these Open Championship Clubs choose to relief grind - Pitchcare

Iain Wakeman
Photo 5
original base, which by this time is a firm
black layer of old turf from which the shape
was determined (photo 5). On a new
bunker, the first ring determines the shape,
and an optional layer of sod can be used to
form a base. Once the old foundations have
been established, then the building of the
side walls can start.
The first ring determines the shape and
size of the bunker, and time must be spent
on this to get it right (photo 6). The
foundation must be compacted and level. A
poorly formed or unlevel first ring will be
seen in subsequent levels all the way up the
face of the bunker. Each layer of sod must
be compacted, and the backfill behind this
sod must be compacted and levelled. From
this point, it is just a case of repeating this
ring on each level. This is repeated until the
desired levels have been reached, all the
time maintaining level layers, including
from front to back of the turf. Cutting slits
from behind makes it easier to bend the turf
around (photo 7).
The art of building a bunker starts to
come into play as you build up. Each level
should be stepped back by the same
amount. A thumb width is a good guide, but
Photo 6 Photo 7
it may require a little more, or a little less,
depending on the steepness of the face and
the severity of the angle required (photo 8).
The centre and top, or highest point of the
bunker, should point towards the centre of
the green. At the end of each step, around
the sides, a triangular piece of turf is used
to blend each level (photo 9). Any
remaining back fill sand can be used to level
off the surrounding capping area (photo
10).
As the top layer has been shaped, a
straight edge bar can help as a guide to
blend the top of the bunker into the
existing sward (photo 11). The turf can now
be replaced around the top of the bunker
(photo 12). Start at the lowest point when
re-capping the bunker, and start the
sodding from the bunker edge and work
out, this ensures the turf will stay firm and
locked into place (photo 13)
A turf floor, if not already present, should
be laid down with the grass side down
(photo 14). This ensures the grass dies, and
stops stones coming up from the sand
below, and also allows the raker to maintain
the desired level of sand in the bunker. In
Rosslare, this is as close to 2” as possible.
Photo 12 Photo 13 Photo 14
Technical
At this point, we can trim the bunker
edge, and place in the newly chosen bunker
playing sand. The sand can be placed in
level with the floor, or a small amount
added at the base of the wall to create a
dish shape. It is important to compact this
as a ball can plug in it. The dish shape
attempts to give the golfer a better chance,
as the ball will roll away from the bottom of
the wall.
In general, it will take a couple of staff
three to four days to complete an average
size pot bunker. It does depend, again, on
the amount of contour work to be
completed outside the bunker, and the size
of the bunker (main photo above).
It is unfortunate, with the advent of
televised golf and expectancy of golfers,
that players should have a perfect lie and an
easy shot from the bunker. History has been
long forgotten, a pot bunker was once
formed by grazing sheep scraping out the
ground to find shelter, and became an
exposed area of sand and, ultimately, a
hazard to be avoided.
This article first appeared in Greenside
magazine, the official publication of the
GCSAI. www. gcsai.org
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012 PC 111