It has been a slow process but we have finally managed to finish the two bunker rebuilds we started on 5 and 12. Between fitting in remaining holidays and sickness, we have been working with a small squad since my appointment in October, so it's very pleasing to get these 2 projects tied up before Christmas.
The team do not have a great deal of experience of revetting bunkers so from the outset, we wanted to create a "blueprint" for how we rebuild bunkers going forward.
The bunker on the left hand side of the 5th fairway had been one that has stuck out like a sore thumb to me since I started working on the West Links. The revetted wall was in poor condition, the bunker didn't fit into it's surround, it had a awkward hump at the back of the revetted wall that our mowers struggled to cut with leaving tyre marks or wear and tear and the walk-in was in poor condition (see photos below).
The first step was to remove the existing revetted wall and walk in. Any excess soil was saved and stockpiled to be used as backfill. The boys then made sure the "shelf" that the first row of turf would go on was nice and level. They then laid the first level of the revet and made sure the shape of the bunker was similar to how it was before. Once the bottom revetted layer was approved, the started building up the revetted wall. Alex did most of the turf laying with Gary and Scott preparing the turf, filling and heeling in the backfill. The turf was laid at an angle of 60 degrees and was constantly checked to make sure the angle was correct all the way round the bunker.
The surround turf was then stripped to help tie in the top layers of turf. The ends of the layers were "champhered" (the thickness of the turf reducing at the end of the layer to create a nice even flow around the top).
Once the last layer of revetted turf went on and the bunker was checked over, we were able to shape the surrounds ready for turf.
The recent cold snap delayed our plans to turf during the week of the 12th of December so instead we had to postpone getting turf in until the week of the 19th. The arrived at approx. 1130 and was almost all laid by 1500 that afternoon with some cutting in left to do to finish the bunker off.
The bunker right hand side of the 12th green followed the same process although it was built to an angle of 65 degrees. This bunker had a badly eroded face and for being one of the most popular photos posted on social media with the bunker and green overlooking the sea, it was vital we rebuilt this bunker to a better standard.
Before...
During...
After...
It has been a great learning curve for the team and we have learnt a lot about the process and what we are looking to achieve with the bunkers going forward. These bunkers will be "Ground Under Repair" until closer to the start of the new season to allow the turf to root and knit together.
Next up.....The long bunker on 17
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