Mink Meadows Turf Maintenance Department: Bunker work

The contractor we have used in the past to do work here is currently working on a couple of green complexes at Farm Neck.

# 12 Farm Neck

# 4 Farm Neck

I called Costa Paganis last week to see if he will have any room on a future sod delivery and he thought he might. Kind of putting the cart before the horse to get sod before you have a place for it, but sometimes you do what you have to do to save a buck. The initial word was 4-6 pallets. Perfect. So first thing Tuesday we start prepping two bunkers simultaneously. Kevin and Will go to the right bunker on 1 with the sod cutter and I go to 5 with the bobcat and dump truck.

5 green before

5 during

5 notice the golf ball for perspective. sand build up on face

contractors secret: add a bit of topsoil to old sand build up

5 with mostly all sand removed

5 looking back towards tee

After a couple hours I head over to 1 with the bobcat and truck. I had decided to shrink the bunker but what exact shape it would become was left to a creative flow while working it. As long as it was 15 feet wide the boss would be OK.

1 green before

Will beginning the sod cutting

infamous lip on 1 green

sand build up on 1 green

Once the machine was in the bunker it all started to take shape. I removed the grass and major sand build up: about two trucks worth. Then I got impatient for the truck's return and started using the debris as fill to shrink the bunker. I saved a pile of existing bunker sand to use on the floor of the bunker and shaped out the front and continued to fill in the back. Once the front was complete I moved the sand into a pile in the middle so I could continue working the back side.

1 green after day one. starting to take shape

1 green mostly shaped out

The next day we finished tweaking the back side shape and removed an entire truck load of the sand I had saved. The floor of the bunker would have been too high. Golfers playing are already complaining it will be too easy to get out. I never thought people would miss the lip!!! We added topsoil and raked it smooth. We also added a truck load of new sand so we would not ruin the edge driving on the sod later. To help alleviate some of the water that builds up in the approach we added a drain.