Paul C -
this is probably a dumb question, but "Is sand always sand"?
Are the 'properties' of the sand/sand belt in North Carolina the same as those in Georgia?
Can you grow the same type of grass, does it drain the same way, does it 'form' into similar features?
And, are either/both of those sand belts similar to the Pine Valley site? (If pine trees grow naturally and abundantly at Pine Valley, what grows abundantly in that Georgian sand belt besides wire grass?)
And, in any of those sites, would the sand 'behave' the same way as the sandy soil at, say, The Old Course?
And -- even if sand is not always sand, is there enough of a difference to be significant in terms of building a golf course?
Thanks
Peter
Peter...I am much less concerned with you asking a dumb question than my providing a dumb answer....but lets see where my little bit of knowledge takes us.
For golf purposes sand is classified by size, hardness, purity [the amount of soils and silt that it is combined with], and shape [whether it is round or more angular...which is referred to as its degree of 'sharpness'].
Generally the sands in the sand belts I am referring to are similar, in that they are of good size and sharper than the sand one typically finds on the SE coastal beach areas, which can be rounder and smaller.....but this can vary greatly....and yes, the inland sands from Ga to NC are similar.
Very good drainage is a characteristic that all the sand areas have in common, and the vegetation that can exist in these very dry areas is what changes the most from the north to the south. In the south Long Leaf pines predominate, along with various scrub oaks and other drought resistant understory shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens.
In the north the pines become shorter needled [Sand Pine species] and the oaks and the other understory plants and grasses are similar in that they must be able to exist through drought and fire.......in fact all the ecosystems in both north and south have evolved to be able to withstand fire, and some plants even require it to help regenerate.
The Pine Barrens of NJ, where Pine Valley is located, has a sister area called the Pine Bush in upstate NY.
The turf grasses that are required to play golf in any of the areas I have referenced are generally not native....they only grow with the assistance of additional water and fertilizers, and I think this is one of the major differences between the linksland areas of the British Isles and the sand belt areas of the East Coast.
The main thing that all these areas have in common is good drainage created by the sandy soils....its really the types of vegetation, dictated by climate and weather, that create the differences we can appreciate.
whew......
