Sand Valley Golf; Design and Construction Blog: Another day in the woods, the rabbit from hell and Tribal Eating

Short Project History; The Good and Bad

This blog reveals a snippet of the daily challenge of building a special golf course. The only value in something like this for future investors and golf architecture aficionados is to tell the truth; warts and all.

Before arriving at Sand Valley the project was being constructed according to the "detailed plans" of another golf architect using a "golf course construction company" that had built a number of courses. They broke ground in June 2006. After 10-months the builder had proceeded to rape 14-holes and was fired.

I have been brought in to fix the problem, using locals to build the course. In the process all plans except the general routing scheme have been abandoned. The current course is being designed in the field, seizing every opportunity to improve the course as we go. That's the value of time. You can see the project from all angles, in all conditions, you have time to think about the problems and come up with the best solutions, and then refine them with the guys doing the building... in real-time. This is how many of the great courses were constructed. It only makes sense. More time, more input, more communication produces the best possible result.

That's why Sand Valley, though it had a rough start (using the "Typical Method") should have a fantastic finish.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Another day in the woods, the rabbit from hell and Tribal Eating

Another day in the woods, the rabbit from hell and Tribal Eating

The guys continued clearing the trees on Hole 2, and I kept looking and picking away. We carefully cut away some trees to reveal and preserve some beautiful oaks, beech, and pine trees.

Then we had a BBQ.

It’s all about getting the guys together and having fun after a long week in the field. About 10 seconds after this photo was taken we were all having a gut wrenching laugh. Cannot tell you exactly what was said. The sanitized version is this is now the Designated BBQ Chief of The Sand Valley Golf Course Building Tribe proudly exhibiting a trophy kill. The rabbit from hell did not partake in this event.

This photo earned Darek the nickname "Chief".

Tony Ristola
agolfarchitect.com
+1 (909) 581 0080

Tony Ristola

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Short Project History; The Good and Bad

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Another day in the woods, the rabbit from hell and Tribal Eating