Sand Valley Construction Progression Hole 3. Pulpit Agolfarchitect.com Version 1

8/14/2019 Sand Valley Construction Progression Hole 3. Pulpit Agolfarchitect.com Version 1

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LEADERSHIP DRIVEN GOLF COURSE ARCHITECTURE

Sand Valley GolfPasek, Poland

Construction Progression3rd Hole, Pulpit

[email protected]

sandvalleygolf.blogspot.comtonyristola.blogspot.com

Architects Time On-SiteDuring Construction

TypicalTony Ristola0 to 6%100%

VISION AND LEADERSHIP ARE INSEPARABLE


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This project began with an EIGCA architects detailed plans, and specifications book. He was scheduled to makethe industry standard infrequent site-visits during construction. The golf course builder was selected on thestrength of their previous golf course construction work.

For 10-months, the builder was permitted to repeat one fundamental construction error after another, and 11-

months after ground breaking I was brought in and the project started anew. Before the restart, the entire

property was photo documented, and an 11-page status report identified 14-holes of construction

mismanagement. Two seasoned engineers confirmed my analysis.

The grading, greens and strategy plans of the previous architect were disposed of, as were the construction

specifications for greens, tees, and bunkers. The previous architects generic construction specifications were

replaced with those tailored to this specific property, and the valuable opportunities available.

Construction errors noted at the start of the photo sequences represent the state of the project upon my arrival,

and My Starting Point. What evolved is the product of 5,500 hours on-site, personally leading and sculpting the

transformation of the landscape.

Near the completion of the project, the owner made this persuasive statement in the book Golf Architecture, A

Worldwide Perspective Vol. 5 (2009), about the value the architect leading construction on a daily basis brings:

Specifically, (the owner of Sand Valley) clearly sees how daily involvement by the architect is a tremendous driving force, especially in an

emerging golf nation and continent where golf course builders are a scarcity. He believes an architect leading construction daily provides

something really valuable for product quality because continual assessment and improvement of strategic value and the creation of

special details makes stuff look just stunning, yet does not cost all that much to build; details just not possible on a turn key project.

Rescuing Sand Valley, A Lesson for Investors

Golf Architecture, A Worldwide Perspective Vol. 5, 2009.

www.fullswinggolf.com.au

If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected] and please visit the daily blog of the

project, the first daily blog of a golf course under construction at www.sandvalleygolf.blogspot.com

For the Record


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The Starting Point: The previous builder deposited material not fitting for the subgrade of a green,

over an area that had not be properly prepared to receive fill.The fill was peaty-topsoil with chunks of wood, along with a little clay.

The same material was used as fill for the tees on Hole 4, seen in the distance to the left of the photo.


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Fill material for the sub-grade of the greens shouldnt grow like this.


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Because the previous builder loved shortcuts, and nobody stopped them from making one after anotherthis scene became SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) on virtually every hole.

Inferior to bad quality material was trucked away.After 10-months of mismana ement it took man more to correct the entiret of the mess that had trans ired before m arrival.


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The terrible material has been trucked away, the area cleaned, drained, and clean sand fill from our quarry stockpiled for the subgrade of the green.My bright idea to scrape a wetland, a sloppy adventure, might have been reconsidered had we realized how wet the summer of 2007 would be.

There were no birch trees in the background at the start of this sequence. Now the fields are full of 1.5 to 2m tall trees.


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The green has been shaped.At this stage the contours are being cleaned with the bunker rake and float.

Once cleaned, irrigation goes in, trenches compacted, and topsoil replaced.


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Irrigation in, topsoil replaced and the hole is just about ready for seeding. Only rootzone for the green need be brought in.Once the rootzone is installed, the green contours and out-slopes are made perfect before seeding.


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Grow-in is a sensitive time. One serious thunderstorm and we are looking at immense damage.The difficult part is cleaning up, making it perfect again.

We were fortunate to have limited erosion problems, and none on this hole.


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Cleaning the bunkers. Now the birches are well over 3-meters high!


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Greenside bunker.


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A simple, inexpensive concept delivers a challenging short hole.Shortened by 50 meters, the now 135-meter (148-yard) hole is named after the greensitePulpit.


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Sand Valley Golf & CC by the Numbers

Total Schedule: 543 days. This includes Saturdays and Sundays.

Number days I worked: 517

Number of hours worked per day on average: 11 hours (includes Sat. & Sun.)

Total Hours: 5500+. My work day started on average at 06:00, and I was usually the last to leave the construction site.

Responsibilities

Golf Course Design: The golf course was designed in the field on a daily basis. An EIGCA architect began the project, but hisdesign was abandoned. The EIGCA architects general routing was used though modified.

Construction Supervisor: The construction team was largely locals.

Lead shaper: shaping all greens, all fairways and larger scale bunkers.(Caterpillar D6N & D6R) No detailed plans were used to create the greens, hazards or fairway contours. In fact, no grade stakeswere used!

Daily blog about the construction of the golf course: www.sandvalleygolf.blogspot.com

Finish work on greens in conjunction with another finishing expert.

Painting for marketing and promotion

Original: 60cm x 25cm (Acrylic on canvas)

Marketing material assistance


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At all of my projects I have either worked with a general contractor, or a crew of workers selected from the local community, saving

bundles of cash since a company claiming to specialize in golf course construction is more expensive than hiring a local crew of qualified

and conscientious operators.

Sand Valley was largely built by people that had no concept of golf none! The same was done at GC Emstal, where I worked alongside a

conscientious regional general contractor to create a project ranked among the best golf courses in Germany by Golf Digest.

BUND (Bund fr die Naturschutz Deutschland) the environmental watchdog group gave this far-reaching endorsement:

Outstanding Integration of a Golf Course Along the Ems River

We admit this: We made a mistake. What stands now is a golf course which fits in excellent harmony with the landscape of the Ems

River valley. What stood one year before was an area of 50 desolate hectares dominated by intensively cultivated cornfields. Within a

few short months this was transformed into a project which is now a model for the integration of a sports park in a protected area.

My service does not stop with the end of construction.

The reason this is such a far reaching endorsement? When golf is in question, one usually expects the direct opposite response from

BUND. They actually buy land to stop golf projects!

The best golf courses are the product of a cooperative effort between the architect and owner/superintendent to ensure the course is set

up and matures as the architect envisioned. Great courses are a labor of love, and greatness is unlikely if the designer, owner and

superintendent play only the opening round together and never see one another again. For these reasons, my services do not stop at the

end of construction. They continue for the life of the project.

For each golf course I design, I write a book documenting its architecture, construction and maintenance practices. It becomes a

comprehensive short and long term guide for the members, guests, etc., but most importantly for the superintendent and board

members. This work provides a historical record that assists in the continuing evolvement of the project, with the goal of ensuring the

design intent is never compromised, that club funds are not misspent on doing and undoing work detrimental to the design.


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Copyright 2009

+1 909.581.0080

Tony Ristola

agolfarchitect.comLeadership Driven Architecture

...Because Vision and Leadership are Inseparable

[email protected]

Design and construction are not separate jobs, but different parts of the same job

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Sand Valley Construction Progression Hole 3. Pulpit Agolfarchitect.com Version 1