Lake Karrinyup is widely regarded as one of Australia’s premier courses, built on Alex Russell’s strategic design. Fairways are generous and greens expansive, but challenge is created through positioning, angles and bunker influence. A well-positioned drive creates options, the wrong side alters the angle entirely. Bunkers are central to this equation.
We acknowledge member frustration regarding bunker consistency. While the objective is not absolute uniformity, the bunkers should reflect design intent, remain fair and perform within a controlled range.
In certain areas, variation has moved beyond desired levels. That is being addressed through design refinement, sand management and improved maintenance.
Design Refinement
2025 Winter Works
38 bunkers were reshaped in consultation with our Architects, OCM, to reduce unintended penal lies.
The focus was to:
- Increase effective base area
- Improve the likelihood of balls finishing in the base
- Reduce steep internal faces
- Improve fairness without reducing strategic challenge
Since these improvements, base lies have improved across reshaped bunkers.
Additional in-house refinements included:
- North 4th: Tongue removed, floor area +32%
- North 9th: Front & left tongues removed, floor area +49%
- Main 17th RHS: Tongues reduced, floor area +50%
- Main 17th Front: Sand added to reduce firmness
2026 Winter Works
Recently, OCM reviewed all bunkers with focus shifting to access points that contribute to unnecessary difficult ingress and egress, sand movement and edge instability.
The 2026 program will improve access and maintainability while preserving architectural character.
Sand Performance
Independent testing was undertaken across soft, firm and compliant bunkers, along with our native pit sand.
Results were benchmarked against Australian Golf Union (AGU) guidelines and also a Lancelin sand used at other courses.
Key findings:
- Particle shape remains suitable
- Very fine sand has a significant impact on firmness under our irrigation water
- When very fine sand exceeds 9%, firmness moves beyond acceptable range
- In isolated bunkers, coarse sand levels are high, contributing to softness
Importantly, our native sand remains within AGU specification and consistent with testing dating back to 2005. Variation is caused by redistribution over time, irrigation overlap, shade, topography and play — not the sand source.
Management Program
The goal is not absolute uniformity, but controlled variability within an acceptable range.
- Continue using native sand
- Blend sand where performance is outside target range
Excavate and replace where:
- Very fine sand exceeds 9%
- Coarse sand exceeds 35%
With the new irrigation system:
- Reduce wet/dry cycling
- Limit excessive summer wetting
- Maintain more stable moisture levels
- Increase mechanical levelling and agitation
- Increase tilling frequency in spring and autumn
- Annually benchmark selected bunkers
A short instructional video is available here: https://vimeo.com/481559008?fl=pl&fe=sh
The completed 2025 works have improved base performance across 38 bunkers. Further refinements in 2026, combined with sand correction and irrigation upgrades, will deliver progressive improvement while preserving the strategic character of Lake Karrinyup.
Fraser Brown
Course Superintendent