| Installing A Sand Bunker and Practice Net |
From "Family Sports"
episode SPT-101 |
|
|
|
advertisement
|
Golf is a game in which there's no such thing as too much practice. If you have the means to fine-tune some of your strokes in your backyard, it's likely that your game will improve noticeably. Two easy installations for helping you in that regard are a sand bunker and a practice net. With these, you'll be able to practice sand pitches and work on your drives and iron-shots. These aids are also great for helping young beginners get off to a good start. Avid golfer and suburban homeowner Mark Kramer talks with Family Sports host Belma Johnson about some golf-friendly improvements he's made to his backyard.
Installing a Bunker Provided that you have ample space, you can install bunker (or sand trap) in your yard in a single afternoon. The whole project can be completed for as little as $100.
Materials:
Play sand
Burlap bags
Mulch
Spray paint
Shovels
Optional: windsor blocks or other landscaping material
- Select a location surrounded by an adequate amount of lawn space to allow you to make chip shots. Using a hillside location, if there's one available, will allow you to chip down into an open area and will require less digging for the installation.
- Determine the size and shape that you want and mark off the area for your bunker using spray paint.
- Dig out the area so that the deepest portion is in the center and the sides slope up gently toward the edges. Use some of the dirt that you remove to fill burlap bags (figure A). The filled bags will be used to help build a berm that surrounds the bunker. Save the sod that you dig up, as you may want to use some of it around the newly landscaped borders. You may also want to use other landscaping materials such as Windsor blocks to create a border around a portion of the bunker.
- Sculpt the surrounding area and use the bags filled with earth to build up a berm around the edges of the bunker. Once you're happy with the overall landscaping, cover the bags with mulch. Replace portions of sod as desired.
- With the area completely dug out, line the bottom with a tarp (figure B). The tarp will help prevent contamination of the sand by the dirt below. It will also help minimize weeds and grasses growing up through the sand.
- Once the tarp has been installed, fill the bunker (figure C) with ordinary play-sand (available at most home centers).
To maintain a groomed appearance, rake the sand surface after each use. Add fresh sand as needed.
Installing a Practice Net A practice net (figure D) can be assembled easily from inexpensive materials. Since repetition is key in building a powerful and consistent swing, a net that will allow you to practice all of your distance shots should yield improvements in your game. The netting that Kramer used to construct his practice net is the same type that's used in building batting cages for baseball practice. It's available through sports-equipment suppliers.
Materials:
PVC pipe
Nylon netting
Screw hooks with safety clips
Saw or hacksaw
Shovel
- Decide on the dimensions that you want for your net and mark locations for the two upright supports.
- Dig a hole 2 feet deep for each support.
- Insert a 2-foot length of PVC pipe into each hole. Cut off any excess so that each is even at ground level. Compact dirt around the outside of the pipe, leaving the top end open. These sunken lengths of pipe will serve as sleeve/anchors for erecting the upright supports for the net.
- The upright supports are made from lengths of PVC pipe slightly smaller in diameter than those embedded in the ground. These will insert inside the open end of the larger pieces of pipe. Use screw-hooks with safety clips (figure E) to secure the net to the PVC uprights.
The safety net, including the in-ground sleeves, can be built in a couple of hours. The net can be taken down or erected in a few seconds (figure F).
Family Sports Fun Fact: - The highest USGA-sanctioned par for any single golf hole is a par six.
RESOURCES :
GOLF magazine
Sports Illustrated
Website: www.golfmag.com
Golf Digest magazine
Golf Digest
Website: www.golfdigest.com
| 
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
