Roughing Out Three Sets of Bunkers

This Sunday was spent shaping the cut area between 15 and 16, known as “The Triangle”. I shaped two sets of bunkers here and then moved to fairway 7 to rough out a set of bunkers.

Chechek, always eager to work, took our loader and drove sand to finish the pathway along the tees on 4, and Kai showed up in the afternoon to load, drive… supply sand to Chechek.

It was a glorious September day.

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

“Pik, Pik, Pik”

I’ve developed my own language with the guys, and a different language for each guy. For a couple guys the language is English, for the remainder most would call it Gibberish! That’s why I always have my felt pens and paper handy. Everyone understands drawings.

In Gibberish “Pik, pik, pik” lets Chechek know he is to push the material to certain place in irregular piles. It also describes today’s work day after getting a night of heavy rain. Today we simply picked away at the odd jobs that would do no damage to the roads or site.

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

Fixing a Broken Drain

Old farm drainage was put there for purpose, and the drainage installed here almost a century ago still works well. So it's best not to mess with it... if you can help it.

Sometimes though, "it happens".

Near the 4th green we excavated a pit of unstable peaty material, planning to fill it with sand. Unfortunately a 20cm (8 inch) drain line as busted in the process; old German drainage tile that works well. After the line busted, it rained and the hole quickly filled with water.

Now it’s been dry, the ground water level has dropped, the pipes exposed, so it was time to fix the damage. Let’s just say it wasn’t either fun or easy, but it’s done now, and water is once again flowing to the ditch.

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

Staking the Mainline

Kimmo Laihonen, our irrigation designer spent the day wandering the site and staking the first section of irrigation mainline to from the pumphouse to service the first set of holes to be completed.

Hey guys, be sure to leave the stakes intact.

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

In Goes the Pump Station Package

The pump station is the heart of the irrigation system; the computer and the controllers-decoders, the brains. We have over 600 irrigation heads in the design, each can be individually controlled.

The pump station looks like 4 rockets side by side, standing on a platform ready for take-off. They’ll be capable of pumping 120 cubic meters of water per hour; about 170 full bathtubs.


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

In Goes 15 Green

Green The 15th green is elevated, perched above the bend in the river so you're looking down into it and surrounded by it on two sides. It required a bit more than a meter thick layer of sand to fill the site.

The green is long, and will have modest contour. The front half will slope towards the river to its left (east), the back half slightly away from the player and towards the river to the south, and in the transition between these two halves will be a couple light rolls and a hollow.













Chechek pushing sand into the 15th greensite. A bit more than a meter of sand will fill the L-shaped dyke wall.

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

Radek Gets Stuck

It’s not too often that an excavator gets stuck. They have the arm (boom) to help them swivel and or grab to get out of trouble, but Radek managed it today while flopping material into The Wall behind the 4th greensite. The sandy clay excavated to a depth of 3 meters is soft and wet, too soft and wet for a bulldozer to push, and obviously too soft and wet for Radek to perch his excavator on.

This is the second time an excavator has been stuck on this project. As you may remember Martin, now known as The Captain sunk his 6 week old 250,000 Euro excavator in the lake for about a week. We called it the newest tactical submarine of the Polish Navy.

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

Robota

Robota; That’s the Polish word for work, and it fits Chechek (The Robot), who is willing to work whenever the dozer is free. Today he worked from 07:00 to 14:00 and then hopped into the machine again at 18:30. He worked until 04:00, and except for running out of fuel, certainly would have worked longer.

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

Making the Turn for the Home Stretch

The main cut for the wetland on 4 has been made and The Wall behind the green has reached an elevation of about 6 meters. You can’t see the trucks passing by. Now the remaining section, a 60 by 25 by 3 meter deep cut of constructed wetland will add width to the height of The Wall.

We’ve moved the green forward some, about 20 meters, which will only add to the risky, tempting nature of the boomerang shaped par-5.

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

A Beautiful Setting

We are filling the Member's Tee pad on this devious and drivable par-4 (300 meters at the furthest, 260 for members). It is one large L-shaped tee that wraps around the wetland. The base of the “L” is set between the river and wetland, and the vertical section of the “L” set between the wetland, and large sand dune. The stretch of land exists, we're just plopping a tee on it.

One alteration to the tee scheme is to build a tee atop the dike wall that wraps around the left of the 15th green . Regardless of the tee chosen, it’s a beautiful, peaceful setting, and the last contact the golfer will have with the river.

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

The Last Catch Basin

Not a lot has been said about the 6-hole Short Course, but Tomek and the guys have been picking away, installing drainage in the greens, catch basin in the low points, and today the last of them went in.

