[Don_Mahaffey]

Could this be architecturally interesting?
Soil description of 200 acres near my home, not viewed as "good" land.

[edit: aquifer under site has abundant water, ground water district easy to work with, site abuts small river (I was surprised to see report state zero possibility of flooding)
Site is with 1 mile of US hwy (4 lane) and less then 1 mile from town of 5,000, 12 miles (all hwy) from town of 80K and 90 miles from 4th largest city in the country]


Don’s County, Texas
RuC—Rupley sand, 1 to 5 percent slopes

Map Unit Setting
Landscape: Coastal plains, river valleys
Elevation: 50 to 250 feet
Mean annual precipitation: 36 to 42 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 70 to 72 degrees F
Frost-free period: 265 to 300 days


Description of Rupley Setting
Landform: Terraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Tread
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Parent material: Sandy alluvium of late pleistocene age

Properties and qualities
Slope: 1 to 5 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
Drainage class: Somewhat excessively drained
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): High to
very high (5.95 to 19.98 in/hr)
Depth to water table: About 60 to 72 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Maximum salinity: Nonsaline (0.0 to 2.0 mmhos/cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum: 2.0
Available water capacity: Low (about 3.1 inches)

Interpretive groups:
Farmland classification: Not prime farmland
Land capability (non-irrigated): 6s (Class VI (6) soils have severe limitations that make them generally unsuited to cultivation and that limit their use mainly to pasture, range, forestland, or wildlife food and cover… Subclass s is made up of soils that have soil limitations within the rooting zone, such as shallowness of the rooting zone, stones, low moisture-holding capacity[/color](all farming here is dryland) low fertility that is difficult to correct, and salinity or sodium content.)
Hydrologic Soil Group: A (Group A—Soils in this group have low runoff potential when thoroughly wet. Water is transmitted freely through the soil. Group A soils typically have less than 10 percent clay and more than 90 percent sand or gravel and have gravel or sand textures. Some soils having loamy sand, sandy loam, loam or silt loam textures may be placed in this group if they are well aggregated, of low bulk density, or contain greater than 35 percent rock fragments)

Ecological site: Deep Sand 35-42"
Typical profile
0 to 6 inches: Sand
6 to 80 inches: Sand

Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Web Soil Survey

[Ben Sims]

Don,

I know I'm not telling you anything new here.  There's a go-jillion square miles of hydrologic soil group A, with high perc rates, zero flooding potential, with convex cross slopes in another part of this country.  It's called the Sand Hills.  Crappy land for golf obviously.

Although I'm dead positive there's not any features of that scale on this property, I bet there's enough to be interesting.  And obviously the soil report is a dream.  I'm in Texas for 72 more hours, shall I come visit? 

[Sam Morrow]

I'm free tomorrow, I will bring booze.

[Don_Mahaffey]

Ben, yes there is a lot of soil group A in the world, but not in my neck of the woods.
This site is heavily wooded so clearing would be the largest construction costs.
There is a paved road, and 3 phase power, to the property.
Plus I know someone who could build it for a very reasonable cost

[Tom_Doak]

Clearing is expensive.

The key question is how many golf courses are there in the town of 80,000?  And is the town vibrant enough to support a $50-60 green fee for a really good course?

[Sam Morrow]

Clearing is expensive.

The key question is how many golf courses are there in the town of 80,000?  And is the town vibrant enough to support a $50-60 green fee for a really good course?

if you build it they will come

[Don_Mahaffey]

Tom,
There are three golf courses in the larger town.
The smaller town has a little 9 hole course with about 120 members, which is the only course in this county of 15,000 people. Their course is on leased land and the land owner passed away and his kids have no interest in golf. The club puts zero money into the course because they do not own the land, so the days there are numbered(course been there since the 50s. no irrigation other than QCs at greens). Many of those members would be the core of this new course. Some of them are the ones who took me to this land. They also play Wolf Point with me, and they'd like something like that, even if its only nine holes, but with some clever tee design to make for an interesting 18 holes of golf.

A project like this would now really be about making money; it would be about just finding a way to make it pay for itself. With the growth in the area, (oil/gas boom in full swing here) I do think its possible. Of course, with next to no profit motive its almost impossible to get anyone with deep pockets interested. It would be more of a Wildhorse "barn raising" then the traditional golf development model.

You remember the wooded holes at WP, 15, 16, 17...that's about what this site is like, except for the sand and topography. 

Ben, I wouldn't rush down here in the next three days, as I'll probably still be trying to find a way to make it happen when you are getting out of the AF in 15 years. Come see it then.

[Blake Conant]

Does the analysis suggest that what's beneath the surface plays MORE of a role in determining a golf course site than what's above ground (as long as we have a basic idea about landforms, land cover, and slopes)?  When looking at a golf site, how much emphasis should be placed in what's beneath the surface?

[Don_Mahaffey]

Blake,
In this case, and from my perspective, yes it does. Why?

1. In this economy, when I look at this type of project, I have to work backwards, starting with what $$$ would be required to care for a course on this land. There are no courses on pure sand within 75 miles that I know of. Why does that matter? because in this climate with the heat, sun, and abundant rain, growing grass is not the problem, growing good golf turf for a reasonable cost is the challenge. I think this combo of sand, climate, and water availability represents a course that can be very reasonably maintained - 9 holes, 50 total acres, 2 acres of greens, the rest cut at 1/2 inch with production mower, bunkers built with native sand, estimate maint budget 250k.

2. Even though there would be significant clearing costs, the abundant rainfall, high quality rootzone materiel, and shallow aquifer,  means a minimal irrigation system could be used. After that, construction costs would be minimal since no material needs to be imported. Grass farms that supply most of the country's Bermuda golf turf are all with in 30 miles.

3. Even though the topography may not be "great", it is good, and a well designed "good" golf course is miles better then most everything else in the region.

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