Devon, England: Bunker specialists EcoBunker welcomed 20 greenkeepers and club managers to its latest club open day, hosted by Newquay Golf Club. 

The EcoBunker open day series is being held across the summer, giving club officials and greenkeeping teams around the United Kingdom the chance to draw on EcoBunker expertise in bunker design and maintenance, and to better understand the benefits to be gained from employing EcoBunker technology at their course.

“Bunkering is a complex topic, so we want to give clubs across the UK the chance to draw on our vast experience,” said Richard Allen, CEO of EcoBunker, a Full Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.

“Courses need to consider bunker design, drainage, sand choice, which liners to use, edge irrigation and many other factors. We want to help them unpick the topic and find solutions that best fit their needs. We have chosen venues for the open days that have installed EcoBunker technology so we can show examples at work and also introduce them to greenkeepers and course officials who have benefitted from investing in their bunkers,” added Allen.

The recent event at Newquay GC showcased the results of phase one of the club’s bunker renovation project, where all par-three greenside bunkers and the bunkers on the first hole were replaced in Autumn 2024. 

Now fully bedded in, attendees were able to see the benefits of EcoBunker technology in action and discuss the impact of the project with Head Greenkeeper Dan Kendle.

Kendle said: “We’ve been delighted with the impact of phase one. We’re exposed to the elements so the maintenance of the bunkers was a huge issue. Replacing sand, weeding, repairing eroded sections, it all added up to a real drain on our resources.

“Not only have we massively reduced that burden, but the course also looks better and plays better. We couldn’t be happier with phase one and it was a real pleasure to share our experience of working with EcoBunker with the visitors who attended the Open day.”

This was the third open day in the series, following events at Cotterell Park GC and Lexden Wood GC. The events have seen the EcoBunker team share information on course design, irrigation and drainage, and at Lexden Wood they were able to show the current full course project installing EcoTec bunker liners.

Allen said: “When people hear EcoBunker, they will often think of our high revetted bunkers, but there is far more to our service than that.

“Our expertise is unrivalled. We bring a holistic approach to every project that considers the course type and layout, the ground conditions, the local climate and many more factors, before applying the most suitable technology, or even removing bunkers completely where they’re not needed!

“Our Open days are a fantastic chance for us to show people what we can do, and for them to learn what is possible at their venue.”