The short game construction project began on Wednesday, August 21, 2013. The newly designed and constructed practice facility will consist of a 4,000 sq. ft. A1/A4 creeping bentgrass green and a 1,200 sq. ft. bunker. In addition, there will be a 7,000 sq. ft. teeing area with a bermudagrass target green located about 50 yards out. New irrigation will also be installed in order to provide thorough water coverage for the turf. The goal of the project is to allow members the opportunity to practice chip/bunker shots that will resemble the exact conditions on the golf course from a design/playability aspect. Therefore, shots will now land onto a bentgrass green rather than the old bermuda green, and the bunker sand will be identical to the sand on the course. Furthermore, the practice bunker will be constructed as a Better Billy Bunker. The Better Billy Bunker consists of a 2" gravel layer that is sprayed with a polymer that provides superior drainage without the use of a liner. This method of construction will eliminate washouts in the bunker due to heavy rainfall and will also eliminate silt contamination. I'm very excited that this construction technique is being applied at Stonehenge and I think it will be something to consider down the road as far as the bunkers on the golf course. I will continue to update the blog as progress continues.
In picture above, Trey begins leveling out the old green and shaping the newly constructed putting green.
The green has been shaped and dug out with drainage channels excavated. The teeing area can be seen in the background. The practice bunker is positioned in between the green and teeing area.
A base layer of gravel is placed in the drainage ditch, 4" perforated drainage pipe is installed, and additional gravel will then be added so that the entire drainage ditch is filled-in.
