NHCC Greens Department: Breaking down and Rebuilding the Bunkers

After a fantastic Fall Classic golfing weekend, just wanted to remind you all that tomorrow we will begin work on the green side bunkers. As touched upon in the email flash about a week ago, the reason for rebuilding the bunkers is three-fold. The drainage in them is poor and/or nonexistent. The sand is very inconsistent because of inadequate drainage and years of silt and soil running off into them. The grass faces of the bunkers are very weak given the last 15+ years of hitting shots out of them and contaminating the edges with sand.

Poor drainage and runoff contamination

The goal between now and the early part of next spring (Mayish) is to finish rebuilding all the greenside bunkers on the front 9. What does this entail? 1. Removing all the old sand. 2. Stripping all the old sod. 3. Re-countouring the bunker floor. 4. Repairing or in many cases adding drainage. 5. Rebuilding the grass faces. 6. Sodding and lastly 7. Adding a newer, better quality sand.

A majority of 1 and 2 are already complete and 5, 8 and 9 are already complete. The reconstruction of the bunkers going forward will be in a similar process (see photos below). To expedite the process throughout the remainder of the fall, we will make temporary greens on the hole we are working on. As soon as the bunkers on the hole are complete the hole will re-open and the bunkers will be deemed ground under repair until spring. Work will commence on finishing holes 1 and 2 first and we will then proceed from hole 3 going forward.

This will be a huge improvement for playability and aesthetically for the golf course- one we are excited to resume in-house! We will provide some updates and photos throughout the process. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in allowing us to temp the greens being worked on. Attached below are several photos highlighting the process.