St. George’s
Bunker Project Third green complex bunkers ready for gravel.
By Marco China, Assistant Superintendent, St. George’s Golf and Country Club. Photos courtesy of St. George’s Golf & Country Club.
the bunker. A two-inch layer of gravel is used to cover the entire base of the bunker, and the Better Billy Bunker polymer coating is sprayed on the surface. The coating is then given the opportunity stablished in 1929, St. George’s Golf and Country Club is a to cure and set, creating a solid yet porous surface that water can world-class golf course located in Toronto, Ontario. The course drain through freely. The sand is then placed on top at a depth of six boasts a historic Stanley Thompson design, and is consistently inches through the base of the bunker and four inches on the face of ranked as a top course in Canada. The club is currently in the final the bunker. Sod is then laid over the edge to create a bull nose effect stages of completing an extensive bunker reconstruction project. on the bunker in which no soil is exposed to the bunker, leading In addition to the bunker project, the club to less contamination and a fluid look from has undertaken a reconstruction of the 3rd turf to bunker. and 18th greens, a re-grassing of all greens Course Essentials The bunker and green complex surrounds on the property, and an irrigation reconstruction started in October of 2018, 104 bunkers upgrade around 10 of the 18 greens with with work on the 3rd and 18th greens the rest set to be completed at a later date. commencing first. The greens sod was 10,700 square metres of This project aims to address the key factors stripped and re-laid; sod from the club’s bunker space of providing consistent world-class playing newly constructed nursery was used to 3,800 tons of sand conditions for St. George’s Golf and replace the sod on the 3rd green. The Country Club members and their guests. 1,200 tons of gravel pinnable area of the greens was increased to The bunkers were renovated previously offer a greater variety of pin positions and 60,000 square metres of in 2001; however, since that time, some of to address issues of surface drainage. Once bluegrass sod the bunkers began to show their age due to the greens had been reconstructed, sod was several different factors, including multiple laid back on the surface and tarped for the different bunker liners, contaminated sand, and an inconsistency winter in order to enhance rooting in the spring. in the types of sand used. With age came increased hours of work Work on the bunkers was to commence following the greens from the Greens Department crew: tasks included adjusting bunker reconstructions; however, weather proved to be a major obstacle for depths, replacing old torn liners, and fixing washed out edges the project. Because of an early freeze and long winter, the start date after significant rain events. With this knowledge in mind, the to this work was pushed back to mid-April. Work on the bunkers membership voted in September 2018 to proceed with the project. began and was limited to three holes at one time; however, because The Better Billy Bunker method was selected for its proven ability of weather conditions and playing schedules, work was spread out to provide consistent playing conditions as well as reducing bunker to accommodate members and their guests and create as little maintenance and sand contamination. disruption as possible. The construction process for the Better Billy Bunker method Throughout the project, there were many challenges that the requires old material to be removed down to the natural soil team faced. We knew that weather was going to be the biggest subgrade, soil-filled burlap bags are placed on the perimeter of the challenge, and the winter and spring of 2018-2019 proved to be just bunker to create the edge. Drainage is then dug into the base of that. With the ground frozen until mid-April and 19 days of rainfall
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