I do believe he was promised a bottle of Vodka when we reached this point.

Cheers.

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

In Goes 11 Green

This is the shortest drive of material on site; a mere 100 meters from the quarry to the large greensite with heaving contours.

The greensite is inspired a wee bit (very wee) by the 2nd at St. Andrews, one of the funkiest greensites I’ve see. It was one of the features that struck me the most when I first visited The Old Course (Home of Golf, St. Andrews, Scotland). The Road Hole is much talked about, Hell bunker on 14, the par-3 11th, Valley of Sin on 18, the Swilcan Burn cutting across the 1st, Spectacles on 5, Principal’s Nose on 16, but this green and its entrance was as or more memorable than all the others, and the funny thing is it is little discussed; probably because the green doesn’t have a name and thus isn’t easily referenced.

It isn’t just the green but the manner and type of contours blending from the fairway into the green. On back to back days during a visit there I’d hit a Sand Wedge approach the first time around and a 2-iron the next day. The SW approach was the more difficult, as there were more options for the type of shot to hit into the hole, which is unusual. With the expected hard and fast conditions here, we’re designing the same type of confusion.

Contours to the entrance of the green:
www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=315013610&context=set-72157594406977382&size=o
More towards the center of the green:
www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=315013677&context=set-72157594406977382&size=o

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

Inserting 16 Tee

This site has more corners than a room with 100 mirrors. A good thing in this instance as the corners don’t wedge the holes tight and it provides a host of different settings. The challenge with some of these corners is getting the materials in without destroying the entrance-exit points. So far, so good; we’ve been patient and trucked material when it’s been dry, have built roads or dropped further away and made longer pushes with the bulldozers... all in an effort to preserve them.

Today we stripped the 16th tee site, and drove in the sand fill to this tremendous setting between the river and a small wetland. I could see golfers just spending an afternoon on a bench between the two soaking up the relaxing atmosphere, fishing rod instead of golf club in hand.

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

All Nighter

Our CAT dumper is going back to the leasing company, and before it went back we had it and our Volvo work long into the night, driving sand from the big wetland on the 4th. It’s getting to the point where the hauls are shorter, the wall higher, and the stretch of road between the two messier.

Everyone will be happy when we’re out of there, and the buffer wall behind the 4th green is in place bleeding water.

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

18 Greensite Revisited

As noted in the September 13th Blog, the ideas for the 18th greensite have changed, and today the Pandora’s Box of ideas opened wide again.

As noted, the old construction company cut corners wherever they could, (and we have been busy undoing them all) and on 18 they filled the greensite and hills behind with topsoil, a no-no; some contaminated with root, some clean Grade-A material.

When the back section of the old green was stripped away so people from the clubhouse could get a view of golfers on the putting surface, a whole new dimension of space was unveiled. It also made integrating the hillside a new challenge, but I think the idea for that is solved with a large steep bunker left of the hill. It should offer some interesting approaches and recoveries for members and guests to watch.

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

Days Getting Noticeably Shorter

It is dark at 19:45, and that’s a couple hours shorter than just 10 short weeks ago. The next big stinger will be when we roll the clocks back an hour. Then we’ll probably have to start work an hour earlier.

If only long summer days were forever... well they do...in California. Probably why 36 million people live in The Golden state.

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

Lesson #1: Slam those Stakes in Deep

Nothing is more frustrating for an operator than someone marking grades on a stake and then the operator after passing by with a machine sees the stake topple over.

That means the operator has lost his reference and the surveyor has to go back and do his work over again… which brings us to Lesson #1 of marking grades…

Slam those stakes deep into the ground!

Obviously someone failed to do so.

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

Redesigning 18 Green

On the 18th greensite, the previous construction company made a cut somewhat according to plan. About 50 meters long and 20 meters wide, it was to be for a bunker, with the green above and to its left.

Now this cut is being smoothed out and widened to make it look like a dip in the hillside. The straight formal gouges will disappear and be replaced with long flowing lines. The green will now go where the gouged bunker was planned, with a hillside to its left. It will feel a little like the golfer is playing downhill to the hole.

The idea is to allow the golfers attacking along the ridge (to the right of the centerline) to have a straight shot at the green’s depth, while golfers bailing to the safe left side will have a shallower target, and a green sloping away from them. They will be able to feed the ball off the hillside down to the green, but pulling off this shot will require superb judgment, and insert a element of risk.

From the tee or on the approach...Pick your poison wisely.

