Life Update - TDI and Cowboys Golf Club

In July, I accepted an offer to rejoin TDI Golf (www.tdigolf.com), a golf course construction company I interned for last summer at the Dataw Island Club in Beaufort, South Carolina.  My first project has brought me to Dallas, Texas, where we are currently in the process of completing a bunker renovation project at Cowboys Golf Club in nearby Grapevine.  I will give a much more detailed review of the course once we have completed our work, but for now, I will just give a little background on the course and a preview of some of the work we are doing. 

The Jeff Brauer-designed course opened for play on June 14, 2001 and has been considered one of the premier daily-fee, resort golf courses in Texas since.  The golf club is the first (and only) NFL-themed golf course in the world; a tribute to...you guessed it, the Dallas Cowboys.  They're kind of a big deal around here.  The club was the brainchild of Dallas Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones.  It is operated by Eagle Golf (www.eaglegolf.com), a golf course management company based here in Dallas, but with courses located across the midwest and west. The course is littered with historical markers of past Cowboys' triumphs, and the Cowboys Hall of Honor in the clubhouse is definitely something to see.  Instead of cart numbers, the carts are named after famous Cowboys.  This place is ALL about the Cowboys.  If you hadn't figured it out by the time you reach the 4th hole, you will know for sure then!  Located directly in the middle of the fairway is a huge blue star, the easily recognizable logo of the Cowboys. 

The tee shot on the par 4 4th hole

The view from the fairway on number 4

The work we are doing is based on improving drainage in the bunkers.  It is pretty bad in a lot of places.  We are installing the Better Billy Bunker drainage system (www.billybunker.com).  A little history and information on that process and then on to some in-progress pictures. 

The Billy Bunker system was created by golf course architect Billy Fuller in the 1980's, while he was then Golf Course Superintendent at famed Augusta National in Georgia.  The system was the first of its kind.  It involved placing a 2" layer of pea gravel in the bunker before the sand, thus drastically improving the bunker's drainage potential.  A geo-textile fabric was placed between the gravel and sand to prevent contamination.  The original Billy Bunker system is believed to have been installed on 600-700 golf courses in the U.S.  Over time, however, it became apparent that the fabric layer was creating more problems than it was solving.  Years of raking, Sand Pros, and forces of nature were exposing the fabric, creating a difficult maintenance situation for supers.  Introducing, then, the Better Billy Bunker system.  The process is largely the same, however the geo-textile layer has been replaced with a bonded polymer spray that basically bonds the gravel, creating a solid, yet permeable, surface for the sand to sit on. 

The guys at Billy Bunker joined forces with Dow Chemical to create a solution, ST410 Polymer.  It is, in essence, a sprayable plastic.  It is a messy process, but the results are impressive.  With a 10 year guarantee, superintendents across the country are now switching to this drainage system and TDI Golf is a licensed installer.  The future looks good for both.  There are two other courses in the Dallas area that are already planning to switch to this system by the end of the year. 

Pretty much my life right now...

If you look back to the pictures of the 4th hole, you can notice the existing bunker sand.  It's a brownish, natural sand that looks good, but has been compromised.  The sand we are replacing it with is a bleached, white sand that has a better perc rate and definitely stands out more.  I won't get into the politics of natural vs bleached sand, but I think the white sand fits with the type of course that Cowboys Golf Club is trying to be.  The architect for this project is an in-house guy from Eagle Golf, Ed Easley, formerly a Senior Golf Course Architect with Desmond Muirhead, Inc. 

Here's a quick run-through of the process:

Some shaping work on the 1st hole.  Reduced the size of this bunker by 1/2

After shaping and drainage, a 2" layer of pea gravel is placed in the bunker

The Project Manager spraying the polymer on one of the fairway bunkers on #1

Lastly, the sand...

Now, for some before/after and in-progress pics:

The par 3 17th, post-spray/pre-sand and sod

The 17th completed

Left greenside bunker on the par 4 16th before...

...after

From the fairway on the par 5 18th, post-gravel (the left 3 sprayed/right 3 not)

Final product

The now-completed 18th hole from the tee

Keep checking back for more updates on our progress!