In the spring of 2021, we renovated the
two greenside bunkers on #18. During
this work we installed a new type of
liner in the base of the bunkers that is
designed to allow water to infiltrate
quickly and prevent washouts. It also
creates a barrier that separates the
clean bunker sand from the soil,silt and
rocks used to shape the base of the
bunker.
This liner, called Capillary Concrete, (or
CapCon) has been installed extensively
in Florida where hurricanes bring
rainfall amounts that may have never
been recorded in our area. It has
performed very well on many golf
courses with consistent proven results
over the last decade.
Here at Whitevale, over the last two and
a half seasons we closely watched how
the liner performed, specifically at how
well it prevented sand contamination
during storm events. Over that time, we
had some significant 1-inch-plus,
(25+mm),storm events that washed out
other bunkers, without causing
contamination in the two bunkers at 18
green. We were seeing the functionality
of the liner keeping the sand and subsoil separate.
After the recent storms on July 23rd and 24th the course received over 5 inches of rain - a ten-year storm event!
The story here is how the bunkers,
with the CapCon liners stood up. Yes,
sand had washed down the faces, but at
a much smaller amount than all other
bunkers with similar faces, and virtually
no contamination. There was no
standing water, the sand that did move
was easily and quickly shoveled back up. The work to get these two bunkers
back in play was a fraction of the work
in all other bunkers.
Pictures speak volumes! Below are the
two bunkers on the Tuesday morning
before any work was done to them.
The bunkers (other than the two on 18)
here are now 20 years old, and have
significant contamination mixed within
the sand. The proposed bunker
renovation plan would bring all bunkers
up to conditioning levels equal to the
rest of the property. There's no way to
sugar coat this, current bunker
conditioning is unacceptable. The way
the two bunkers at 18 green came
through the storm proved to me that
the investment in our planned bunker
renovation is the right plan, at the right
time.
Later this month, we will be holding a
Town Hall meeting to present our plan
to renovate the bunkers, and shortly
after that a vote to approve the plan. For
the record, I strongly support the
initiative. This potential project is one of
the most important we have ever
addressed. The bunkers on 18 prove
that short-term construction pain will
give us long-term playability gain. Let's
get this done.
Excerpted from Blair Rennie's August 2023 Sideline 30 Report.
