Golf Course Bunker Sand

Excerpt from an interview with Kevin Norby,If the bunkers aren’t draining properly, they
Herfort Norby golf course designers.have probably long since been contaminated and
Kevin - what can you tell us about golf courseare probably in needing of being rebuilt.
bunker sand size?Sometimes the drain tile has been crushed and
Depending on where you are in the country, theresometimes we find bunkers that never had
is some very good local bunker sands. The USGAdrainage installed.
has a standard of what they consider anWhat are the kinds of things you can do for a
acceptable sand.golf course that has inconsistent sand in their
A little bit coarser sand with some particles thatbunkers? How can they fix that problem?
are more angular rather than round, will set up soFrequently the golf course owner or Greens
that the ball doesn’t plug or get buried. InCommittee members will look at bunkers more
addition, you can irrigate your bunkers if you havefrom the standpoint of how important they are
the budget to do that, to keep them a little bitvisually to the golf course. We try to help them
firmer and more consistent.understand that removing the sand and
There are sands out there that are a very whitecompletely rebuilding the bunker with new
and sands that are a little bit darker. In thedrainage, new sand, new edges and new capes is
Midwest, we tend to have sands that are a lightreally the best way to go about making the
brown in color. In the southeast and throughoutbunkers play consistently.
much of Arkansas and Ohio the sands are quiteIt’s not just a matter of adding new sand or
light in color.removing the old sand. You probably have to go
To some degree, which sand we choose is aand completely renovate the bunker, make sure
function of play-ability and budget. It is up to thethat water is draining away from the bunker,
owners whether they want a dark or a light sandmake sure that drainage is working properly in
and whether they want to spend the money forthe bottom of the bunker. Then you want to go
it. You can spend $13 to $15 for a good local sandin and re-shape the bunker and put in new sand.
or you can spend over $100 a ton for a premiumIt’s a process of educating people to
white sand that’s imported… and you mayunderstand why they have to do a little more
or may not like the way it plays.work than what they were anticipating. The golf
What about getting the bunkers to playcourse superintendent generally seems to
consistently?understand these problems a little better because
If you’re starting with a new golf course andthey’re in there working on the bunkers and
you’re bringing in the same sand, you canrecognize that the solution is more complicated
easily make sure that the depth of your bunkersthan just replacing the sand.
is consistent.To create consistent bunkers, do you have to do
The problem that we often see is when over theall of the bunkers at the same time or is there
years, some of the bunkers may have had sandanother way to solve this problem?
added or removed or replaced so there can be aThe only way to get all the bunkers to play with
considerable problem with consistency fromany degree of consistency is to insure that they
bunker to bunker. You’re dealing with aall have the same sand and the same amount of
variety of sands and depths.sand. You can do them a few at a time by
What about drainage problems with bunkers?starting with the worst ones but eventually
What you might find is that the capes of theyou’ll end up doing them all. What we
bunkers have eroded over time and some of thegenerally propose is completing a hole by hole
soil from the edges of the bunkers have workedanalysis of the golf course and then developing a
their way down into the sand and contaminatedphasing strategy for completing the
the sand. Once this happens, the sand becomesimprovements.
very firm.