We have five holes seeded in Santa Martina and thought some might find interesting some photos of this stage of construction and then later on post some photos after opening sometime in November
hopefully! The tenth hole is a medium length par four, sharp dogleg left.
The teeīs stair step down the hillside. There is room to go further back but you continue going higher so there is a compensation effect and for now I felt no need to go further. The property is located about 4,000 feet above sea level so well struck shots are traveling further due to the high elevation and therefore the total yardage is long from the back tee. I believe we will come in around 3800 yards.
This photo is taken from the ladies tee, there are two bunkers to the right of the landing area, the first maybe grass or sand and the second will be sand for sure. The small tree will be transplanted in the next month. The rocks in the back ground are an overflow creek and lake interconnect drainage way that should be dry eight months of the years and have a small current four months of the year. The bunker on the left frames the landing and creates a risk reward for shot for low handicappers that desire to cut the corner. It will take a 250 drive on the fly to do so but the slope after the bunker is downhill and towards the middle of the fairway.
This photo is taken from just outside the right bunkers in area that will be seeded with tall fescues and this area will be one of the few areas where we will also add a few grouping of native trees. The green is visible in the background and the shade to the right is a bunker. The photo captures some of the natural gradual movement of the property we were able to retain.
If you donīt carry the left bunker, you will be faced with this deep bunker penal recovery shot. The bunker is at least ten feet deep and blind to the green surface. How bout them ANDES, what a pleasure for a background!
Another view of the landing area bunker right with the fescues behind them to create a natural separation between this hole and hole nine which runs parallel.
Another view of the bunker left
This photo was taken from the landing area about one hundred and fifty yards out. The green is in the middle of the photo and the shadow is a bunker protecting the right third of the green. I think you could do just about anything in relation to the green and it surrounding and be ok with this back ground. There is no background horizon to aid in perception but there is a big lake in back of the green but hopefully out of play for most. The greens has gentle movement the most gentle of the back nine.
A close up of the bunker wall which will need to be sodded.
A view from the far right side of the hole looking towards the bunker. The idea is not to have an outside established grass edge on the bunker. The bunker ends at the over flow creek and the sand will just die out and spill into the creek.
Hole 11
The eleventh hole is a long par five close to six hundred yards, straight away
The tee shot drop to a fairly open landing area near the start of the trees. There are no bunkers but you will find to the right, the one lake incorporated into the back nine design for the necessity of a water reservoir. The landing also opens to the left a little not shown in the photo.
This is a view of the rest of the hole. The bridge shot is uphill as is the rest of the hole to a natural plateau where the green is set. The second landing area is defined and guarded by three bunkers, which cross the fairways in a diagonal manner. Left bunker is deep and will be penal in nature but not as penal as hole number ten. You have a lot of land between the green and this bunker and also represent the best avenue for attacking the pin. Have not decided if the two pot bunkers will be sand or grass or sand and grass, I like to wait till the last minute and try to feel these decisions. The green is protected in the front by yet another deep bunker, the last shadow in the photo. Long hitter will be able to roll the ball onto the green but only by carrying the bunker to the left, the natural slope will carry the ball onto the surface if hit correctly but they will be few and far in between. The fairway is designed to circular the entire green.
A closer look at the bunker on the left and the diagonial placement of the other two bunekrs
laying up short
plenty of area after the bunker left