What if an architect's bunkering of a course was limited to a maximum amount of time it would take to hand rake them?

Generally, I have more of an issue with the size of bunkers than the number of them on a golf course.  Most could be smaller and serve the same function.

Whatdayathink?

Mike

I have my superintendent working on a study right now of how much it costs us annually to maintain bunkers - HAZARDS!  I'll know better once we know for sure, but I am inclined to think that we can clearly convince the Greens Chairman that we need to significantly move those dollars to more worthy areas of maintenance, and go to a minimal bunker maintenance program such as raking them all weekly with only "touch-ups" on a daily basis.

We have 52 bunkers so hand-raking daily may prove to be too much, but if we simply hit the bad spots we may be able to reduce our costs significantly.  

If anyone has had any success with something like this I would love to hear it.  

Tom I can't agree with you more.  As a golfer I would rather see bunkers touched up early in the week and handraked on the weekend than a sandpro everyday wearing down the edges and leaving sand around the bunkers.

One of the ugliest sights on a golf course is where sand pros exit bunkers after service, time and time again.  If your thought in practice could at least limit these monsters, i'm all for it.

Like this example?

No Mike, like this:

Such lovely pictures of the bunkers guys. Its such a shame that in efforts to cut costs, things like this occur. It would only take something as simple as using a different spot to leave each day to cure this. However, as I have said, hand raking is the best, if not the most cost effective, method.

Mark - Where are you that you have revetted bunkers?  Sorry for the ignorance.

DbD

Deal (Royal Cinque Ports)

Does anyone think of the possibility that maybe bunkers do not always have to be raked and pretty? After all, they are designed to be hazards and making them all nice and everything sort of defeats the idea of a hazard. Just an idea though.

Johnny - I totally agree, but try telling that to a membership.  I struggled to get them to realize we didn't need to edge them every week.

But I will tell this - each fall in October after most of our members are gone we stop maintaining the bunkers.  That is the time of year I find them the most playable (other than an occasional footprint or deer track).  That is what got us thinking about reducing our maintenance practices.

This is the reason why I remain unsure about why Pawleys Plantation removed the steps from the bunkers...I like the look of steps; they're intimidating.

I have been to many courses where a lot of time was spent on the bunkers, and there were some complaints. Not alot, but some. At my current course, we hand rake all bunkers (only 39 and not excessively large), but full rake only 2-3 times a week and "touch-up" on the days in between. And the only complaints we've gotten are from too much/too little sand, or exposed bunker fabric (again, too little sand). Also a few complaints about consistancy since some bunkers have had sand replaced within the last few years and others have much older, somwhat contaminated sand.

My point is this, you need to ask the right questions. Is your membership more concerned about playability or aesthetic? You may say both, but both can still be acheived with the method we use here (NOT full raking everyday). If aesthetics are the issue, is it from color of sand, sand levels, appearance of the edges, etc? If it's playability, is it because of sand levels, consistancy, soft/firm sand, or really from poor raking? And even if you do actually get down to the point where the major complaint is truely due to poor raking, it begs the question of who is to blame. Even if the bunkers are raked pristinely first thing in the morning, if the first guy that blasts out of it doesn't feel like raking it, then every golfer behind him has justification for complaint, but NOT because of maintenance, because of golfer etiquette instead.

Bunkers are hazards and there is really no reason huge amounts of time, labor and money should be spent on them, ESPECIALLY on raking. Work on playability and consistancy first and I think you would find that most golfers will rarely complain about poor raking (the job that ultimately takes the most time and therefore costs the most money).