Course features "rushed" to completion

[Michael Blake]

I played a newer course recently and my playing partner and I noticed that on a few of the green complexes, more specifically, the collar, that there were long narrow stretches of the collar that had completely settled a few inches below the rest of the collar.  This "settling" was above rows of an irrigation system.

I shrugged it off as maybe poor maintenence (i don't even know why....sorry supers), or abundance of recent rain.

My playing partner, who is familiar with golf course construction, had a more insightful explanation:

The construction crew simply rushed the job.  They did not fill in high enough above the irrigation before seeding to allow for settling that would eventually occur.  Consequently, a three inch depression now surrounds a few greens.


It certainly makes sense and I'm not sure if the job was rushed or it was just done poorly. Or both or neither.   And it was surely something I would not have considered.  But a plausible explanation nonetheless.

Has anyone played a "newer" course and recall any features of the course that may have indicated the job was rushed?


Would love to hear from architects, supers, men/women who "shape the clay," other course construction people brave enough to share any examples they may have witnessed.  Or any that they have heard about.

Is there that much pressure from the client to, "get the job done!"

[Scott Witter]

Michael:

More often than most of us would like the project is rushed and as you can imagine there is much at stake to get the project finished, however, it should never come at the cost you describe.  Yes there is a lot of pressure, but when properly managed by the architect or via a construction manager with sufficient time in the field, this would not normally occur.

I have been involved with projects where this same situation you describe has occurred, but usually it was a result of poor, or no compaction of material in the trenches.  There is much to oversee on a large construction project and if the owner isn't paying an architect to be their representative, or not enough, these types of issues are left in the hands of the construction company who want to get done and very soon, so unfortunately this happens way too much.

If you are fortunate enough to have a situation like Tom Doak and his crew, I suspect they have the control necessary to prevent issues such as this, but typically under 'normal' architect contracts for observation services during construction, there really isn't sufficient time to monitor every construction element, most owners don't want to pay thinking they will be fine with a couple dozen visits by the architect, that is unless the firm is large enough to staff their own personell on site during construction.  I believe some do this such as RTJ2, Nicklaus and other similar firms.

[Michael Blake]

Scott,

I appreciate the honest response, especially from a designer.

The more I think about it the more I realize it probably happens much more frequently than expected, as you alluded to.  Maybe even naive of me to think otherwise.  As much as I respect the process of designing and building a course from start to finish, I guess it is like any other work project that ultimately needs to be completed on time, possibly has supervision issues, and sometimes comes at a cost.

Probably similar to constructing a new home where work is subcontracted out to the point where it becomes impossible or simply not cost-effective to micro-manage all aspects of the process.

[Joe Hancock]

Michael,

A qualified project manager, or construction superintendent is the first defense against these issues. Oft times an irrigation contractor is under the gun for time constraints, either on the project at hand or to get deployed at another project, so things go too fast to do great work.

There are many ways to compact trenches, whether by compacting equipment specifically designed to do the job, or by tires on heavy vehicles, or overfilling, etc. Some projects use water to drench the trenches to compact the soil (another reason over-irrigation is bad for golf courses).

Architects should be on the lookout for such items during construction, but as Scott says, sometimes the methodology doesn't allow for constant scrutiny.

DeVries is always telling me to not be so "clean" when I'm shaping, but I hate leaving anything behind in the dirt that looks like "construction". Of course, I may be the only one to see it later, but still.....

Joe

[Scott Witter]

Michael:

I think your question/observation really, is a good one...it shows you are looking and noticing

Not naive at all IMO and you seem to appreciate the complexitites involved with a large scale project such as this.  This is why so many owners who do understand take it into consideration and pay to have their architect on board and in the field to protect their interests...it really is the only way to find the best design as well, gets the details right, etc...but this has been discussed before.  More clients/owners should really let their architects execute their contracts with at least 75% to be done in the field, but many local, state and federal agencies prevent this creative process from happening and require extensive drawings...only for them to be quickly tossed in the truck during construction so we can REALLY built what we want.  My comment is partially tongue and cheek, but you get the point

Joe:

I agree with Mike about not getting to finished or "clean" with basic shaping for often you lose much of the character.  Your concern is well intended and it shows your integrity to do the best...also a lot depends on who you are shaping for and based on observations of Mikes work, he seems like one of the last guys who would want to see it too finished or pretty, but this is altogether different from getting a trench compacted properly.  That is just simlpy lazy and poor workmanship   and there is no excuse for it whether regardless if someone is around to monitor it or not.

[Michael Dugger]

even after compacting the hell out of something it will continue to settle, especially when it comes to new construction.

Give them a break.  

Any stand up construction co. would return to "fix" these slight problems.