A concrete path was originally proposed to assist the flow of traffic from the 13th green to the 14th tee. Following further consideration and input from course architect Ryan Van Der Veen it was agreed not to proceed with a concrete path, but instead turf the area.
This area is inhabited by 4 large pine trees and the way the bunker is positioned makes for limited space and is very difficult to grow healthy turf. The tree roots from the pines are also a major problem in this area and the adjacent 13th green. As a result, the turf is always bare, and the ground is firm making for difficult shots both in the bunker and the area adjacent to the bunker.
With a decision made that the area will be turfed and to cope with the traffic flow we will remove the 4 large pine trees from the area. With the trees removed, the area will be re-shaped to fill in some uneven ground with new irrigation installed to assist with traffic stresses. The turfed area will provide sufficient room on the outside of the bunker for traffic management, including golf carts. With the tree roots removed, shading issue addressed and irrigation improved the area should cope with the wear and tear.
Once the area has been re-turfed additional native varieties of trees will be planted adjacent to the newly turfed area to screen the boundary. The west course theme is like many other sandbelt clubs which retain a lot of open low-cut turf from one green to the following tee and this will be no different with the turf quality significantly improved.