In surveys of developers, weather is one of the top challenges. All it takes is a stretch of bad weather to bring the construction site to a halt for weeks. At the wrong time it can erase months of work. In this area, you're going to have luck... good or bad.It's another reason I prefer to be on-site daily. The architect/visionary making fast, knowledgeable, pro-active decisions, in communication with the builders on a daily basis speeds the process, ensures all details and opportunities to improve the project are implemented, and gives the best possible chance to hit the seeding window... even with delays. This focus and commitment has helped save investors from long delays from scheduled openings more than once.
At Der Golf Club in Obing, Bavaria we were hit by a full month rain delay, and it was questionable whether we would finish in time to seed, but as luck would have it the weather cleared up and we were able to get the job done... expertly and full of detail, and seeded. It wouldn't have happened without having the architect on-site daily, and the owner would be the first to tell you so. This commitment ensured the owner could open the next season, allowing them to collect dues for the year, preventing them from having to maintain the course for a year without any incoming revenue, and having to take on a partner. It saved them 250,000 Euros and a host of headaches.
Der Golf Club, Obing: 9th Hole
Friday evening the light rain began, powered through the entire night, melting the snow (See related post: http://guthahuesgolf.blogspot.com/2010/12/matsche-pampe-slopsville.html ). So when I headed to the site Monday morning and saw the frost I didn't think it would be strong enough to support the machines through a long day. One night's frost usually isn't enough to turn slop to steel, capable of supporting 10 to 35 tons of machine for the entire day.
Surprise! The ground had frozen the soil several inches, turning the entire surface from slop into an asphalt-like consistency. Perfect for the track scraper to make its runs from the pond to the roadside, where it will deposit fill at a depth of 30-plus meters and a height of 5-meters.
Tony Ristola
www.agolfarchitect.com
agolfarchitect@yahoo.com
+1(909) 581 0080
