Land formation of Sand Hills Golf Course

[Brian Phillips]

I played Sand Hills this year and of course was very impressed with the golf course.

Does anyone know the true history of the land formation in that area.  I realise that it is sand but can anyone tell me how the sand dunes were formed?

Is there anywhere i can get this information or can anyone tell me.  You can post here or send me an e-mail to:

brian@phillipsgolfdesign.com

Cheers

Brian Phillips

[Jim_Kennedy]

Brian,
Try this for starters.

http://csd.unl.edu/csd/illustrations/ra5a/geologyintro.html

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Brian,  

Assuming you are not fluent in Geological Geek Speak.  I will try to recall in plain english from my Geology 107 (Physical Geology) class at South Dakota School of Mines (called by all of us non-geological engineering majors as "Geology for Nonbelievers")

The best quick answer is that prior to the plate movements that caused the Rockies to push up millions of years ago that swath throught Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota used to be an ocean.  Fossils support this theory.  So Nebraska used to be ocean front property at sometime thus the occurance of linksland out there in what is now the middle of the country.

(A bit of trivia the geographical center of the US is in South Dakota).

[Brian Phillips]

Turboe,

Actually it would be great if you could quote some geology terminology about Sand Hills as this is for my geomorphology essay about landformation and why it is important for architects to have an understanding of them to help them with routing and advising on a golf course.

Thank you for the quick help.

Jim,

Thanks for that it is a great site for me to quote.

Thanks

Brian.

[A_Clay_Man]

My completly uneducated ill informed opinion would be that they are caused because they are on the leeward side of the rockies and with the wind being such a dominate feature thats where the sand has settled over the millenia.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Brian,
I'm happy the info helps although I wish it was obtained by first-hand exploration.  

[RJ_Daley]

Brian, indeed that link from Jim is one of the best I have seen to explain the geology of the sand hill region.  But, follow links from that homepage to also learn of the plant biology and water resources.  The university of Nebraska has some essays on various web sites that also have good info on the natural resources out there.  One is the USGS stuff on the high plains aquifer, or Ogallala aquifer.  

Old fashion research and internet searches should turn up all the geological terminology you can use in one essay.  Why these processes are important to know is that routing a course over terrain where the substrata chracteristics for drainage and ground water movement and cylces of replenishment is known, can add tho the efficiency and consistent best uses of the resources to build and maintain the golf course.

The beauty of the Sand Hills is that generally there are from 50 to 100+ feet of great particle characteristic sand, some soilloam formation from plant growth and rebirth cycles with an abundant aquifer easily accessible beneath.  

[Jeff Mingay]

Brian,

If I recall correctly, National Geographic did a comprehensive feature on the Sand Hills of Nebraska. It was probably during the late 1980s or early '90s that the article appeared in the magazine.

National Geographic must have a well-organized archive, with back issues available for purchase.

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Indeed as A_Clay_Man said the surface features have been shaped and refined by the everpresent wind out there on the prarie.  The fact that there are no trees (or at least very few) out in that part of the country allows the wind to run free (a fact anyone who has ever been outside on a typical January day in South Dakota can vouch for.)

The sand at Sand Hills itself is also unique.  This Alluvial Sand (deposited by water, in this case the receding ocean) is nearly perfectly spherical in shape. If you look at most silica sand it has sharp edges, more cubic in shape.  Pick up some Sand Hills sand and look very closely (I did) it is amazing how nearly perfectly spherical it is.  This allows for less compaction over these deep layers it has, thus giving it its incredible percolation rate.  

Also what is amazing about this sand again because it does not compact or become easily bound with other sand particles, is it flows easily.  Step on a steep faced bunker at Sand Hills and you will likely get a quick lesson in particle flow (as well as gravity).  You will not walk down any bunker faces at SH as you would at some other parkland courses. This is what literally allows the wind to sculpt the sand and hollow out bunkers as we have so often heard of at Sand Hills or TOC lore.  I personally (and I hate to admit this in public) stood for several minutes and just watched the wind work its awesome power on one of the bunkers at SH.  The wind was blowing sand steadily up a bunker face nearly 10ft high.  Then periodically when it reached unstable proportions most of it would slide back down into the botom of the bunker.  It was amazing as an engineer to watch this with the perfectly spherical shape it flowed down the hill nearly like water!

Having said that something had to put all of that perfectly spherical sand out there in the first place and that can be attributed to the prehistoric sea that covered that area.  Plate Tectonics took care of that sea by dramatically altering the surface of this part of the planet.  Pushing up what is now the Rockies and everything west of center on this continent.

Hope this helps it is a mixture of what I remember from Geol classes 12 years ago, and field work performed at SH itself a few years ago.  Now that is my kind of classroom.  

[Jim_H]

Turboe, you sound like you know far more than I, but I was told by people in the area that the "inland sea" theory had been discredited because the overall land area is convex, not concave as a former sea would be.  They said that there was no commonly-agreed-upon theory as to the geological cause.

[Slag_Bandoon]

 Brian, There is a book called "An Atlas of the Sand Hills", first published in 1989 that I've yet to attack studiously that (upon lax perusal and picture gleaning) encompasses just about every attribute of the area.  I got mine off ebay for about 12 clams + shpg.    I have more books than time but am looking forward to this one.  There is no mention of golf in this book as it is purely scientific in direction.    

  

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Jim H.

One thing I did learn back in engineering school is whether you know what you are talking about or not, as long as you sound like you do, most people will believe you.

This theory I explained is what I had heard several times during college and living out there as a kid.  If you go into the musuem of geology on the camus of SDSM&T where I went to college they have various skeletons of huge amphibous creatures that have been found all over the great plains area that would lead you to believe that this used to be an ocean.  

I dont know for sure, that is just what they taught us.  I cant say decisively, as I am a Metallurgical Engineer not a Geological Engineer.  I took just enough geology classes in college to graduate (or as Steve Martin used to say I remember just enough to screw me up for the rest of my life).

[A_Clay_Man]

As far as I know the whole planet use to be underwater. But from my reasoning the sand hills may have a foundation from an ancient sea but I don't see how they would've formed the way they are now, because of that sea. The lack of rock is dominate in my reasoning. Whereas here in NM the flippin rocks are everywhere and are what I would expect to find on a sea floor.

I think the usga spent a wad figuring out that rounded silica is better. They re-did the first green at Del monte using the round stuff and even drove the grass layer down to PS in a truck and shipped it back after removing the not so well rounded particles.

[stone roller]

Volcanic "ash" and Rocky Mt. runoff mixed with the sweat of Sisyphus's brow.