Siting of the Maintenance Building at Sand Hills

[Tyler Kearns]

Sand Hills is a remote golf club, and the fact that the only hint of civilization while playing the course is Ben's Porch adds to the beauty and charm of the experience.  The clubhouse is a mile removed from the golf course, situated across a high ridge and alongside the Dismal River.  Whether by design or for practical purposes, not having the clubhouse in view further enhances the middle of nowhere feel to a round at Sand Hills.  

I was browsing through my photos today, and was reminded of the roofline of the maintenance building being visible from the fourth tee.  Did anybody else notice this when they played?  I did, and was disappointed because I felt it marred the view and took a little away from that isolated feeling.  Given all the land at their disposal, couldn't the building have been sited better, hidden behind the dunes or constructed at a lower elevation on the property?  Was this overlooked, or did some site constraints demand the building to be erected where it is?



TK

[Wade Whitehead]

It's a pretty high standard to expect not to see a man-made structure at any point during a round of golf.

WW

[Tyler Kearns]

It's a pretty high standard to expect not to see a man-made structure at any point during a round of golf.

WW

Wade,

I agree, and would never expect that, but they seemed to have had that opportunity at Sand Hills and didn't take advantage of it.  There must only be a few golf courses where the clubhouse is not visible during a round of golf.  They took the effort to hide the bathroom behind #15 tee in such a manner that you don't see it while you play, and I think that was a conscious decision to preserve the nature appearance of the golf course.  It seems like a missed opportunity, that is all.

TK

[Mike Benham]

[Sam Morrow]

Sorry Tyler but you're reaching on this.

[Tyler Kearns]

Mike,

I wouldn't knock the quality of the golf experience because of this.  Sand Hills is phenomenal, and I'm sure, like you, most would find my comments to be nit-picking to the extreme.  But if you think golf architects don't consider these types of issues, then you are mistaken.  Would the view not be improved if the maintenance building was not visible?

TK

[Tyler Kearns]

Sorry Tyler but you're reaching on this.

Sam,

I don't argue that, there are few things to quibble about when discussing Sand Hills, it is that special a golf course.  I'll ask you the same question, wouldn't the view from the tee be improved if you couldn't see the maintenance building?

TK

[Sam Morrow]

Sorry Tyler but you're reaching on this.

Sam,

I don't argue that, there are few things to quibble about when discussing Sand Hills, it is that special a golf course.  I'll ask you the same question, wouldn't the view from the tee be improved if you couldn't see the maintenance building?

TK

Honestly I didn't even notice the building. I only saw it because the super pointed it out to me. You could put a billboard up behind the green and I'd still think it's a great hole, just don't put up a fan or Kav will be all over it.

[Neil_Crafter]

I think Tyler has a point and there is no shark jumping in there that I can see.
As an architect I'd be disappointed if that was the end result on one of my courses. In fact we are usually heavily involved in the siting of maintenance facilities and we would have done our utmost to have screened it behind some dunes, and I can see there is no shortage of those. I'm with you TK!

[Sean_A]

I think Tyler has a point and there is no shark jumping in there that I can see.
As an architect I'd be disappointed if that was the end result on one of my courses. In fact we are usually heavily involved in the siting of maintenance facilities and we would have done our utmost to have screened it behind some dunes, and I can see there is no shortage of those. I'm with you TK!

I too am with you TK.  Someway, somehow, especially if the freakin' house is a mile away, that shed should not be in sight.  Maybe there wasn't a choice, in which case you find another way to deal with the problem.  So much about these modern courses is visuals so its important to get it right.

I recall not understanding the placement of the box in the pic below.  Its not a huge deal, but quality is in the detalis.


Ciao

[Kevin_Reilly]

I didn't notice it when I played there.   My eyes were drawn to the bunker and other natural features.  Next time (if there is a next time), I will notice the maintenance shed, thanks to TK. 

[Ally Mcintosh]

Tyler - I too would like to know.

Also, what drove the decision to place the clubhouse so far away? Is it a full mile from 1 tees / 18 green?

[Anders Rytter]

Tyler - I too would like to know.

Also, what drove the decision to place the clubhouse so far away? Is it a full mile from 1 tees / 18 green?

Ally,
Remember that it's not only the clubhouse but also 15-20'ish cabins, parkinglot etc. Clubhouse and cabins are located on a fantastic spot down by Dismal river (atleast a river, i believe it's Dismal river) with some trees and an abundant animal life. I have no insights into why they have choosen to do as is, but wouldn't be surprised if those circumstances are part of the answer to your question.

[Adam Clayman]

Tyler - I too would like to know.

Also, what drove the decision to place the clubhouse so far away? Is it a full mile from 1 tees / 18 green?

Ally, The reason the clubhouse is over a mile from the course is because the ground closer, wasn't conducive to great golf. It's a fact that C&C didn't get far enough away from the river, on their first visit, to find the golf course. When they returned to Mr. Youngsacp and told him they didn't find "it", he was really disappointed. As the option on the ground was expiring, he convinced them to take another look. When they did find "it", they reported back and told Dick the trip was on them.

