Gaunt set to complete James Braid-inspired bunker work at Rotherham

Jonathan Gaunt has completed bunker work on 13 holes at Rotherham Golf Club in Yorkshire, England, and will return in January 2025 for a final phase of work.

The club was established in 1903 with a nine-hole layout by Sandy Herd, the 1902 Open champion, before a redesign by James Braid. Gaunt Golf Design was appointed in 2019 to develop a renovation masterplan. Profusion Environmental began construction work in January 2022 and three phases have now covered holes one, two, four and nine to eighteen. The final phase will focus on the remaining holes, except the bunkerless eighth.

The 200-yard par-three ninth was one of the first holes to be renovated and Gaunt highlights it as a great example of his work at the club. “Our design intention was not a restoration, but a strategic and sympathetic remodel in the style of James Braid,” he said. “We have a 1948 photo, and we saw that the hole had been modified since then – trees had been recently planted at the rear of the green and bushes at the carry area were obscuring the view of the green from the tees. A bunker had also been introduced in the early 2000s and the front approach had become too narrow.

“Our proposals involved tree removal and transplanting to open the view to the green and towards the clubhouse [Thrybergh Hall]. We proposed to split the one right-hand greenside bunker into two and to add a new bunker at the rear. As it transpired, the rear bunker became a grassy hollow, which has worked really well.”

Bunkers now feature new rubber crumb liner and china clay sand. “There is a dramatic change in style – reflecting the original styling of Braid,” said Gaunt. “The bunkers are now much more prominent and can be seen from the tee and this is further enhanced by the sand choice of china clay, which visually stands out much more. The new bunkers perform much better in both dry and wet conditions with less sand splash, reducing intensive maintenance work by the greenkeeping team.

“The original bunkers were not immediately obvious, due to poor construction and, in many instances, outdated or inappropriately positioned.”

On the par-five tenth, a new fairway bunker has been built on the left around 250 yards from the back tee. Another new bunker comes at the front-left of the second green, with Gaunt removing a bunker short-right and describing the result as “much more sympathetic and respectful to the terrain”. The architect has also repositioned bunkers on other holes, such as the twelfth, with the bunker now at the dogleg.

“We have had many local clubs send official parties to inspect the quality of work with a view to implementing a similar programme,” said Gaunt. “The performance of the bunkers has been excellent – especially noticeable following significant rainfall. The old bunkers would have suffered from standing water, compaction and contamination, which was very time consuming in terms of remediation work required by the greens staff. The new bunkers simply need touching up with no standing water at all. The playing experience has been enhanced dramatically both in terms of the visual effect and the way the holes play.”

Rob Norton, greens chairman at Rotherham, said: “Jonathan was extremely helpful during the tender process and has brought a hands-on approach from the outset. His approach has been collaborative and supportive, allowing the club to have its own input into the final choice of contractor. During the phases we have found Jonathan to be open to suggestions and slight tweaks, especially from the maintenance team.

“Through the phases we have also slightly refined the style of the bunkers to help the greens staff with future maintenance of the surrounds. The surrounds have improved significantly with more ebb and flow, which is more pleasing as a result, making the bunkers much easier to maintain.”

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