In our quest for continual improvement, we are doing something new with our bunkers this year. We have reduced the amount of sand around the edges and utilized a special technique to make these areas firmer. This should prevent buried lies and allow the ball to roll down the face into the flatter area of the bunker. It should also help keep sand from being pulled out of the bunkers when raking. The way we do this is to rake the bunker entirely with a normal rake and then use the tool below to smooth the edges - it is a paint roller covered with duct tape. Thanks to Chris Tritabaugh from Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota for the inspiration. You can follow Chris on Twitter by clicking the following link: https://twitter.com/ct_turf Hazeltine is hosting the Ryder Cup this year and Chris is a great Superintendent so it's worth a look.
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| Bunker Edge Roller |
We have also changed how we place the rakes. In the unlikely event that you find yourself in one of our bunkers :) we ask that you try your best to leave the bunker exactly as you found it. This is for the golfers behind you and proper etiquette of the game. Ideally you would step over the smooth area into the raked portion of the bunker, play your shot, and re-rake while avoiding the smooth area on your way out of the bunker too. If this is not possible and you had to step in the smooth area, you can fix it by turning the rake upside down to create a similar finish to our paint roller. Lastly, place the rake as it appears in the picture below. Having the rake inside the bunker will allow us to be more efficient with our rough mowing. Notice that the rake is on the low side of the bunker and placed so that about 6 inches of the handle is outside of the bunker.
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| Freshly raked bunker showing proper rake placement |
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