9 Photo: Curley-Wagner Golf Design Curley-Wagner Golf Design has completed a bunker renovation at The Plantation Golf Club in southern California. The project comes 30 years after Brian Curley, ASGCA, designed the layout, with input from professional golfer Fred Couples. The pair teamed up again on this bunker project, which has included adjustments to address the demands of the modern game, enhance strategy and for aesthetic reasons. Work has seen bunkers reshaped, while retaining the integrity of the original design. Drainage in all bunkers has been upgraded, along with the addition of Better Billy Bunker liners. Some bunkers have also been repositioned to better defend against modern club and ball technology. The most significant changes have come at the par-four fourteenth, which has seen palm trees removed to provide a better view of the fairway, green and distant mountains. Two bunkers have also been added on the left side of the fairway. Curley-Wagner completes bunker renovation at The Plantation Here are links to other recent “Tartan Talks”, now featuring over 100 episodes: • Ray Hearn, ASGCA, talks about Michigan’s evolution as a golf juggernaut • Bruce Mathews, ASGCA, discusses why Michigan is a booming spot for all types of courses In the latest podcast from Golf Course Industry’s “Tartan Talks” series, Stephen Kay, ASGCA, and Scot Sherman, ASGCA, talk about tree management. “Trees are in every masterplan,” says Kay. “Their removal comes under a few categories. One is if they are shading greens and tees. Two is whether the trees are blocking a shot on a fairway – Donald Ross once wrote that if you are on the fairway, you should have a shot to the green. And third, the double hazard tree – that’s a tree right in front of a bunker.” Kay highlights the impact of Oakmont and Winged Foot tree removal undertakings. “It sort of gave permission to the golf industry that it’s OK to cut down trees,” he says. “However, while tree removal has a myriad of benefits, including opening vistas, a thorough analysis is needed first to make sure we’re not taking any out that would cause a safety issue. This is always the first consideration." Sherman adds: “You need to be strategic when you think about trees, mindful about how they will grow and, agronomically, they have been instrumental in teaching us how to think about turfgrass. I’m currently working on a treeless site that has a real estate element, so, we are going to add trees as a buffer. That’s another way that trees are important to golf.” Listen to the full “Tartan Talks” at golfcourseindustry.com. “ You need to be strategic when you think about trees” Stephen Kay, ASGCA, and Scot Sherman, ASGCA DIGEST
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