#16 Tee Handrail Renovation

There are many areas on and around the golf course that vary in elevation. The cart paths and walk paths are frequently connected by bridges due to the undulating terrain. Each bridge on the Preserve is in need of a renovation due to the aging wood used in their construction. When the bridges and handrails were built, a unique wood was used from Mexico and the Southwest US. It is called Alligator Juniper. The bark looks like the skin on an alligator and the structure of the wood has a warped appearance. You can see it in Fig. 1-2.
Fig.1 Fig.2
It fits in with the rustic look of the golf course design. After years of weather exposure, the wood has continually shrunk and swelled. This has caused many of the unique bark pieces to chip and fall off. It has also led many of the pieces to rot. We are currently renovating each bridge and handrail one-by-one. The new wood that we are using comes from Idaho. It is called Idaho Cedar. On each Bridge there is usually a concrete foundation. The wood is then attached to the foundation by all-thread, 5/8x10'' lag bolts, and concrete screws depending on the location and the size of each wood piece. The hand rails are a bit different from the bridges. For each set of hand rails, we use a post hole digger to dig our holes and backfill with gravel and dirt. This serves as the foundation. Once each post is in the ground, we notch the side of each post and secure each piece of railing. The final touch is a support pattern that I like to call "peaks and valleys."Every post is connected by two railing wood pieces and two support pieces that shape like an "A" or a "V". This can be seen in Fig. 3-4.
Fig. 3 Fig. 4
The final handrail that you can see in Fig. 5 is located on the 16th tee.
Fig. 5
That is our most current renovation project. After the renovation is complete, we spray the finished bridge or handrail with a light amount of Ferrous Sulfate to turn the Cedar from its natural yellow color to a rustic gray. Compare Fig. 1-4 to Fig. 5-6 and you can see the difference.
Fig. 6