Tree Planting Day

A number of Hazlnut and Oaks were transplanted today.























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

Photo's of the 5th with Sand Finally Installed

The first two photos are from the blog on January 25th, 2011 (Click back: http://guthahuesgolf.blogspot.com/2011/01/reshaping-fairway-bunker-on-current-5th.html). The color photo is before making the bunker smaller. The Sepia photo is a Conceptual Illustration of how it could look like after the changes to the small bunker in the foreground and the larger in the background. I never brought the illustration in the field as a reference, but am pretty surprised at how similar the result is.





Before










Conceptual Illustration













Today










The guys hard at work spreading sand































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

Obvious Change of Direction

As some have noticed, the bunkers built last year, and those constructed this year are taking on a very different character. The old bunker forms were provisional. The idea from the beginning has been to create a collection of bunkers and details that reflect the design style of the Golden Age of Golf Course Architecture (1900-35). If you haven't seen anything like it... Great! It means we are on our way to creating a unique identity in the area.

The bunker work is just one part of the new direction to make holes more interesting, memorable, fun and beautiful. The goal isn't to make the new holes look like the old holes, but to have the new holes drive the new direction, and slowly but surely rework the old holes so each has its own individual character that ties into the new general theme. This way the course develops it own truly unique identity from the courses in the region and from the 750 courses in the country. And it's such courses people are willing to travel to to play. If it's the same course as everywhere else... why bother?

The B&W photos are of some bunkers from the Golden Age, and they reveal how the art of excellent, natural, artistic bunker creation has been lost in modern times.














































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

A Bunker Right in the Middle

It doesn't look like much now, but straight down the middle, on the optimal line, 200 to 230-meters (the Men's tee is 30-meters long) from the tee is a central bunker for the 4th hole. For the ladies it is 145-meters from the tee.

Some folks might be asking, why put a bunker exactly where the golfer would like to go? Because it makes the tee shot most interesting, and with the width of the fairway, it offers all manner of options; going left, right, playing short or carrying the bunker. For most golfers, they won't reach the bunker, so it should be an easy carry with their second shots.

The key to keeping this interesting is maintaining the fairway all around the bunker, as narrow fairways make for boring golf. If the fairway left of the bunker is turned to rough, that option is taken away. If the fairway is narrowed, other options are taken away. So the key is keeping the fairway mowed wide so there is flexibility, options, and room to maneuver!


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

They're Baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

The irrigation crew is back to install the mainline ring for the new holes.

The trencher cutting the mainline, followed by the crew rolling out pipe and cable.


















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

16 Minutes of Tee Grading in 4 Minutes Part II

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

16 Minutes of Tee Grading in 4 Minutes Part 1

But first the still photos.

Andreas is using modern technology to level the large tee on the 4th hole. No need to have someone check grades, his on-board equipment controls the blade.






















































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