Ron Forse is nearing completion of a bunker project on the 1927 William Flynn layout at Lehigh Country Club in Pennsylvania, USA. 

Forse was first hired by the club in the late 1980s, when he regrassed greens, rebuilt bunkers and reset fairway lines. In 2008, sand was replaced and some drainage added to problem areas. 

However, the geotextile liners that were installed have not performed as hoped, with burrowing animals and rakes causing damage. So Lehigh has now opted for liners from Capillary Bunkers. 

“Ron has a lot of experience with Capillary Bunkers, as does the contractor we chose,” said director of grounds John Chassard. “Capillary Bunkers can be installed in any weather, and it’s very easy to source, which made us able to schedule the work better, and get bunkers installed when we were ready, not when the installer was. 

“Once we started doing the first few bunkers, it became clear to me that that was something I could install with my own crew – which could be important as we didn’t do all the bunkers in one go. We are in the middle of the project, and everything has been very positive so far.” 

Work is expected to be complete by the end of April 2022.