Sand Valley Golf; Design and Construction Blog: Taking Shape

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.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Taking Shape

Little by little the 6th hole is taking shape. The right edge of the fairway has been restaked. It is now straighter and cleaner. With the new tee position it is an off-set fairway with the ever so slight curve making it more difficult for the player to pick a line of attack from the tee.

The massive dune bunker was roughed out, the remainder of the fairway stripped of organic material, and a small mountain of organic material driven away to our sound barrier-camouflaged hillside on Hole 5.

Then it was onto the start of shaping the material stockpiled left of the fairway.

In a couple days we will be able to drive in the remainder of sand for the hole.

Things are beginning to take shape on 6, the hole that requires the most man hours.

What's interesting is the field sketch (below) better reflects the new shape of the right edge of the fairway. The sketch above reveals how the hole should take shape. The mound between the two fairways has yet to be constructed.

Pushing off the top layer of organic material. The area is then run over with a spike harrow before capping the area with 1 to 1.2 meters of sand.

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

Tony Ristola

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Short Project History; The Good and Bad

Monday, June 18, 2007

Taking Shape