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
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.
