Bunkers, Bunkers, Bunkers

It seems every year the good old bunkers come up as an issue ... especially after to edge them. 

11's Front Greenside Bunker Day After Edging

When we edge the bunkers the "lips" become more exposed and pronounced since the "runners" that aided in the smoothing of the edge have been removed.  There has always been lots of discussion about how much lip there should be? and do we exceed that number?

Entrance Side of the Same 11's Bunker (Same Day)

In the front (facing towards the green the lip can be any height, but as you can see by the picture above we try on the entrance of the bunker to keep it level with the turf so it will not interfere with the golfer's back swing thus reducing the chance of a penalty stroke for striking the bunker during the back swing.  Just after the bunkers are edged sadly this is difficult but they do smooth out fairly quickly.  Here at Avondale bunkers have been an issue since the first year after adding sand to them back in 1998 ... yes, I said 1998 because that was the last time sand was added to them with a couple of minor additions here and there.

11's Left Greenside Bunker in 2006

When I got here the picture above was the way the bunkers looked.  Not just a couple, but all of them.  A couple of years ago we addressed this major issue by adding blow sand and grassing them downwards to flatten the bottoms ... the first year, they were mostly loved by all, but then time came along, winds blew, and golfers swung until the sand was further depleted. 

We are looking into repairs and maybe going to address the worst of the worst but sadly it is going to take sand additions in the long run.  I should note that these sand additions do not stop after the first year, they continue every year after just to a much lesser extent.