Bunkers

Bunkers

Bunkers on a golf course are an important, but most times overlooked feature. With as many bunkers as Victory Ranch has, we need to have them all in tip-top shape for the opening. As I learned in my work at Lahontan from Kevin Breen, bunkers can make or break the appearance of a golf hole. They are one of the most costly features on the golf course to maintain and are most times the root of many complaints that come from the golfers. Plugged lies in the face of the bunker. To combat this problem Kevin came up with an idea at Lahontan that solves plugged lies and reduces labor significantly.

A Bunker at Victory Ranch in early spring.

The technique is simple. Smooth the faces of the bunkers and rake the bottoms. The result is as pictured above. This does several things to improve the bunker. First, it makes for less raking and saves the crew time to be spent on other projects. Second, it allows the ball to roll to the flat bottom instead of having a plugged lie in the face. This also gives the player a better shot out of the bunker resulting in less frustration. Finally, it creates a very defined and finished look to the bunker.

#12 Pot Bunker at Lahontan Golf Club

The above pictures a perfect example of this smoothing technique in a small pot bunker behind the 12th green at Lahontan Golf club. It is especially useful on small bunkers with steep faces. It not only discourages golfers from walking down the steep incline and possibly causing themselves harm, but it also keeps sand at desired depths on areas which are difficult to maintain saving precious man hours to be allocated to other projects.