Will Parts of Your Golf Course Disappear?
I visited Kirtland (Ohio) Country Club not long ago. They were amid a bunker renovation, and they discovered that some bunkers were missing from the original designs of C.H. Alison in 1921. Superintendent Chad Mark surmised that some were filled in during the Great Depression to diminish labor costs.
It made me wonder if superintendents would be considered visionaries today if they started filling in bunkers around their golf courses as economists allude to a global economic downturn that could rival the loss of wealth experienced in the 1930s.
Are you doing anything drastic to your golf course to reduce maintenance or mitigate costs?
— David Frabotta
I’m not seeing anything too drastic, like the elimination of bunkers, however most of the superintendents I work with are increasing the size of their naturalized areas.
Less mowing – fertilizer – grub control – labor hours – irrigation = $ in your pocket! it’s win win.
This includes the out-of-play side of the bunker. I’m not sure how much of it is meant to save money cause some of my higher-end clients have been following this “trend” for a few years now, but it certainly is budget friendly!
Nice Site Golfdom, keep it up.