This is Not a Sandbox

The golf course has only been open for one day and, unfortunately, I already feel the need to address an issue that happens all too frequently.  I came in this morning to prepare the course for play and immediately saw this:

This is the bunker at #9 green that had been used as a giant sandbox and slide for a handful of kids.  I cannot  express enough how hard my staff works to provide you with a golf course that hopefully meets or exceeds your expectations. When this happens, it requires us to spend additional time and resources to make the necessary repairs.

 Not only does it impact my staff, but it impacts you as well.  The excessive traffic causes the sand to lose its firmness and become excessively soft leading to plugged balls.  If you wonder why this bunker tends to be softer than the others, damage like this is the reason why.  As you can see in the picture above and below, a significant amount of soil has now been mixed in with the bunker sand because of the "extracurricular" activity. This now makes the sand contaminated and it will not drain as well and will most likely create even more inconsistency.

Purchasing more bunker sand is a temporary but very costly solution.  It costs us approximately $1,700 for a truckload of new bunker sand and a bunker like this would easily take 1/2 - 3/4 of a truckload.  Obviously, this is not in the budget right now.  The real solution to the problem is to eliminate the use of bunkers as a playground. Thank you for reading and the next post will be much more positive...I promise! In the meantime, get out and enjoy this fantastic weather.