Bunker Rake Placement

We recieve the question periodically from members, "Do we leave the rake in or out of the bunker?". Where to place bunker rakes has been a topic of discussion for many years. Placement in or out of the sand is typically the debated issue, but the USGA allows both placements. Here at Gull Lake Country Club we ask that after you rake a bunker during your round of golf, that the rake is placed back in the bunker perpendicular to the edge with the teeth facing up.

Placing the rakes back in the bunkers like the picture above, will decrease the chances of a ball coming to rest between the rake and the bunkers edge. Leaving the rakes in the bunkers makes them less vulnerable to damage or being run over by carts and also makes less work for the grounds staff maintaining the turf around the bunkers. Getting off a machine to move 50-100 bunkers rakes 3-4 times per week adds hours to the bank mowers schedule.

Thank you for your help and cooperation in continuing to help keep Gull Lake Country Club in championship playing condition daily.

Bunker Edging

How do you maintain the bunker edges and lips? We get this question periodically from the membership and want to take this opportunity to show you our weekly process with some pictures taken today. 

Sand is moved away from the very edge of the bunkers to better expose for trimming and reclaim places where sand has been pushed up near the grass. The top and inside edges of the bunkers are then trimmed with a string trimmer by staff members with the ultimate precision and steady hands. The goal here is to simply maintain the nice clean inside edge by removing the new growth with a light frequent haircut.

After the bunkers are trimmed, all the clippings are blown out and removed from the surrounding rough. It's very important to keep the bunkers clean and free of contamination throughout the season.

The sand is then moved back against the edges of the bunkers and packed to maintain a nice consistent 2-3" lip on all bunkers. During this process bunker sand depths are also checked and sand is moved around accordingly.

The bunkers are then raked and ready for playing action. This process is very effective for us and maintains very nice, crisp, clean looking bunkers with excellent playability.

Finished product! This process is part of our normal maintenance program and is performed weekly during the high growth times and biweekly during the slower growth periods.