Back from Virginia...got to see (but not play
) Kinloch. What a place!
I'll try and answer what I can. If I miss anything, I'll keep trying.
Cirba: Good point re: width. Now I understand what you're saying. Expansive? Yes. Despite some housing on a couple of holes, we've been able to preserve a great deal of open space. You'll see when you get out here.
Daley: I think the silt fence is still in place and I can't really answer the technical aspects of the question. I will tell you that even with all the rain we've had lately, there has been no water standing in the complex pictured and I've noticed no washout either. I will check again this morning. It's been interesting to me to see the way Gil and the guys shape the land around bunker complexes so that runoff is diverted.
Wright: The chunking method uses native fieldgrasses (they were very interested in little blue stem) sodded from the surrounding fields. They were looking for the variety of textures and colors the mix of grasses provides throughout the season. I don't know if anyone else is doing this. I believe to some degree this method was used by Mr. Valentine at Merion.
Concerning #17, the description on the website was taken from Gil's early notes for the hole. What's in the ground is obviously very different. The only thing that might filter the ball onto the green from the right is a very lucky bounce off the abruptment.
I wasn't going to change all the print material and opted not to change the website either. Let's just say it adds to the aura of confusion surrounding the hole.
I'd try and post pictures of the 17th, though it's nearly impossibe to get anything that shows the entire hole.