Sand Valley Golf; Design and Construction Blog: And the bunker work starts

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.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

And the bunker work starts

After walking through and photographing the remainder of the holes, the bunker detail work started on Hole Nr. 4

I don't build cookie-cutter bunkers, why be here to build bunkers if they will look like those found on 10,000 other golf courses. I have ideas for what we will accomplish, but finding the style for the golf course is an evolutionary process.

Here some basic edging has been done for the waste area; these banks will be simple and formal. The inside features of the waste area will take on another character.

It starts with this.

Then basic edging begins. We will be using the sod taken for other areas to crate bunker edges within the waste areas. This bunker edge will have simple, clean lines... serving as a transition from golf course to waste area; the interior bunkers/dunes of the will be another matter.

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

Tony Ristola

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Short Project History; The Good and Bad

Thursday, June 25, 2009

And the bunker work starts