#10 Bunker Renovation       

The turf crew has been busy the past two weeks here at Blue Hills Country Club. We have officially  begun our bunker renovation project. The project is needed for three main reasons: faster maintenance recovery after heavy torrential rains, less to no contamination of silt, and a better quality sand to play from. Let’s also mention the overall look this new sand will present, the pearly white sand contrasted against the emerald fairways, roughs, and greens. 

      In the past, when a heavy torrential rain has occurred the turnaround time to repair the bunkers was excessive. The majority of the sand on the high bunker faces would wash down to the lower end of the bunker. The only solution is to hand shovel the displaced sand back to the top as uniformly as possible. With this new bunker lining system the chance of washout decreases dramatically. Instead of complete bunker face washout it’s estimated to be minimal or none at best.

      The worst rains would wash the bunker faces and expose the drainage system inside the bunker. This led to contamination of sand, pea gravel, and silt which led to the longest of bunker recoveries. The previous bunker subsurface included soil, the drainage system, pea gravel on top, and then bunker sand. This new system is layered differently. As shown in the top picture, once the old sand is removed, we add a liner cut and glued to each specific bunker. The drainage system is improved with a separate lining system as well as a mesh material covering the pipe itself. This will allow rain water to properly percolate through the new sand and flow away without interruption. Once the pieces are in place, the new sand is filled in giving us an improved bunker system with aesthetically pleasing qualities that we can all enjoy. These renovations are designed to not only help us with maintenance practices, we feel that it will ultimately help you become a better bunker player.

Reclaiming our Fairways

The BHCC crew has continued working on improving our turfs health by managing trees in the New Year. There were two problem areas on 18 that needed to be addressed. The first problem was a dead silver maple just North of the fairway bunker on the right side. The death of a large tree has a potential to decay near the base, allowing it to become unstable and unpredictable. The best course of action was to remove the tree and any potential danger it possessed. The next tree in question was located just West of the fairway bunker on the left side. This Oak tree posed two issues and it was determined that removal was the optimal solution. The first issue was the inherent mess that comes with Pin Oaks over hanging sand traps. The falling acorns make it impossible to maintain a playable hazard. The next issue is related to course layout. With the proximity to the fairway bunker and the fairway itself, the large oak made the left side of the approach shot a nightmare for golfers of all handicaps.

Winter Tree Work

The BHCC grounds crew has been keeping very busy during the winter months. Our goal has always been to provide our members with healthy turf and ultimately a well manicured playing surface. We were able to take significant strides this winter by improving the quality of both our Zoysia fairways and Fescue rough by spending time on our trees. Our first step was to remove dead limbs and thin out all of the trees on the front nine. This process took a couple of months, but it was well worth the agronomic benefits. By removing dead limbs, we are not only encouraging healthy new growth, we are also allowing more air flow and sunlight to penetrate to the turfgrass below. This will inevitably create a healthy turf stand, allowing it to become more dense and retain natural nutrients.The following pictures were taken before and after the process on hole #6.