锘? How to Design a Golf Course Bunker

An Interview with Golf Course Architect Kevin Norby

Kevin Adam Duvall Reds Jersey , what are the most important considerations in golf course bunker designs?

The placement and the use of bunkers is probably one of the most important considerations in designing a golf course. It helps define the landing areas , it makes for a visually interesting golf course and in many cases its what makes the course strategically challenging.

There are a variety of styles of bunkers. On a public daily fee golf course, you would probably find less bunkers than you would on a private or a destination golf course. The cape of the bunker might not be as dramatic and therefore they might be less challenging to play out of and also a little bit easier to take care of.

What do you mean when you say the cape of the bunker?

The cape is the crown of grass that comes over the top of the bunker, the mound on the back side of the bunker that adds some elevation change. If the capes are very steep and dramatic, they are probably a little more difficult to maintain. This could mean be a little more manual labour Ken Griffey Reds Jersey , raking of the sand and some hand mowing.


What are your thoughts about hidden bunkers?

I think the holes that people seem to remember and enjoy the most are the ones where they can see everything unfold in front of them. They can see all the bunkers; they can see the water hazards and the wetlands. You want to be able to see the hole when youre preparing to hit your shot so you can make an intelligent decision on how to play it.

Typically we would not put bunkers behind a green where they cant be seen. However, there are times where we might propose a catch bunker or a savior bunker in that location. If for instance there is water behind the green, we may put a bunker behind the green to gather a shot that trickled off the green, rather than penalize a player with a full one stroke penalty for going off the edge.

As a golf course designer, we are typically using bunkers to frame the holes and define the landing area. Those types of bunkers can be a cross bunker Tony Perez Reds Jersey , which we put in the fairway to provide direction. If it happens to be a carry bunker, you can get a little kick off the backside of the bunker if you can carry it with your shot. Its the risk reward aspect of design.


What can you tell us golf course bunker sand size?

Depending on where you are in the country, there is some very good local bunker sands. The USGA has a standard of what they consider is a good sand. They recommends a hard, silica sand in bunkers becauseit will resist weathering and retain it's original shape longer.

To some degree it depends on your maintenance budget. A little bit coarser sand with some particles that are a little bit angular rather than round, will set up so that the ball doesnt plug or get buried.

If you have the budget Reggie Sanders Reds Jersey , irrigating your bunkers is a good idea as it will tend to keep them more consistent

Color choice of sand is also a consideration. In the Midwest, we tend to have sands that are a light brown in color. In the southeast and throughout much of Arkansas and Ohio the sands are quite light in color.

To some degree, which sand we choose is a function of playability and budget. It is up to the owners whether they want a dark or a light sand and whether they want to spend the money for it. You can spend $13 to $15 for a good local sand or you can spend over $100 a ton for a premium white sand thats imported. Playing a bunker shot from soft sand is like playing from a pudding filled pit.


What about getting the bunkers to play consistently?

If youre starting with a new golf course and youre bringing in the same sand, you can easily make sure that the depth of your bunkers is consistent.

The problem that we often see is when over the years, some of the bunkers may have had sand added or removed or replaced so there can be a considerable problem with consistency from bunker to bunker. Youre dealing with a variety of sands and depths.

What about drainage problems in bunkers?

The capes of the bunkers may have eroded over time and some of the soil from the edges of the bunkers have worked their way down into the sand and contaminated the sand. Once this happens Chris Sabo Reds Jersey , the sand becomes very hard.

If a bunker is not draining properly, they have probably long since been contaminated and are probably in needing of being rebuilt. Sometimes the drain tile has been crushed.


What are the kinds of things you can do for a golf course that has inconsistent sand in their bunkers?

Often the golf course owner or golf committee will look at bunkers more from the standpoint of how important they are visually to the golf course. We try to help them understand that removing the sand and completely rebuilding the bunker with new drainage, new sand, new edges and new capes is really the best way to go about fixing bunker problems.

Fixing a damanged or inconsistent bunker not just a matter of adding new sand or removing the old sand. You probably have to go and completely renovate the bunker, make sure that water is draining away from the bunker Dave Concepcion Reds Jersey , make sure that drainage is working properly in the bottom of the bunker. It's also important to go in and re-shape the bunker and put in new sand.

Golf Course Bunker Repair is a process of educating people to understand why they have to do a little more work than what they were anticipating. The golf course superintendent generally seems to understand these problems a little better because theyre in there working on the bunkers and recognize that the solution is m锘縍osowess The plant is more slender thanthe ordinary "c.