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

Pounding in the Sand

Green sites 3, 10, 11, 17 are ready to receive the high quality sand that will allow shaping to take place. Today we finished the 1st green, filled the 10th, drove some to tees under construction and started driving to the difficult to access to 3rd green.

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

Slopping It Up

Digging the constructed wetland down the right of 4 continues.

The material excavated and transported by dumper to The Wall behind 4 green has been sitting for a few days and remains wet. Too wet to be pushed all the way by bulldozer (we need to make more room) so today one bulldozer pushed material to the excavator who then piled it up high on the wall. It’s double the cost of handling dry material, but necessary to make space for more sand.

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

Stripping on Hole 3

Tees 4 and greensite 3 is a tough area to build but will yield a beautiful corner of golf. It is a little like the Low Country in the Carolina’s. All the surrounds drain to this corner, the ground water is high, so it is the perfect place to construct a wetland to enhance the tees and greensite.

The lack of blistering sun and wind has left the area a little soft, so transporting all the material cut from the wetland, stripped from the 3rd fairway and greensite will be a challenge to remove. Luckily we have a couple of places close by to deposit and integrate the material.

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

Connecting Fairway 7 to Fairway 6

Today the rough shaping for connecting the 6th and 7th fairways was pretty much completed. The two holes share over 100 meters of fairway that heaves and rolls. It’s your job to figure out the best place to attack from, and where you’re most likely to draw a favorable lie.

None of these contours were on a plan, but were shaped in the field while thinking about the strategy of the holes, their drainage and aesthetics.

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

The Toughest and most Beautiful Stretch of Road

The pathway for the tees on Hole 4 runs along the constructed wetland surrounding the tees on three sides, and through some mature bush. The area is wet and the topsoil soft, peat-like. Building the 3 meter wide path is a slow process, but when finished will be a short but beautiful nature walk.

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

New Ideas for Greensite 1

There is a hill to the left of the 1st green called Goat’s Hill. Goat's has recently doubled in size as we stripped away the poor quality fill for the 1st green left by the previous builder. The material was largely topsoil. With our green construction method it also posed a drainage problem that would have increased the instability of the foundation. Let's just say it's not ideal to build a green upon.

Now, with the large hill left of the green, we began searching for possible ways to tie the green into it and drive the strategy of the hole. As I write this the idea is to tie the green into Goat’s Hill making it blind from the left, and having a not too deep green with a significant step in the front and back.

But as the saying goes, “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” Let’s see what the finished product emerges like.


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

Goodbye Old Foundation

The 8th and 11th back tees were to be one long tee set in the foundation of an old house or barn. Unfortunately the construction company before us went in and destroyed the foundation and old walls; a pity. Today we excavated the old foundation, and stacked it into piles for transport.

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

Incoming! Sand.

Our greens-mix growing medium (rootzone) is comprised of 35% sand from our quarry that must go through a 2mm screen, 45% sand from a place we know as Frog’s Corner, 10% of our finest sandy topsoil, and 10% peat moss.

Today we began receiving the sand from Frog’s Corner. Mixing at all is just around the corner.

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

Volvo’s Go on Strike

Though I have a lot of good Swedish buddies, Finns should be aware of buying or leasing Volvo (Swedish) equipment. For those unaware, Swedes and Finns are a bit like Cats and Dogs.

Today all of our Volvo’s went on strike. Our 210 excavator needs repair and is out for a couple days. The smaller excavator had a problem and the dumper gave us fits.

Oh Fy Fan.

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

Two More Machines

We have added a CAT 323 to our line up and a Liebherr 722 which has already been nicknamed The Ugly Duckling. The CAT will be used mostly for constructing tees, and the Liebherr will join our CAT D6R stripping topsoil.

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

Funny Construction Story

Guys on the dump trucks have had it tough. Driving 20 tons of machine with a 30 ton payload for 12+ hours a day, on the same route day after day can get boring and the driver a little disoriented. A bit like a guy who travels a lot waking up in the morning not knowing what city he’s in.

One guy let me know he had driven to his destination, dropped his payload and while waiting began reading his book. Engrossed in the book his mind turned to thinking he was waiting to be loaded… he didn’t hear the beep from the excavator telling him he's been loaded and wondered what was taking so long to get loaded… 15 minutes had passed before he realized he was dropping the load. Embarrassed he sneaked back to the loading area.

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

Meet the FOKers

Friends of Kai that is.

Today Kai had some of his friends out raking and shoveling a huge hill on 4 that smells like… well, let’s say it’s not pretty. As the regular crew went home in the afternoon, they manned the dumpers and drove some material to The Wall on 5.

Thanks guys, hope it was fun.

I wonder how their muscles will feel tomorrow?

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