As an aside, after their initial visit, they suggested ground that they had seen on the drive up from North Platte. Mr. Youngscap's response was that he wasn't going to build in a dry county. (dry meaning no alcohol)

[Sean Leary]

I am guessing that once again, the two dimension view from the pictures makes it look far worse than in person...

[JimB]

I never have noticed it but most of my plays have been from the tee that looks directly down the fairway. That looks like the back tee that is higher and to the left so it looks directly towards the building. I have played from there at least once. Didn't notice it then either but if I had I would probably been more interested in how seamlessly the roof line blends with that one lower ridge-line than bothered by it. Plus, it seems like the sun is reflecting pretty strongly at that angle. Wonder what it looks like at different times of day? I think there is some of this at play as well.

I am guessing that once again, the two dimension view from the pictures makes it look far worse than in person...

[Wade Whitehead]

Would any of you prefer that the windmill late in the round be removed or placed behind a dune?

WW

[Scott Stearns]

Are you looking at the Flagstick, or are you looking at something else?

[RJ_Daley]

Ty, this is a matter of camera perspective.  Here is a more realistic vision taken from still higher above the gent on the high tee at 4.  Even from higher than the actual tee, the roof is barely visable even with sun glare.



...and your tele-photo element that distorts the distance.



I do not believe you can see the roof from the member tees.  And, you may not be able to see them from eye level of the tee in question.  But, the site of the maintanace had to be somewhere relatively close to get the machines efficiently to maintain the entire course.  It cost $$$ and longer machine runs wear and tear just to get to the area to be maintained is a factor, along with cost to run power lines out there, it seems to me.

[Tyler Kearns]

Would any of you prefer that the windmill late in the round be removed or placed behind a dune?

WW

Wade,

A fair question, why does the windmill get a pass & not the maintenance building?  I think the windmill adds character to the course, it is a relic of past land use and something found throughout the prairie landscape.  When constructing any structure on a golf course, I believe it should add to the visual experience, not detract.  I've seen numerous photos posted here illustrating wonderful looking irrigation pump houses (Sagebrush comes to mind), and that attention to detail matters.

TK

[Tyler Kearns]

Sorry Tyler but you're reaching on this.

Sam,

I don't argue that, there are few things to quibble about when discussing Sand Hills, it is that special a golf course.  I'll ask you the same question, wouldn't the view from the tee be improved if you couldn't see the maintenance building?

TK

Tyler is right, but it's like arguing that the '61 La Tour would have been a little better if Pauillac had had just two more hours of hot sunny conditions that summer.

Dave,

Exactly.  This is nit-picking over minute details, which in this case I think may have been overlooked and could be easily rectified.

TK

[Tyler Kearns]

Are you looking at the Flagstick, or are you looking at something else?

Scott,

The sandhills landscape is mesmerizing, your eyes can't help but be drawn off into the distance.  It is also pretty hard not to be looking all around, finding new holes and shots amidst the perfect golf terrain.

TK

[Tyler Kearns]

Ty, this is a matter of camera perspective.  Here is a more realistic vision taken from still higher above the gent on the high tee at 4.  Even from higher than the actual tee, the roof is barely visable even with sun glare.



...and your tele-photo element that distorts the distance.



I do not believe you can see the roof from the member tees.  And, you may not be able to see them from eye level of the tee in question.  But, the site of the maintanace had to be somewhere relatively close to get the machines efficiently to maintain the entire course.  It cost $$$ and longer machine runs wear and tear just to get to the area to be maintained is a factor, along with cost to run power lines out there, it seems to me.

RJ,

All valid points, and I do understand that there may very well be some site constraints, practical maintenance reasons or budgetary restrictions that determined the final location of the maintenance building.  Perhaps I'm a little crazy to wonder about this stuff, but I can't help it.

TK

[RJ_Daley]

Well Ty, I can think of a lot more worrisome things to be obsessed about! 

An interesting thing that Dan Proctor told me about the construction process on that land, is that they built the holes in an order that never had them moving machinery across areas that they didn't want to be on the actual service paths and roads that go through the property or off into rough that and land that wasn't to be seeded to FW.  They were very careful to stick to one narrow series of paths when moving equipment.  Perhaps the maintenance site also takes into account a specific method or route that they feel was most careful of the virgin prairie when sending out the maintenance fleet each day. 

You know that one can still go into the prairie around there and find wagon wheel trails where the rpairie sward hasn't yet recovered from the old settler wagon train days 150 years ago. 

[Ally Mcintosh]

Well Ty, I can think of a lot more worrisome things to be obsessed about! 

An interesting thing that Dan Proctor told me about the construction process on that land, is that they built the holes in an order that never had them moving machinery across areas that they didn't want to be on the actual service paths and roads that go through the property or off into rough that and land that wasn't to be seeded to FW.  They were very careful to stick to one narrow series of paths when moving equipment.  Perhaps the maintenance site also takes into account a specific method or route that they feel was most careful of the virgin prairie when sending out the maintenance fleet each day. 

You know that one can still go into the prairie around there and find wagon wheel trails where the rpairie sward hasn't yet recovered from the old settler wagon train days 150 years ago. 

An interesting and important point and the same can be applied to links landscapes. Once touched, the native areas do not grow back in the same.