43 Simon Watkins, course manager at Hartsbourne, is already seeing the benefits of EcoBunker’s work. “For many years, our regular bunker preparation work was intensive, but I now have clear evidence that the EcoBunkers only require the attention of one man whereas previously we needed four men to deliver the same quality,” he said. “The saving in manhours has been incredible.” Allen says that this inland parklandstyle layout was very much in his mind when he first began creating bunker solutions. “Our solutions work so well on parkland courses and with lower edge bunkers because of a combination of factors, and perhaps prominent among those are golfer expectations of what parkland golf should be like, and the local soil conditions and topography which impact heavily on the maintenance burden,” he said. “From an aesthetic point of view, most golfers expect a more manicured presentation than say on a links or heathland course where less maintained, more rugged bunkers are more acceptable, and often more desirable too. “The EcoBunker system is designed to make it easier to maintain the cleancut edges desired in parkland golf, and to deliver a fully sealed system ideal for combating typical parkland soils which can be heavy, clayey or stony. In the fully sealed system, such as the one delivered at Hartsbourne, the sand remains cleaner for longer, and drainage functions more effectively for longer too. Golfers enjoy better looking, consistent bunkers that last, and are inexpensive to maintain.” New bunkering on the par-five thirteenth at Hartsbourne and, top, the short par-four tenth Photos: EcoBunker
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