Architect’s Time On-Site

During Construction

100% 0 to 6%
Tony Ristola Typical
LEADERSHIP DRIVEN GOLF COURSE ARCHITECTURE

Sand Valley Golf

Pasłek, Poland
Construction Progression
6th Hole: River Dunes

agolfarchitect.com
agolfarchitect@yahoo.com
sandvalleygolf.blogspot.com
tonyristola.blogspot.com
jari@privacyharbor.com

VISION AND LEADERSHIP ARE INSEPERABLE

 For the Record
This project began with an EIGCA architect’s detailed plans, and specifications book. He was scheduled to make
the industry standard infrequent “site-visits” during construction. The golf course builder was selected on the
strength 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 architect’s 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 agolfarchitect@yahoo.com and please visit the daily blog of the
project, the first daily blog of a golf course under construction at www.sandvalleygolf.blogspot.com
My Starting Point: The previous builder drove over the wet, lowlands dumping material over small trees, grass and weed.
The area was so rutted you could barely get through it with a 4x4.
The pile of dirt in the distance is the turn point, in the far distance is the planned greensite;
when I began pushing it to turn it into a hillock, it oozed like pudding.
The greensite is being stripped of organic material, and a haul road has been made to access the fairways.
The fairway is to be elevated with 1.2 to 1.4 meters of sand.
Before bringing in fill to cap the fairways (both 6 & 7), the trees have been removed, the organic material and 10cm of topsoil stripped.
Some of the “organics” were driven to the buffer wall on 5, other material was used on this hole for hills in out of play areas.
A closer view of the process. The organic material is stripped away and the soil spike harrowed before being capped with 1.2 meters of sand.
The grade stakes are marked in 30 cm intervals, so the guys install the sand in layers.
The hill in the distance is the old material stockpiled for the subgrade of the green.
In the foreground is a hill that evolved; originally I thought of a Dike Wall Concept, which evolved into a River Dunes Concept.
A believable concept as the river runs behind and to the left of the green.
One idea was to call the hole “Railway”. Ideally the club would get a rail stop by the 6th tees, a short jaunt to the clubhouse.
 Added to the old fill stockpiled in the fairway is a mass of sandy/silty material
excavated from the lake (white pile) and left to bleed for some weeks before being spread about.
The elevation change/ledge made the hole a lot more interesting, and natural looking.
 Nearing the end of sand capping, a long, arduous process.
The hills to the right are organic material (out of play) and will be planted with bush in the future.
After the sand was installed, the depths were checked, and the area shaped. Here it’s roughed out.
Cleaned up.
Topsoil added and worked into the sand.
Grow-in.
 After the fill was in, I had several conversations with the owner about what had transpired. During the building of these holes (6&7) I believed easier
solutions could be had if the routing were changed. Later the owner commented that had he known the amount of work to bring these holes into being,
he would have opted for a different solution; a different routing. It all looks so easy on paper.
Being new to the project, and having brought to light the “numerous and egregious construction errors”, suggesting a significant routing change to the
course wasn’t going to happen. Getting this done early and well made for smoother sailing for the remainder of the project.
 I saw the pro’s as much as 80 meters apart (sideways) off the tee.
Along the right edge of the fairway, and almost out of the picture to the left.
100% manufactured. The idea originated with a Dyke Wall Concept and evolved to a River Dunes Concept.
 Dyke Wall Concept

Note:
Longer green to receive longer shots without fear of ball bounding over green
and into the River/water hazard.

Note:
For future sketch/concept.
Alt(ernative) Version like #2 St. Andrews Old; especially the entrance
 Undated Illustration.

It reflects most closely how the green was built, but misses couple key points. The
mound to the right of the green which triggered the River Dunes Concept, the elevated
plateau in the back left quarter, and swale running through the front third, draining
both left and right.

The catch basin in the front right was built, but the back left of the green and “Dune”
drains behind the green into the river.
Painting of the 6th greensite. The bunker in the painting was never constructed.
 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 architect’s 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 stakes
were 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.

The hours worked at Sand Valley are not an exception to the rule, they are the rule. This represents the same effort I have given all my
projects and is the same service all investors receive for your investment of millions. If you were to compare, I spend more time on-site
during construction in five days than most architects spend on-site during the entire project. It is this attention during the most
costly and permanent phase of design… construction… that makes an enormous difference… not the budgets. And, this is
precisely why I only do one project at a time.

42.8% of American golf course architects polled found it difficult to find qualified builders for their projects. In Europe the percentage is
far greater. Sand Valley started with an EIGCA (European Institute of Golf Course Architects) architect’s detailed plans and a golf course
builder hired on the strength of their previous work. I was brought in after 11-months and the project started anew. Virtually everything
the previous builder produced was scrapped. All greens, fairways and strategies are the product of my daily involvement and bulldozer
blade. No plans were used, only my vision of how to take a costly mess and turn it into a winning jewel for the owners.

Daily involvement speeds the effort and eliminates opportunities for error because communication between architect and builder is daily,
virtually instantaneous and based on days, weeks and months of constant observation and thought. Being present to answer questions
from the constructors immediately and not during a rare “site-visit” days or weeks later after “work completed according to plan” and has
to be redone saves time, money and increases quality significantly. For example, when a feature is under construction or the irrigation
designer shows up, I’m there at their sides answering questions before works begins and as it is being achieved, thereby attaining the
desired result... or something even better than envisioned. The owner of Sand Valley, quoted below, reveals the advantages of the
architect leading construction vs. the “typical” hit-and-run method. Having experienced both methods in action, he knows the vast
differences!

Specifically, he 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”.

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

www.fullswinggolf.com.au
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 für 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.
 agolfarchitect.com
Leadership Driven Architecture
...Because Vision and Leadership are Inseparable
Tony Ristola
agolfarchitect.com
agolfarchitect@yahoo.com
+1 909.581.0080
Design and construction are not separate jobs, but different parts of the same job

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