"Natural" bunkers and open "Sand Scars" on links courses

[Ally Mcintosh]

I've just been scanning some of the winter work (via various course manager & construction blogs) that's been going on at GB&I links courses at the moment... And it seems like half of the entire links course population is naturalising their bunkers and opening up huge swathes of sand scars.

Makes me feel glad that I stuck with majority sod wall in the hybrid style we've been introducing at Strandhill these past couple of years. At least they'll feel a little bit different.

[Niall C]

Ally


Yes it is funny how certain trends go in and out of fashion. In terms of GB&I links I suspect the common denominator for a lot of the work is MacKenzie Ebert. That's not a knock on them indeed by most accounts I've read of their work at Gullane and Turnberry, and from what I've seen at Troon, their work has been excellent.


Niall

[Adam Lawrence]

I don't think that's particularly true Niall. Certainly Tom (and especially Martin) are keen on the occasional sand scar, and they've done a lot of work on a lot of links, but I think it's a more general trend. The work done, for example, at St Andrews over the last eighteen months, was prompted by advice from Bob Taylor of STRI, and it's part of the Links Trust's ecological commitment -- see my story on the New course works from late 2016.


http://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/exposed-sand-areas-created-on-new-course-at-st-andrews

[Niall C]

Adam


Fair comment, and as I typed my post I thought of Mach Dunes and some of the wonderful bunkers there which maybe preceded some of what Tom and Martin have done in terms of naturalness but still, they seem to have got there fair share of work on links courses, and what they have done does look very good.


Niall

[Adam Lawrence]

There's no doubt, in my mind, that the inspiration for this trend has come, ultimately, from America and the work done by C&C/Renaissance et al. But what has given it legs is the realisation that exposed sand on a links site is ecologically important habitat, and tbh I'd put that down, at least in part, to the fight over the mobile dune at Trump Aberdeen.

[Sean_A]

I find it interesting that Aberdovey went to the more natural bunker many moons ago and it passed with barely any comment. I haven't been back since so I don't know how they have held up. Mind you, their bunkers were hunkered down rather than flashed...quite unusual. 

Ciao

[Adam Lawrence]

I find it interesting that Aberdovey went to the more natural bunker many moons ago and it passed with barely any comment. I haven't been back since so I don't know how they have held up. Mind you, their bunkers were hunkered down rather than flashed...quite unusual. 

Ciao

Aberdovey has been going back to revet over the last year or two since its new course manager started there. I believe the reason was wind blow of sand

[jeffwarne]

I've just been scanning some of the winter work (via various course manager & construction blogs) that's been going on at GB&I links courses at the moment... And it seems like half of the entire links course population is naturalising their bunkers and opening up huge swathes of sand scars.

Makes me feel glad that I stuck with majority sod wall in the hybrid style we've been introducing at Strandhill these past couple of years. At least they'll feel a little bit different.

Ally,
I'm all for different and not blindly following a fad...
but "1/2 the links population is naturalising their bunkers"?
I know that's hyperbole but how many courses are we talking about?
I haven't seen any in my recent links travels(unless you want to count Aberdovey which are refreshingly not pot circles), but then I tend to avoid the Turnberry's of the world so maybe I'm missing the fad courses.


I've always felt sod wall bunkers have been massively oversused in the UK.Ireland due to their artificial nature and need to be rebuilt frequently. I do understand that in certain locations they are felt needed to avoid sand blowout.


I haven't seen any of these recent naturalized blowout /sand scar areas in my GB&I travels lately but I've always wondered why thee weren't more,given what thye came from and what surrounds the links courses especially with the way Gorse has savagely intruded on so many classic GB&I links.
It will be interesting to see how there areas evole and are maintained over time as nature/wind usually gets her way.


And I actually like the odd gorse bush here and there and am not a huge fan of the massive sand surrounds on many modern US courses-particularly in hot weather climes.

[Sean_A]

I find it interesting that Aberdovey went to the more natural bunker many moons ago and it passed with barely any comment. I haven't been back since so I don't know how they have held up. Mind you, their bunkers were hunkered down rather than flashed...quite unusual. 

Ciao

Aberdovey has been going back to revet over the last year or two since its new course manager started there. I believe the reason was wind blow of sand

I feared as much.  It could be that more blow-out/flashy style of bunkering only really works in places away from greens and fairways or with clubs that have the man-power to quickly deal with issues caused by wind.  I recall seeing a huge blowout at Pennard break open and you could see the fairway dying.  I spose another trick is to guve bunkers eye lashes ala Co Down style, but man that can be brutal on trying to get out of bunkers...or worse still, trying to get out of the eye lash near the bunker.  I lost a ball in one of those damn things when I knew it had to be within a few feet of where I was looking...stupid stuff.

