Rapid ROI on Capillary Bunkers

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Rapid ROI on Capillary Bunkers: Last year, the six-course Landings Club, in Savannah, Georgia, installed the Capillary Bunkers liner on its Magnolia course, as part of a large-scale renovation with Arnold Palmer Design architect Brandon Johnson. And director of ground and projects Chris Steigelman says the results are already showing the wisdom of that decision.

“We have dabbled with various bunker drainage techniques across our courses, though none of them apart from Magnolia have wall to wall liners,” he says. “But part of the goals of the renovation project was to reduce our bunker maintenance workload. Brandon’s designs called for the bunker surface area to be reduced by 50 per cent, and with the Capillary Bunkers liner, the amount of time we now spend on bunker sand maintenance has gone down dramatically.”

Rapid ROI on Capillary Bunkers

Rapid ROI on Capillary Bunkers

The new-look Magnolia has retained the steeply flashed bunker faces that the course previously had, and Steigelman says that the liner has played an important role in making the design work effectively. “We get around fifty inches of rain a year, and in the summertime we often get thunderstoms coming from out of nowhere and dumping a huge load of rain on us,” he explains. “Previously, every time we got a big rain, the bunkers were destroyed, and I had to put several guys on rebuilding them for several days. Now, that doesn’t happen.”

The club started the renovation project in March 2021, with the Capillary Bunkers installation starting in June. The bunkers were finished in August, and the course reopened – hosting a Korn Ferry Tour event in its first week – at the start of November. Georgia-based contractor Todd Godwin Construction handled the work.

Steigelman says the benefits of the Capillary Bunkers technology have already been made very clear. “We operate two golf courses out of the Magnolia maintenance facility, the Marshwood course as well as Magnolia,” he says. “We got hit by two tropical storms, one on a Sunday night at the end of June: seven inches of rain, four in an hour and a half. It trashed the bunkers on Marshwood, to the extent that we had to spend $25,000 dollars on new bunker sand. The bunkers on Magnolia were like nothing had ever happened. It was incredible. I took our board out there and said to them ‘This is what you’re paying for’.”

“I’m very grateful that we chose Capillary Bunkers, because of the ease of installation. During the build, it was raining every day, and so we wouldn’t have been able to install some of the competitor products. But the guys were just out there laying the concrete and then putting plastic sheeting over it to help it dry!”

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‘Consistent’ Mansfield Sand praised

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‘Consistent’ Mansfield Sand praised: Good consistent products and excellent customer service are the two reasons why Jeremy Browne, Head Greenkeeper at the Herefordshire Golf Club, chooses to use Mansfield Sand.

Established in 1896, the Herefordshire could well be the oldest club in the County, but it certainly is moving with the times. The new owners have invested in a number of improvements as they attempt to boost membership and secure the future of the club.

‘Consistent’ Mansfield Sand praised

‘Consistent’ Mansfield Sand praised

Jeremy, who has been at the club for 21 years, is playing an integral role in this respect too.

“There are four of us that manage the course, one of whom is an apprentice, and it is important to look ahead,” he said. “The plan is to bring in more apprentices because the three of us senior members of staff are all in our late fifties, so whether we like it or not, we probably won’t still be working here in say ten years. It is essential that we leave the course in safe hands – we want people to come through and learn all our knowledge and benefit from our experience.”

One tip Jeremy will be sure to pass down is how a high-quality sand can be vital to the overall health and performance of a golf course. Therefore, choosing the right sand is not a decision to be taken lightly – as he explains.

“We did use another company for our sand, but we were having problems getting deliveries and the products were not consistent,” he said. “We’re a hilly, clay-based course and it gets incredibly wet in the winter, so I wanted a good consistent, coarse sand to introduce into the greens.

“I did some research and had lots of samples sent to me. We looked at the analysis of all of them, tried them all and the one we decided on was Mansfield Sand’s MM35.”

Jeremy chose Mansfield’s MM35 Golf pure silica sand for top-dressing his greens because it brings a number of benefits such as improved recovery, firmness, smoothness and an improved rootzone. MM35 Golf also makes for a great bunker sand as it has fantastic playing characteristics as well as being aesthetically attractive.

Sourced directly from the company’s Two Oaks Quarry in Mansfield, the Mansil Silica products are predominantly used in the construction and maintenance of a wide range of sports surfaces – from winter sports pitches, golf courses, bowling greens and all amenity turf areas.

‘Consistent’ Mansfield Sand praised

‘Consistent’ Mansfield Sand praised

“Once you pick a top-dressing, it is best to stick with it, providing it is good of course,” said Jeremy. “I don’t believe in using different ones all the time because you end up getting a build-up of different sands in your profile.

“The consistency on the MM35 seems to be very good, and my aim is for it to help improve drainage and keep the surface dry. We use the product on all of the greens and on our tees too. I’d like to top-dress the greens monthly and I’m hoping to be able to do that with MM35 sooner rather than later.

“The service from Mansfield Sand is also excellent – I like my deliveries to have come and gone before the golfers get in at 8am and they have never let me down.”

For more information visit www.mansfield-sand.co.uk

You can also follow the company on Twitter – @MansfieldSand and Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MansfieldSandSportSurfaces/

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