 | Every Monday morning, JG (Greens Chairman) bursts into the sheds after playing golf over the weekend and says..."3rd on the right and 8th on the left" what's his first complaint? We all know its the usual.... the beloved bunkers. |
I went over to the States last year to visit my Auntie and Uncle who live on a golf course called Laurel Ridge (fantastic golf club), their biggest complaint is... you got it, Bunkers. It's a known fact that it is every golf clubs biggest problem, so we need the golfers help!
Here's one of the problems (shown below) located on the 13th hole. When James approached this particular one last Monday after one of JG's talks, his face looked like the picture below. He just couldn't believe how much sand was placed at the entrance of the bunker, he spent 20 minutes trying to correct it. The bottom left indicates how little sand is at the front of the bunkers. The reason for this is that when the golfers exit the bunker, they always rake backwards and not forwards. In a ideal world, I would love it if the golfers would push the sand forwards toward the pin. We move the holes twice a week so this raking method should help us evenly spread the sand throughout the bunker, thus making everyones life easier.... A tidy bunker is a happy bunker.
Here's one of the problems (shown below) located on the 13th hole. When James approached this particular one last Monday after one of JG's talks, his face looked like the picture below. He just couldn't believe how much sand was placed at the entrance of the bunker, he spent 20 minutes trying to correct it. The bottom left indicates how little sand is at the front of the bunkers. The reason for this is that when the golfers exit the bunker, they always rake backwards and not forwards. In a ideal world, I would love it if the golfers would push the sand forwards toward the pin. We move the holes twice a week so this raking method should help us evenly spread the sand throughout the bunker, thus making everyones life easier.... A tidy bunker is a happy bunker.
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I know you may think they're not great, but trust me we are trying to perfect them. After renovating a select few on the course, the improvements are dramatic. However, we need you guys to help us out, even if we are raking them every day. Here's a link to show you how much work were pumping into the Bunkers.
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- When the raking is done, exit the bunker at the lowest point, raking the sand forward or towards the pin.
- Use the back of the rake to smooth out the footprints on the faces. This stops any loosening of the sand which causes plugging of the ball.
The aim of back raking the faces is to allow the ball to roll to the centre of the bunker, making it less difficult for the golfer to play the shot and less time consuming for us greenskeepers.
We will be making a light hearted video soon about raking bunkers so please stay tuned !
Now on to some banter....I was reading the RGC news letter today and this tickled me pink..... read on!!!!
'Congratulations to Harvey Brooke, our Deputy Course Manager, another of his blog articles has been picked up by a golf magazine and will be featured this coming month.
To view Harvey's blog look on our website under 'golf' or go to www.greenkeepersblog.com If you haven't yet read it, it's well worth a read.
Know how you love this photo Harv. Or is it the other one? No one nose!'
'Congratulations to Harvey Brooke, our Deputy Course Manager, another of his blog articles has been picked up by a golf magazine and will be featured this coming month.
To view Harvey's blog look on our website under 'golf' or go to www.greenkeepersblog.com If you haven't yet read it, it's well worth a read.
Know how you love this photo Harv. Or is it the other one? No one nose!'
That's no-se joke guys !
