NCGA Area of Emphasis- Course Projects: Fescue Slope Renovation

One of the bigger projects that we are working on right now is the renovation of the fescue slopes around bunkers. The goal is to replace the fescue around bunker slopes in key areas as needed. The areas that need fescue are predominately south facing slopes, where the fescue seems to struggle. But there are also some that have excessive animal damage. 

 Now this is a fairly involved process, which is why we are targeting the worst bunkers. The objective of this renovation is to restore the bunkers back to the original design, and in some cases change the grass type which can handle the environmental conditions better in certain areas. A good example would be the green side bunker on #12, it was originally all fescue. With it being a south facing slope, the stress from being in the direct sunlight was causing the fescue to struggle. So we took sod from out of the nursery fairway/tee blend, and used it in place of the fescue. The blend consists of ( 30% Creeping Red Fescue, 25% Chewings Fescue, 20% Kentucky Bluegrass, 15% Colonial bentgrass, and 10% Perennial Ryegrass). I've included photos below to show what we did along with an explanation of each process.  

This is the Green side bunker on # 12. As you can see there is a considerable amount of thinning and dead spots, which is why we resodded it. The first process is to prepare the bunker for sod. To make the process go as fast as possible, we use a Jr. Sod cutter in any area possible. First we make a pass around the outline of the area we are going to treat, which in this case is the entire bunker. 

After we have used the sod cutter in the flat areas, we use flat shovels and a reciprocating trimmer to remove the rest of the grass. We then go back with some soil to add to any damaged areas, to smooth out the grade before sodding. That concludes the prep work for the bunker. 



When we start laying the sod down it is important to start from the edge of the bunker and work up the face of the slope. The sod is laid in a staggered pattern so the seams don't line up, staggering the seams helps the turf to get established quicker. Also ensuring the adjacent rows are laid in a tight manner helps minimize air flow in between the rows of the installed turf , preventing the edges from dry out.



This photo shows the sod being laid around the perimeter of the bunkers edge first.

All the sod on steep slopes such as the one in this photo have been stapled down, this ensures it will not shift while we wait to establish the turf.



Pieces are cut in place to fill any gaps that occur during the process.



After all the sod has been laid down and cut, the seams filled with sand to prevent the edges from drying out.

After all the seams have been filled with sand, the final edge is ready to be cut. This is done with a reciprocating trimmer.

This is what the edge looks like after its been cut.

After the edge is cut sand can be pushed back into place.

The bunker is then cleaned of any debris to avoid contaminating the sand, and is full raked.

We also used a starter fertilizer (6-20-20) as well as a granular wetting agent to help the sod establish.

The final step is to hand water in the fertilizer and to keep the sod from drying out.

The bunker is roped off and marked ground under repair.