Technical
Normally carried out under the cover of darkness, away from prying eyes, revetting pot bunkers has been a closely guarded secret passed down through generations of greenkeepers.
Iain Wakeman, Links
Superintendent at Rosslare Golf Links in Ireland, has risked his life by telling us the mystery surrounding this art and by revealing the skills involved, stage by stage
Revetting pot bunkers -
UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS!
Photo 1
here are many steps involved in the construction process before any work takes place. When constructing a pot bunker, the site must be visited, and all the work that needs to be carried out should be considered, i.e. design, any contour work to enable the bunker to fit into the landscape, the bunker’s size and shape, the severity of the angle of the wall, the depth of the bunker, irrigation and associated works - pipes, cables, zones and decoders - construction, including time, materials and labour and, most importantly, if it is a member club, the members’ wishes. All these factors have to be looked into before any sitework proceeds. Bunkers are usually rebuilt in the same shape and style as before, in keeping with the aesthetics of the course. These bunkers usually last between five to eight years, depending on aspect and the amount of play the bunker receives. Photo 1 shows how a pot bunker can deteriorate over the year,s with photo 2 showing the damage caused by the accumulation of sand splash out. Selection of turf is important for building, as it should not have a high amount of thatch in it or long grass growth, as this will
T Photo 2 Photo 3
allow for excessive sinkage. Usually, the shape of the turf should be between 1” to 2” thick (photo 3), 12” wide and between 18” to 24” long. There are two schools of thought with the
layered sod, grass side up or grass side down. It is felt by some that if the grass side is up, you will have a better chance of a grass face bunker, with less chance of erosion of the face. However, during the summer months, this will incur a lot more maintenance, as the faces will have to be brushed and trimmed. Grass side down will create a black face bunker. It may need some application of herbicide, but will need little or no maintenance thereafter. However, the black face bunker is more susceptible to erosion, and will have to be rebuilt sooner.
Sand selection and depth, including consistency or texture, is also very important with pot bunkers. A ‘happy’ medium must be found between members’ expectations of playability, and the suitability of sand to the course. Ideally, the sand should be local, native and indigenous. However, not all courses have this luxury. It is possible that over 200 tonnes of sand
Photo 4
would be required just to fill 75 bunkers to a 2” depth. This does not include replenishment from well played bunkers, sand splash and wind erosion. Bought in sand must satisfy the golfer (a very difficult task, as it is a personal thing for each individual). In Ireland, lime and salt levels in sand are a major consideration. Sand particle distribution, shape and size are also high on the list for consideration. To start the actual building, you will need some powerful lights to undertake the work, under the cover of darkness (a highly secretive thing!) Remove approximately a metre of turf
from the edge of the bunker (photo 4). Use a 12” sod cutter, and keep any good sod to use as building turf. This will reveal the full extent of the work to be completed. If there are associated contours, it is best to remove the sod from these areas too at this point. The extent of the removal of top turf depends on whether it is a rebuild or a new bunker.
Gather all playing bunker sand into the
centre of the bunker, this is used as backfill. The turf that formed the old side walls can now be removed. You will find the old
Photo 8 110 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012
Photo 9
Photo 10
Photo 11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148