We've had some pretty good weather, and have been able to knock down piles, piece holes back together, and install irrigation. Bit by bit it's looking more like a golf course than a collection of piles.
The blog up to recently has been a daily report of what goes on or through the mind when building. So much of it was weather related, illustrating what a big part that plays and has played here. Now that we have something to see and compare, I'll go back through certain holes and explain their evolution. And all these holes have evolved. Greens have been moved, tees shifted, fairways created on the fly, greens crafted with ideas... not strict plans. The reasons for these changes are as numerous as the changes as we have been working with ideas and not plans.
All this reminds me of the golf course superintendents visiting from Hamburg. They marveled at the lack of grading stakes, and relayed a story of a project using GPS. They were impressed by it obviously. Well, GPS... technology is nice, especially if you're blowing down the side of a mountain, but having the architect on-site armed with ideas and visions... communicating them in real-time (and using a laser to check tight grades) is miles better... and faster.
Why?
You can spot an opportunity and seize it that moment. How can you do this with GPS and an absent architect? You can't. And there are scores of such "opportunities" to seize everyday. Tons of things to communicate personally. Daily communication, working with the builders in real-time trumps GPS because GPS cannot speak... cannot take personal feedback... cannot clarify the smallest details. It's like slicing roast beef with a dull axe.
It's no wonder the best courses are crafted in the field daily with an architect leading the effort.
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.
