Sand Valley Golf; Design and Construction Blog: Replacing the Hockey Stick Blade

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, August 20, 2007

Replacing the Hockey Stick Blade

At "The Wall" on Hole 5 the original builder had a section that wrapped around the back of the 5th green. It looked unnatural, like the blade of a hockey stick; or the small section on the letter “L”.

Today we pushed the small section of the letter “L” into the main wall (tall section of the letter “L”) where the two meet, as we didn’t want to drive fill for this section over the site for the putting green. When finished what once looked like an "L", will look like half a "Y".

The buffer wall has some height and depth… so much so, that with the right planting scheme, it will look like it has always been there.

April 26, 2007; Looking at the blade of the "Hockey Stick".

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

Tony Ristola

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Short Project History; The Good and Bad

Monday, August 20, 2007

Replacing the Hockey Stick Blade