Torsiello's Turf Talk - Better Billy Bunkers a Boon for Golf Courses

By: John Torsiello

Nothing irritates a golfer more than playing a day after a heavy rain and seeing water pooled up in bunkers. Never mind the unsightliness of these hollowed-out pits being turned small ponds; having sand traps that don't drain quickly after a heavy rain makes those areas of the golf course unplayable.

I've even lost golf balls in standing bunker water, that's how deep puddling can get after a significant rain event. And let's not mention the ire of superintendents when they have to send out crews to spend hours upon hours returning flooded bunkers to playable condition.

Billy Fuller addressed this unwanted issue when he hit upon a novel approach to bunker design several years back that he termed the "Enhanced Bunker Drainage Method," with a company growing out of his work that was first implemented at famed Augusta National Golf Club, where Fuller was the superintendent. The company is now called Better Billy Bunker, Inc. and the method is now The Better Billy Bunker.

The industry tagged the name Billy Bunker on Fuller, who invented the bunker-construction technique in 1981. The design improves a bunker's drainage and playability by using drainage pipe, a layer of pea gravel, a cloth liner and quality bunker sand. While at Augusta National, Fuller came up with a solution to standing water in bunkers by placing a 1.5-to-2-inch gravel layer over the entire bunker floor. He found that water could then easily flow through the gravel to drain lines, and also that movement of sand within the bunker was basically eliminated.

His method has grown in popularity, and an estimated 500 golf courses have switched to what is now called the Better Billy Bunker, including some of the most notable venues in the world. Fuller claims the Better Billy Bunker improves his original specs by eliminating the potential of a torn, cloth geo-textile liner that can cause sand contamination.

Fuller is one of the most interesting and influential men in the golf industry. After graduating from North Carolina State University with an emphasis on turfgrass management, he served at a series of courses as superintendent and/or director of golf course maintenance operations. His stops have included four South Carolina facilities - Seabrook Island Golf Club in Charleston, Wildewood Country Club in Columbia, Palmetto Dunes Golf Club on Hilton Head Island and Kiawah Island Resort - along with five years at Augusta National.

He launched Billy Fuller Golf Design in 2004. Prior to opening his own company, Fuller spent 15 years working with Bob Cupp of Cupp Design, Inc. as a design associate and senior agronomist on over 100 new courses across North America and England.

Since the launch of Billy Fuller Golf Design, the company has completed eight major course renovations around the U.S. His design work has earned praise and recognition from Sports Illustrated, the LPGA Tour and Golfweek, and Fuller continues to be sought after as one of the world's leading consultants on the economics and agronomics of golf courses.

Back to his bunkers: Better Billy Bunker, Inc. officials claim construction methods that do not use a gravel layer result in poorer-draining bunkers and will not slough water off fast enough to eliminate sand erosion. So, once all old material in the problem bunker(s) has been removed for the preparation of the bunker core, a spray-on binder replaces traditional fabric liners.

Using local gravel and a special polymer that is applied directly onto the drainage gravel, the method creates a solid but porous layer. Once cured, sand - usually four to six inches in depth - is then installed atop of the Better Billy Bunker system. Water percolates throughout the entire surface of the bunker to the drain lines, and keeps the sand from washing away during heavy rains. In addition to keeping the sand in place, the method eliminates contamination.

The company, which employs licensed, certified work crews, checks outfall-drainage pipes prior to the bunker renovation to ensure they still function properly. It might be noted that plugged drainage tile and lines are a main cause of water remaining in a bunker after a heavy rain or during extended periods of precipitation. Little or no new sod is required on the perimeter of the refurbished bunker(s) upon completion of the Better Billy Bunker method, and with proper maintenance the original bunker design is said to remain intact for years.

The company says it uses no geo-textile liners, and that its bunkers will substantially reduce washouts, eliminate silt contamination, are a huge maintenance savings because crews don't have to spend extra time and club money on sand replacement, nor devote hours to raking or machine-grading the sand within the bunker.

One such implementation of Fuller's bunker method began this year at Winged Foot Golf Club, home of the 2020 U.S. Open, under the watchful eye of golf architect Gil Hanse. The restoration of the original A.W. Tillinghast design will feature Better Billy Bunkers on both the East and West courses.

The company's testimonials are enlightening.

Bob Rogers, the super at Big Spring Country Club in Louisville, Ky., said that after a great deal of research the club decided to renovate bunkers using the Better Billy Bunker method. Rogers noted that 17 bunkers were redone and, after heavy rains, the renovated bunkers required no additional work.

Steffie Safrit, superintendent at Bluegrass Yacht and Country Club in Henderson, Tenn., said the club redid six bunkers using the Better Billy Bunker method and, after a five-inch rainfall in two hours, "not a single grain of sand moved in the bunkers." Even better, Safrit, now at Piper Glen in Charlotte, reported that man-hours were greatly reduced in maintaining the bunkers.

Jeff Holliday, superintendent at Salisbury Country Club in Midlothian, Va., remarked that a week after the installation of the Better Billy Bunkers the course received a total of six inches of rain in five days. His crews had to fix existing bunkers on the course three times that week, but the sand in the Better Billy Bunkers never moved.

And Paul Madewell, super at Pecan Hollow Country Club in Plano, Texas, said he has experienced a reduction in labor costs after going to the Better Billy Bunkers and that the refurbished bunkers give golfers excellent playability following even the heaviest downpours.

It seems that Billy Fuller's dream of rainproof bunkers - or at least as rainproof as they can get - has become a reality and is making its mark on the golf industry. Superintendents and golfers alike owe a giant debt of gratitude to the forward-thinking and innovative former super at Augusta National.

John Torsiello is an editor/writer living in Connecticut. He has written extensively about all aspects of the golf industry for a number of national and regional publications. He is a regular contributor to "Golf Course Industry," "Lawn and Landscape," "Golfing" and "Fairway Living" magazines as well as various online publications. He has strong, ongoing relationships with industry professionals and has worked closely with course owners, architects, developers, course superintendents and general managers around the country. He has won a number of awards for his writing, including first place from the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association for a piece that appeared in "Golf Course Industry" magazine.

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