of time, the rains have gotten out of hand ) - every Greenkeeper in Japan would agree with that, in their own bashful way. Every hole that is dug here and lined and filled with sand will wash a dozen plus times a year. Better Billy Bunker is the newest gimmick to arrive here to combat the problem; BBB has never seen a Japanese typhoon before…and last year was the most typhoons on written record

Are Japanese typhoons really that much different than the hurricanes that hit Florida, Texas and other parts of the US on a regular basis? 

[Quinn Thompson]

No difference in their destruction / both are considered “Tropical Cyclones”, just depends on which body of ocean they form over.


I suppose “typhoon” sounds a bit more violent though…?

[Thomas Dai]

Fewer bunkers, more humps and hollows with short grass and contour please.
Would be less maintenance intensive and thus less expensive yet still with provide plenty of interest and challenge plus be playable for all ages and levels of ability and physical strength.
Atb

[Wayne_Kozun]

No difference in their destruction / both are considered “Tropical Cyclones”, just depends on which body of ocean they form over.


I suppose “typhoon” sounds a bit more violent though…?

Isn't the Better Billy Bunker System used in these hurricane prone areas of the US?  So then the system has been exposed to the same types of storms that are increasingly hitting Japan.