DURABUNKER
A crisper edge on bunkers DURAbunker offers permanent fixed edges and bunker faces that won’t washout or erode and destabilise over time
Kiawah Island hosted one of the most controversial of all Ryder Cups in 1991. It became known as ‘the war on the shore’ and is viewed by many as the lowest point in golfing relations between the continent of America and Europe. Fast forward 25 years from that famous occasion, and a UK based company, DURAbunker Ltd has played a major part in the first significant renovation at the privately owned Cassique Golf Club at the Kiawah Island Club. Designed by another Ryder Cup legend, Tom Watson, Cassique opened in 2000, and began its first major renovation in 2017, led by Charlie Arrington, Director of Design & Planning. Charlie met the founder of DURAbunker, Rhydian Lewis, at the Golf Industry Show in Orlando, in February 2017, and was taken by the possibilities of the product. On going discussion resulted in a decision to incorporate DURAbunkers synthetic bunker face as a central part of the renovation. Dylan Thew, Director of Golf at Kiawah Island, said that the biggest thing that the membership will notice is the artificial stack sod bunkers that we put in. Durabunker’s patented synthetic bunker faces are not new to the USA, having undertaken projects at PGA Tour Venues such as Tiburon GC, in Florida and Conway Farms GC in Chicago, as well as the new TPC Colorado course. It was though the compant’s first major renovation in the USA that coupled together its synthetic bunker faces with the bunker liner
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product, Better Billy Bunker. “All golf courses change over time, they evolve sometimes in a direction that wasn’t part of the original design, sometimes they evolve for the better. Durabunker gives a much crisper edge on bunkers as well as stronger shadow lines,” said Charlie. Some of the new DURAbunkers at Cassique have been modelled on famous bunkers from other courses such as the two bunkers on the 6th, which closely resemble the famous ‘Spectacle Bunkers’ at the recent Open Champonship venue, Carnoustie GC. Other bunkers are more subtle and less traditional links style. “The bunkers on the 8th, demonstrate the versatility of the product, we haven’t just built high walls, we’ve actually used Durabunker to add contouring and permanent edging around the outside of some bunkers,” added Dylan. Rhydian added that any golf course set near the shoreline is particularly
susceptible to the effects of coastal erosion and extreme weather conditions. “Our US partners, Better Billy Bunker, discussed the benefits of our product with the client and explained how a combination of their seamless liner and our synthetic bunker faces would offer what we christened the ‘Fully Sealed Bunker System’, eradicating problematic issues associated with bunker bases and also bunker faces. DURAbunker offers permanent fixed edges and bunker faces that won’t washout, or erode and destabilise over time. It also takes away the need for regular, cyclical rebuilding and the constant challenge of flymowing, edging and so on, releasing valuable time for greenkeepers to concentrate on other tasks. Although Cassique has a distinctly Links feel, the product has been widely used to frame more classical inland style or ‘Golden Age’ bunkers, where for example a 6” rolling edge is required.