New course at Sutton Bay

[Derek Dirksen]

Tiger, the clubhouse and cabins are a LONG WAY from the actual course (on the opposit side of the bay).  They are located on top of the bluffs where the ground is flat.  Very few rocks and better soil. 

[Dan Herrmann]

Tiger - It's at least a mile from the clubhouse to the course.  And the clubhouse is WAY above the lake level.

That said, I have to admit that I thought about responsibilities - Yikes, the State of PA won't even allow us to treat an algae bloom in a pond without "studies" let alone build close to a waterway.  As far as I know, South Dakota doesn't have much in the way of (governmental)  oversight.   Just my opinion, but something between the PA/SD extremes would probably work well by protecting the landowner and the environment.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Dan To me this is business due diligence rather than government regulation. I feel bad for the project especially if it was their money involved. It is hard enough to make money in this business without having to redo a course.

[Tony Weiler]

Any updates on the progress at Sutton Bay?  Does Mark Amundson ever post anymore?  I may try to stop in there on my way home from Dismal, but haven't heard much lately. 

[Adam Clayman]

Tony, I just met Jack D. yesterday. He said they had built one new nine last year, and, have either just finished building the remainder, or, are about to finish.

He told me the new course sits up above the original course, on some old farm ground. They did need to move some dirt, but after the grass was planted, it softened the look considerably.

[Tony Weiler]

Thanks, Adam.  Are they playing any of it yet?

[Gary_K]

Update - Article today in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader about the new course at Sutton Bay:

http://www.argusleader.com/article/20121005/GOOUTDOORS/310050034/Paradise-lost-?nclick_check=1

[David_Tepper]

Gary K. -

Very interesting article. Thanks for the link. Living in California, we regularly see and hear about land forms shifting along the coastline, but it is a little surprising to read that the same things can happen in the middle of the country.

At the risk of going a bit off topic, I wonder how long it will be before we read about the land/dunes shifting under Trump's course in Scotland.

DT

[Dan Herrmann]

If I recall correctly, the new course is up above the original 18th tee on a plateau.   

[Ken Moum]

Gary K. -

Very interesting article. Thanks for the link. Living in California, we regularly see and hear about land forms shifting along the coastline, but it is a little surprising to read that the same things can happen in the middle of the country.

At the risk of going a bit off topic, I wonder how long it will be before we read about the land/dunes shifting under Trump's course in Scotland.

DT

If you'd spent as much time walking the river breaks around the Sutton ranch as I have, you would probably be wondering why iy hadn't happened sooner.  I hunted that area a lot between 1975 and 1998, and when I heard they were building a course there I was a little surprised.

In my experience the landforms that along Lake Oahe and the other reservoirs in SD are very unstable.  Mark Amundson's comments about the stability of them are little misleading IMHO.  The slumps and slides there have mostly happened since the dams were built in the 1960s. 

And I have seen some major slumps take place in areas near Sutton Bay.  The water levels have long been subject to large fluctuations because the lakes are used for flood control, power production and to stabilize river-based shipping.  The boat ramps on the river have been extended a couple of times, to the point where some of them are in the area of a half-mile long.

The recent extremes of high water certainly exacerbated the situation, but anyone looking at the terrain in that are had to realize that stability was going to be an issue.

Maybe if the record low water of a few years ago hadn't been followed by record high water last year, they'd have gotten by without too much trouble.  But water level variation of a amazing proportion is part of the deal there.

K

[Dan Herrmann]

Yep. When we visited last year, Pierre was full of sandbags from recent floods.  Made me wonder if the Missouri River shouldn't have been dammed at all.

[David Schofield]

I assume that the major factor for abandoning it is that the irrigation pipes were damaged by subsidence.  Would it be possible to maintain the old course in a barely playable state with a bit of mowing?

[Jaeger Kovich]

I got to see a lot of interesting golf courses in 2012. Over 3 continents, sand greens, lava rocks, landfills and more, Sutton Bay, near Pierre, South Dakota stands out as having the most interesting and unique site of the year for me. As the original golf course at Sutton Bay gets transitioned out, I wanted to share some pictures of a really good golf course that perhaps explain the situation... A sad situation, Sutton Bay is/was a good golf course on a spectacular site.... My condolences to Mark A, and the members


Ran's 2006 profile in Courses by Country of Sutton Bay before the ground started to slip
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/sutton-bay-sd-usa/

This a crack going though the 6th tee


A playable crack through a fairway... cannot tell if it was fixed or just small and not worth fixing


An irrigation break... originally pvc, many of the breaks have been fixed with hdpe, which has stronger connections and fused together to limit the aprox 120 (i think this is the number?!) irrigation breaks a year


#7 tee.. seems like the old tee was where the ground started slipping on left, and further back


An abandoned hole... it was replaced by a par-3 which plays to the original practice green


#9... great view from one of the return holes. Sutton Bay has an out/back routing


View across the landcape


#13 from a slip turned cart path


An elevation view of a slip on #15

[Jason Hines]

Hi Jaeger,

Every so often I go back to Google Earth to check on the physical progress of the new and the regression of the old course at Sutton Bay.  Can you shed any light on the current situation with the opening of the new course and were you able to get a sneak peek?  Thanks for the photos.

http://goo.gl/maps/WkHxC

[RJ_Daley]

I don't know what the new routing will offer.  I hope that being on top of the break zones is safe.  But, I can't help but wonder if the breaks will invade or effect the large area of the clubhouse and cabin facilities as well.  Does anyone know what the status of the building structures is, of if they have been relocated as well?  It just leaves a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and regrets for Mark and the folks involved out there.

[Sam Morrow]

For anyone who has made the drive how long would you say it takes to get from Sutton Bay to Sand Hills/Dismal River?

[Jaeger Kovich]

For anyone who has made the drive how long would you say it takes to get from Sutton Bay to Sand Hills/Dismal River?

I think we drove it in 4.5 hrs from DR (including the entrance road!) to Sutton Bay... Prairie Club is closer by nearly 2 hrs

[Sam Morrow]

For anyone who has made the drive how long would you say it takes to get from Sutton Bay to Sand Hills/Dismal River?

I think we drove it in 4.5 hrs from DR (including the entrance road!) to Sutton Bay... Prairie Club is closer by nearly 2 hrs

The shortest way on google maps has 5.5 but I always take that with a grain of salt. I know that it took me about 1 45 to get from Prairie Club to Sand Hills

[Jaeger Kovich]

I don't know what the new routing will offer.  I hope that being on top of the break zones is safe.  But, I can't help but wonder if the breaks will invade or effect the large area of the clubhouse and cabin facilities as well.  Does anyone know what the status of the building structures is, of if they have been relocated as well?  It just leaves a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and regrets for Mark and the folks involved out there.

The clubhouse was open this summer. They built a putting course/practice green right in front of it, so I assume it is safe. It was very nice inside.

[Tyler Kearns]

Jaeger,

Pretty sad to look at those pictures.  The linked aerial is equally depressing, seeing a real good golf course going back to nature.
I'm glad I was able to see the course shortly after in opened, and can attest that the site was visually stunning.  This has been a very unfortunate turn of events for the membership and Mark Amundsen - who proudly hosted me there during their first season and who really seemed to enjoy showing off the golf course. 

I hope the new golf course is a success, and look forward to seeing Graham Marsh's efforts.

TK