Before the storm last week that has left us with a foot of snow on the ground, we undertook the process of rebuilding the right greenside bunker on hole #11.  The sand in this bunker was heavily contaminated which contributed it to playing poorly from a golfers standpoint.  Also, the bunker was no longer draining water properly after a rain event which meant we had to phyiscally remove the water from the bunker each time it rained with a gas-powered pump.



#11 bunker with sand removed

The process of rebuilding this bunker began with removing all existing sand from the bunker.  Due to the fact that bunkers rarely are flat, removing all sand from the bunker has to be done the good, old-fashioned way...with shovels.  After shoveling all of the old sand out of the bunker we added and compacted some soil to restore the contours on the face of the bunker.  The next step was to remove all existing drainage pipe in the bunker to insure that it was not clogged.  After this we used a laser transit to grade the pea gravel in our drainage ditch to insure proper fall for drainage, then reinstalled drainage pipe and backfilled with clean pea gravel around the drain pipe.

Using transit to ensure proper drainage

The next step was to install a fiber "bunker liner" product called Sand Dam.  Currently none of the bunkers (except this one) at Milburn are lined.  The purpose of lining bunkers with this material is to keep sand from washing down the steep bunker faces in the event of heavy rainfall (not really an issue with this bunker as it is relatively gently sloped) and also to prevent underlying soil from working its way up and contaminating the sand.  Usually this contamination is a result of the daily raking process to prepare bunkers for play.  These bunker liners insure that the soil stays below and the sand stays above the liner so that they do not mix.  This keeps the sand looking and playing better for years to come.  Following placement of the bunker liner, aproximately 5000 metal staples are inserted through the liner into the soil to hold the liner in place.


Rolling out and stapling the bunker liner

Once the lining process is complete, new sand is placed in the bunker.  The sand that we use here at Milburn is sand that is dredged from the Kansas River, cleaned, and separated by particle size to meet USGA recommended specifications.  We fill the bunker to a depth of 5 inches and then use a vibratory plate compact to compact the sand to a consistent finished depth of 4 inches.  This bunker took approximately 24 tons of sand to reach this desired depth. 

Asst. Supt Greg Burdiek running plate compactor

This bunker with new sand on #11 will play somewhat "softer" than the rest of the bunkers on the course for a short period of time.  Despite employing a vibratory compactor it typically still takes a few months and few good, heavy rains to fully compact the sand.  The process will be similar for any other bunkers that are identified for refurbishment in the future. 

Steve

I would like to take this opportunity to say "hello" to all the Milburn members that I have yet to meet.  I am now just 3 weeks into my position as your Golf Course Superintendent at Milburn and my head is still spinning from all the transition items and work to do to get the course ready for the 2013 season.  There are also many "finishing touches" to help with regarding the completion of the new clubhouse.

Alisha, Hannah, Drew and I

It is truly an honor to be selected as the Superintendent at Milburn.  The quality of the golf course and history of the club are truly unmatched.  Milburn has always been very special to me as I grew up less than a mile from the club and one of my first jobs in golf was on the maintenance staff at Milburn in the 1990's.  For me, returning to Milburn as Superintendent has always been a dream.  I am anxious to build upon the work done by Bill Maynard in his 13-year tenure at the club and do everything in my power to provide you a well-conditioned golf course day in and day out.  You have a great golf course maintenance staff in place at Milburn and I look forward to leading their efforts.  Assistant Superintendents Josh Frandsen and Greg Burdiek have been a great help as I have made the transition and tried to hit the ground running.

Benjamin

For those of you not familiar with my background, here is the cliff notes version:  I have been the Golf Course Superintendent for the last 9+ years at Meadowbrook Golf & Country Club in Prairie Village.  Prior to that I served as Golf Course Superintendent at Olympia Hills Golf & Conference Center in Olympia Hills, Texas; and as Assistant Superintendent at Indian Hills Country Club and Falcon Ridge Golf Course.  My degree is in Horticulture (with an emphasis in Turf) from Kansas State University.

On the personal side, my wife Alisha and I have been married for 10 years.  Alisha is a RN at Shawnee Mission Medical Center and is pursuing her Masters Degree in Nursing.  We have three children that keep us entertained and very busy, Hannah (8), Drew (4) and Ben (1).


I look forward to meeting you on the course soon!

Steve Wilson