Money "Traps"

I fully understand that the playability of our bunkers is far less than ideal.  What I'd like for everyone to understand is that we are far beyond the point of improving them by simply adding new bunker sand.  I've said this before and I'll say it again, bunker sand has a "life expectancy".  That's right, a life expectancy.  Good quality bunker sand remains good quality bunker sand for about 5-7 years.  Now, I'm not saying that bunkers need to be completely renovated every 5-7 years, but in an ideal world the majority of bunker sand should be removed and replaced at least every 10 years to ensure the playability of the bunkers remains consistent and at its best.  The last time the bunker sand here at Quilchena was removed and replaced was well over 10 years ago.  From what I've been told it was about 20 years ago now.

Some factors that diminish the quality of the bunker sand are:

• weathering and heavy rainfall that results in "washouts" on the bunker faces
• subsurface contamination (stones migrating up through the bunker base)
• above ground contamination (grass clippings, leaves, twigs, divots and other debris)
• routine maintenance (bunker edging and raking)
• poor drainage
• animal activity (digging)

Why should we spend thousands and thousands of dollars to add sand to our already greatly contaminated bunkers?  Our bunkers already have plenty of sand in them, tons of sand actually.  The issue with the playability of our bunkers is the fact that the sand in them is so contaminated that it compacts and "crusts" very easily resulting in less than ideal bunker conditions.  Despite what some believe, adding new sands WILL NOT magically provide bunkers that play as if they were brand new again.  It is simply a "Band-Aid" fix that will prove to be a waste of money and resources in no time at all.

simply adding new sand isn't going to fix this

As I've stated time and time again since I arrived here at Quilchena, our bunkers are LONG OVERDUE for a complete renovation that includes: removing all the contaminated sand, installing new drainage, reshaping and restoring the bunker complexes and yes, even eliminating some bunkers that really don't come into play often enough to warrant the expense allocated to maintain them.  I assure you, it doesn't take long for the playability of new sand to appreciably deteriorate when the existing bunkers are already contaminated and the old drainage is failing considerably.  New bunker sand is not cheap and when you factor in the labour to add the new sand to the bunkers, the cost of it increases even more.  To spend even a single penny on adding sand without renovating them would be extremely wasteful and fiscally irresponsible.

Here are some photos that illustrate exactly what I'm saying:

bunker sand: current (left), new (middle), current mixed with new (right)

bunker sand: current (left), new (right)

bunker sand: new (left), current mixed with new (right)

As you can see, although there is a slight improvement in the visual quality of the bunker sand when mixing our current sand with new sand, the aesthetic improvement is certainly not substantial enough to warrant the expense.  The "chunks" and "crusting" you see in the current sand and the mixed sand is "silty" contamination and it's causing many of our bunkers to drain so poorly.  Infiltration rates of bunker sand should exceed 20 inches/hour (bare minimum) to drain properly and often exceed 50 inches/hour.  The infiltration rates of our current bunker sand is well below 20 inches/hour and mixing new sand with current sand will not provide the infiltration rates required to drain properly.

I'll leave you with a question from a concerned golfer to the USGA Green Section about simply adding sand to bunkers each spring:

Q: I have heard that many courses add a layer of new bunker sand to their bunkers each spring. Is this a good way to prepare the bunkers for play each season? (Delaware)

A: The answer is, probably not! Capping the bunkers with new sand is more of a Band-Aid strategy than correcting a bigger problem. However, there may be good reasons for adding a layer of sand: 1) top off a recently completed bunker renovation, 2) new drainage was installed and the sand finally settled, 3) more sand may be needed to achieve the proper uniform sand depth. If the bunkers drain poorly, are contaminated with silt and clay, or contain improperly sized sand, then they should be renovated rather than capped with more sand. You are only delaying the inevitable by adding a light layer of sand. The bunker should be rebuilt if the internal drainage system is compromised or if surface drainage channels water into the bunker.