Ciao

[Thomas Dai]

Trends come and trends go but grass and vegetation likes to grow so if the sandy areas, whether they be formal bunkers, scars, open areas etc etc aren't continuously maintained on a longterm ongoing basis they will become overgrown and ultimately disappear from view and play (ref the recent and very fine 'opening up/recovery' work at Woodhall Spa).

The bunkering at Aberdovey's over the approx period 2010-2015 was, I thought, terrific - I did a thread partly about it but the photos have now disappeared. My understanding is that a new Course Manager who came in a couple of years ago changed then things. I understand that he is now no longer there but what the current bunkering status I don't know. Hope to get there in a few weeks though so I may find out more then.


As an aside, I'd be happy to have more bunkers which use sleepers.

atb

[Tom_Doak]

Are there pictures?  I'm curious how they are trying to keep the sand from blowing around.


New South Wales GC introduced sand scrapes on several holes a few years ago, and they have held them down with iceplant.  They have been controversial, and quite a contrast to the revetted pot bunkers they have around the greens ... but requiring far less reconstruction.  They asked my advice on whether to keep them or not, and I'm still searching for a good answer.

[Adam Lawrence]

Tom -- here's an update on the sandy areas on the New course at St Andrews, with some pictures


http://blog.standrews.com/2017/12/20/new-features-for-the-new-course/

[Ryan Farrow]

Why the resistance to steep grass faced bunkers in the UK? They perform similar to sod wall bunkers without the needed reconstruction. It also allows for a little more character and creativity like irregular dings and protrusions on the grass faces compared to a wall.

[Niall C]

Jeff

While I think a newly revetted links bunker can be a thing of beauty, I agree a number of standard round pots newly done usually doesn’t look that good. However I’d suggest that the shaggy hanging face look that a lot of modern architects are trying to pull off is based on old photos of bunkers that in most instances probably started out as having revetted faces but were allowed to degrade over time.

That doesn’t happen now. It seems to have become standard that revetted bunker faces need to be renewed long before they have lost all structural integrity. I think of it as the TOC effect. A bit similar to Augusta’s influence on inland courses introducing flowering plants all over the place (slight exaggeration but you get the picture), with the Open being at TOC every 5 years and having their bunkers faces renewed each time, that seems to have set the standard for other links courses to aspire to. I think that a great pity and largely a waste of effort IMO.

Niall

[Niall C]

Adam

Slowly but surely the brain is going through the gears. Re – the STRI, I think it was an STRI report that proved the impetus for Gailes to take out trees, and blooter large tracts of gorse leaving sandy waste areas, which it should be said haven’t taken long to be recolonised by grassed areas.

Niall

[Peter Pallotta]

Ally -

I think many folks (in my case, from afar) very much appreciate the look and function on UK courses of sod-wall (and even perfectly round/pot) bunkers.

For me, it's like a dream (i.e. the kind we have when we're sleeping): i.e. I know upon awakening that it wasn't actually *real*, but it was nonetheless a *real dream*.

Which is to say: almost all golfers realize that bunkers and hazards etc have to be created and/or maintained in order to serve their function in terms of the playing of the game. Neither the scar nor the blow-out nor the sod-faced pot is real, but they are all real hazards.     

And the sod-faced bunker (because of its history) has the advantage of being a real hazard that also fulfills a certain expectation about what a real hazard in the UK looks like -- as if I was dreaming about being in Rome (which I've never actually visited) and the main image/setting was the famous Colosseum instead of a non-descript shopping mall in some Roman suburb; the dream would feel more real.   

[Mark Chaplin]

It certainly appears any course within the R&A support framework is doing the same work, that has to be the influence of Mr Ebert. Adam I’d say clubs are following advice rather than all doing identical work at the same time by accident.

[Niall C]

Mark


Undoubtedly they are taking advice but I think Adams point is that it isn't just from MacKenzie Ebert's but from others as well.


Niall

[David_Tepper]

Does anyone think the "mixed" bunker style at Castle Stuart has influenced bunker presentation/maintenance at other courses?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck8q8MsF1e8 

[James Boon]

Adam references Bob Taylor from the STRI for the sandy scrapes and I think he certainly has been a driving influence for the scrapes as they are good from an ecology point of view which is good if you want GEO certification which is encouraged by the R&A if you want to host one of their events...


Though we are heathland at Notts (Hollinwell), not links, the theory is the same, and Bob has encouraged us to do quite a bit of this. In some places we've screped away and then sown heather brash over it to encourage the heathland, in other area we've just scrapped away the grass (often lush stuff out of place in the heathland mosaic) or gorse, and in the short term its great for basking reptiles and mining bees. Over time they grass over but its all fine grasses that come back naturall. Bob usually references good work being done at Troon in a similar vein.


Cheers,


James

[Clyde Johnson]

Are there pictures?  I'm curious how they are trying to keep the sand from blowing around.

Funnily enough I was out at Gullane with Brian Palmer and Scott Pavalko today...


