Course of the Week: Spring Lake GC receives bunker upgrade from ZLine Bunker Systems

Photo: Tom Havelka

Founded in 1898, Spring Lake (N.J.) GC has had its fair share of changes around its property.

In 1911, architect George Thomas extended the nine-hole course to 18, incorporating an uphill of 674 yards. In 1918, architect A.W. Tillinghast updated the course, but since then, the majority of the course has remained the same. In 2010, the club brought in architect Tripp Davis to undo some of the tinkering work done over the previous century.

Photo: Tom Havelka

“Over a two-year period working with Tripp, we restored the bunkers to their original shapes and installed a fabric liner,” Tom Havelka, superintendent at Spring Lake GC, said. “But that was twelve years ago and the liner has essentially worn out. So, about three years ago, we started looking for a long-term solution.”

Havelka and the club selected ZLine Bunker Systems‘ liner as its long-term solution. ZLine uses synthetic material to create a barrier between the sane and the underlying soil to hold the sand in place and to ensure good drainage.

Since then, contractor Mottin Golf has installed the ZLine system on eight holes of the golf course and the job will be completed bit by bit over the next several years.

Photo: Tom Havelka

“The bunkers have been excellent,” Havelka said. “We’ve had far fewer washouts. The original bunkers were grass-faced and in this iteration, we have flashed sand, which would have caused huge problems with our previous liner, but with ZLine, it’s not an issue.”

Havelka also said that wildlife is very common on their property, but he has yet to see them successfully get past the ZLine liner.

“They can’t get anywhere,” he said. “My only concern is that they’ll abandon the bunkers and go dig up the greens.”

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Is your course undergoing some renovations? Did your course recently host a major event or fundraiser? Send it to Digital Media Specialist Sydney Fischer at sfischer@northcoastmedia.net, and we’ll feature it in an upcoming Course of the Week.