VISIT THE BEACH AT LAURELVIEW

While most golfers prefer to stay away from the bunkers you may want to land one or two shots in our newly renovated bunkers. As part of our ongoing course renovation project we have started our bunker upgrades.

What makes great bunker sand?

Believe it or not the answer is more complex than you think. When evaluating sand the USGA considers a list of seven factors:

particle size

particle shape

crusting potential

chemical reaction and hardness

infiltration rate

color

penetrometer value

overall playing quality

The stack ranking of these features varies from superintendent to superintendent and is also based on the climate of the course.

The ‘fried egg’ test

This is what most golfers are most concerned about when they find themselves in a sand trap.  How hard will it be to get out of the sand.

The technical term for this is penetrometer value.  This tool measures the amount of energy that is required to bury the ball in the sand.  The value generated from the penetrometer. The one common denominator of great bunker sand, and probably the single biggest factor, is the “fried egg” test, or in technical testing terminology, the penetrometer value.

The penetrometer is a tool that measures the energy required to bury a ball in sand. The value is the ability for the sand to resist the ball from burying itself.  Most golfers want the resistance to be high so the ball stands up like a “fried egg” on the bunker and can be struck much more easily than a deeply buried ball.

So come on down to Laurelview and while we do hope you miss most of our traps, if you do find yourself on the beach enjoy the sand!