Here's the 9th on No.1:





At St. Andrews and Turnberry, these exposed areas tend to sit in low bowls and in areas out of play. In St. Andrews, flanks of gorse typically shelter the areas somewhat - the woody gorse has been stripped from the interior of larger patches. The work is really fresh, so hasn't had time to really evolve yet.

At Gullane, the lone 'sand scar' is situated on a high, but at least on the leeward side of the typically strong prevailing wind. I think this area is a couple of years old, but immature/sparse fescue plants were starting to force through - i'm not sure how much it will really help to knit things together, mind. The main tee deck is to the left, so there is not a whole bunch of foot traffic going through to disturb/loosen the sand.


A "Natural" bunker on the 2nd at Turnberry:





The more exposed 'sand scars' on the 4th and 11th at Turnberry:






It was blowing a legit 20mph plus westerly at Turnberry, but the sleet/snow/hail was helping to keep the sand-down...one benefit of the west coast weather, I guess!


I don't have any of the work at St Andrews to hand, but will be back out there on Sunday/Monday.

[Tom_Doak]

Clyde:  Thanks for the photos.


Based on my experience in windy climates, those areas pictured at Turnberry will see significant wind erosion over time.  We had some bunkers with islands in them at St. Andrews Beach, where the islands became two feet "higher" over time, because that's how much sand had blown out of the bunker all around them. 


But partly that's because they were being raked regularly, which breaks through the harder layers of native sand.  If you don't rake the bunkers at all, and there's not much traffic, a layer like that could hold up for several years.

[Sean_A]

Jeff

While I think a newly revetted links bunker can be a thing of beauty, I agree a number of standard round pots newly done usually doesn’t look that good. However I’d suggest that the shaggy hanging face look that a lot of modern architects are trying to pull off is based on old photos of bunkers that in most instances probably started out as having revetted faces but were allowed to degrade over time.

That doesn’t happen now. It seems to have become standard that revetted bunker faces need to be renewed long before they have lost all structural integrity. I think of it as the TOC effect. A bit similar to Augusta’s influence on inland courses introducing flowering plants all over the place (slight exaggeration but you get the picture), with the Open being at TOC every 5 years and having their bunkers faces renewed each time, that seems to have set the standard for other links courses to aspire to. I think that a great pity and largely a waste of effort IMO.

Niall

Niall

I agree.  Unless pots are done beautifully as at Muirfield (but their appeal is also down to the shapes) I often find they don't become attractive until erosion sets in.  The problem often occurs is the bunker becomes divorced from the field of play and doesn't look nearly as good with short grass around it with an eroded face.



Ciao

[Thomas Dai]

On links courses the use of riveted astroturf looks quite good once the grass and greenery starts to grow on the face, maybe even invisible to the untrained eye, although the topmost layer of astro needs to be tied-in very carefully to the turf above. I remain to be convinced on the astro look/use on inland courses though. My overall preference though is probably sleepered bunkers (with wooden steps).
atb

[Ally Mcintosh]

I've so much to say on this subject, I don't know where to start... So one point only for now:


The Castle Stuart bunkers are interesting - and inspirational - because they do things the right way round. In other words, open areas of sand on a links are created naturally. They morph and move over time. What Castle Stuart does is it imitates natural erosion by identifying the areas most at risk of erosion in each bunker (the bays) and shores them up with clearly man-made intervention (sod wall). So a wholly artificial construction looks like it's had only minimal intervention to "manage'" the erosion. In turn, this perversely looks far more natural than "natural" bunkers that are over-managed.


In tandem with this, I also like full sod wall bunkers that are allowed to erode over time and don't look perfect. However, one proviso with this look is that it works only where bunkers are backed by rough grasses. Those bunkers that are surrounded by short grass are better kept clean. That doesn't mean rebuilding them before it is absolutely necessary however. They do need to be built eventually because one of the downsides with any bunker erosion is that the face can be undercut by the wind which causes major playability issues.


The photo Sean posts at Princes is just an example of a bunker not managed at all. The broad leave grasses and weeds surrounding it come from the initial construction and have never been treated to bring finer grasses back. And the face appears to have once been burnt off and now just hasn't been touched for a while, falling between two stools (open sod or grass faced). Meanwhile the fairway appears to be narrowed so there is no longer a short grass run in or connection to the playing area.


So bottom line is I love natural bunkers. But I particularly love the ones where part of the design and management philosophy is to let them morph within reason on account of the natural elements. Nothing is worse than an over managed natural look. Hence recently, I've been building natural edges in to steeper hills (usually marram covered) where erosion can have a free hand. And sticking with sod walls on lower lying flat areas where the playing surface is better kept short grass...Even on the rough edged ones, we have a hybrid style with leading edges always surrounded by sod to ensure a clean grass run-in. And maybe shoring up the odd bay, ala Castle Stuart, in order to keep a stylistically consistent theme.


Final point: some sites, the wind is so vicious it takes serious management to maintain sod wall bunkers from eroding. Natural edged ones would be impossible to rein in.