The Project
Situated in the heart of the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef, Hamilton Island Golf Club, one of Australia’s more popular golfing destination is located on Dent Island, which is a short 8 minute ferry ride from the main resort. It was opened in 2009 by then premier Anna Bligh in conjunction with the Hamilton Island Race Week. The course was designed by 5 times British Open Champion Peter Thomson and Ross Perret. The course consists of 48 bunkers measuring around 4000m2.
The Problems
Dent Island is known for its rocky landscape and this was the main challenge when it came to construction of the golf course. To give you an idea, $1 million of explosives was used on the 18th hole alone. With an annual rain fall of 1-1.5mts in a three month season and rain events in excess of 100mm, heavy erosion had taken its toll on the bunkers, leaving the native rock exposed. As a reoccurring problem, Superintendent Brad Hole needed to find a solution, and it was at the 2014 Golf Coast Turf Conference that he saw Kustom Bind Bunker Solutions exhibiting their product.
Brad Hole recalls, “I had good discussions with directors Ben Chambers and Brad Willis about Kustom Bind, how it worked, could it seal off the base of our bunkers and prevent anymore rocks from migrating and being exposed. How could we install such a product to a unique and remote place and could we do the complete course in a short period without disrupting guests from playing golf.”
The Solution
A site meeting was held in 2016 to view logistics of getting around the course, the state of the bunkers and the material quantities that would be needed. Based on the m2 of bunkers, approximately 770t of aggregate and 1300t of bunker sand would be required to complete the project. The solution was to install Kustom Bind, a fixed drainage membrane which allows the bunker sand to drain under the heaviest of rainfall and prevents the sand from slumping, resulting in zero contamination and rock migration.
All topics of conversation were settled and work was pencilled in to start in June 2017.
Unexpected Problems
On March 28 Cyclone Debbie hit the region with winds of up to 260km/h and rainfall of 1000mm, the island was left bruised and battered and left the project on hold until the spirited people of Hamilton Island got back on their feet and business was open as usual.
However, the cyclone had had an effect on material sourcing. The quarry where the bunker sand was to be transported from had been severally effected with machinery being damaged by Debbie. The bunker reconstruction was now scheduled for May 2018.
With barges running around the clock to repair Hamilton Island, getting materials to Dent Island was not easy so barges had to be scheduled in at high tides for whenever possible. This consisted of 2 prime movers and 5-6 25t loaded trailers that had to be unloaded within the hour so that they wouldn’t become stuck on the reef. Night barges were common and light towers were set up for the drivers.
The Process
Firstly we needed to freight up our equipment to Shute Harbour and then have it barged across to Dent Island. We took up our 4T excavator, 3T dump truck, a trailer containing our pumps and tools and 8 IBC’s of polymer.
The process was to remove the old bunker sand, trim the bases and expose the old drainage, flush and check to see if it was functional and repair if it wasn’t. Next the aggregate was installed to desired levels and given a quick wash and then the polymer was applied. Lastly the bunker sand was installed.
This was all done with the help of the maintenance crew who provided labour, 2 tractors and trailers and a 3T truck throughout the duration of the project.
The first 9 holes was completed in 3 weeks without any hiccups due to the holes being close to the stockpile of aggregate and sand, but things would slow up as the project moved out to the back nine.
The most southern part of the course measures around 3km one way from the material stock pile out to the 15th green which was basically on a one way road.
We decided to do a clean out and install aggregate on holes 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 in one go so the tractors and trucks could work and transport together and not have any collisions, then we would spray our polymer and cart the sand in convoy to keep a continuing flow.
The project wrapped up on the 18th hole after just short of 8 weeks. In total over 4000m2 of bunkers were overhauled with Kustom Bind, all whilst golf continued for the guests of the resort.
What does this all mean for Hamilton Island Golf Club?
The new and improved bunker surfaces at Hamilton Island has had satisfying feedback from HIE owners, staff and golfers. The course is home the PGA Professionals Championship and is scheduled for the next 3 years, giving greater photogenic and marketing to the area.
“The course is where it should be, now that we have the technology, the amount of time we will save on bunker repairs after rain events will be huge and allow us to do other tasks on the golf course that we normally wouldn’t have been able to do” says Brad. “During the wet season, some of the bunkers could full of water for up to a week, but now all we will have to do is maintain sand depths and rake the bunkers, no matter how much rain we receive”.
Our Thanks
During our time on Dent Island, we were fortunate enough to play a bit of golf on what you could only described as the best views in Australia and if the wind wasn’t blowing we got to do a bit of fishing. We can’t thank the staff and HIE enough for their hospitality and efforts throughout the cause of the project.
This is truly a great golf course that is now complemented with the best bunkers in Queensland.
We look forward to returning in the wet season to see the bunkers perform under the heaviest of rainfalls.