It’s wet, and the work we can do is limited to getting rid of trees both large and small. The trees have begun falling to make way for the 2nd fairway and 9th hole. That’s the big stuff. The small stuff is removing the small birches that grow like weeds in the sandy soil. We’re using an excavator to scratch them and their root systems away. Then these small fry are loaded into a tractor with trailer and driven to their final resting place.
In the old quarry, Basket Willow has invaded some of the lowest areas and is predominant along the river banks. In the old days they would remove the young branches and make baskets from them, hence the name. We have taken a section of young Basket Willow from the quarry and begun transplanting them along the banks of Tee 13 and Green 15 in an effort to stabilize them from further erosion.
http://www.derkleinegarten.de/800_lexikon/803_gehoelze/salix_korbweide_weidenzaun_weidenflechtzaun.htm
The stumps grow new shoots which are removed annually. We have some in this condition near our Green 15.
http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1379031
Tony Ristola
agolfarchitect.com
+1 (909) 581 0080
Tony Ristola
- www.tonyristola.com
- A rarity in golf course architecture: Working with the builders, crafting the details of my designs in the field on a daily basis.
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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.
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.
