Hey Mike, another couple questions?

What existing courses have influenced your design?

How is the shaping going?

Your bunker images kinda remind me of Texas Tech.  I am excited to see what you guys come up with in regards to additional plant material around the bunkers.  Also reminds me of Black Mesa, but of course that is because you worked there.

Appreciate you posting all the cool imagery and talking to us about the design.

Are you ready to divulge who your "client" is?

So, you want hard ball?

Please cite the justifications for the bunkers on the outside legs of doglegs?

Mr. Nuzzo,

I love this thread!  Thank you very much for sharing.

Nick Church

PS
Am I still in your good graces eligible for a few drawings/sketches?

Mike,

Thanks for posting all of this info.

I have to say from looking at your concepts that I find it the most intriguing, envelope-pushing, and clever course idea I've seen since the Sheep Ranch.

From the latitude you've been given, I trust that you'll be able to translate from paper to the ground effectively and I'm sure you know the devil is in the details.  

Please keep us updated on your progress.  I'm really happy for you!

Don, 16 from the forward tees has a dog, but after looking closer, I can see what you mean.

The shared fairways on 2 and 11 looks like intimacy personified.

RJ,
No, the owner is not a lurker.
Y'all will be the first to know if there is a planned outing.
I forgot to mention The Dunes as the real life inspiration for the winner chooses the tee concept - for me anyway.

Bill,
Thank you.
Trust me on 6 being way more redanlike.  I will say however, that 15 will be way better (more fun) for some of you gents, including me.

Matt,
Before I post some yardages, the 6000 - 6500 tees are perfect and what the course was designed around - the back tees are a longer walk.  

Here are the approximate yardages for your mammoth tees...
You can guess the individual par - total is 71 - like Don said.
Hint - there are only 3 par 5s.
325
430
560
350
450
250
370
265
655
325
520
160
545
590
210
390
485
395
Just shy of 7300, but we can change that on a moments notice....

Mike C.,
Thank you.
I'd like to share more, I sure have met many of the gang and am glad y'all are interested.

I think 9 is the hole Don and I were most concerned with from an overall appeal - it was a little formulaic - long hole along the water.  Where we differ a little is in Don's use of the term "pretty good".  If you were to ask Don about his abilities he'd probably and often does say "pretty good".  They are both excellent.

So Matt, to answer your sleeper question I'll go with 9 & 14 for now - both fives.

Adam,
I'll need a little more time to answer your fast ball question.
I will add that #2 posesses a polarized fairway - you will need to be on one edge or the other depending on the pin and how much you like to rely on luck....

Cheers

RJ....
come on.... for you # 9 is 540 - 565.
Although I wouldn't be surprised to see you make a 6 on any hole out there...      

Mike,

Did you have to dig/scrape/build the creeks and pond/tank, or did  you accentuate existing? It looks like some decent contour along the creeks?  

Also, why doesn't the "rogue" hole #7 play more toward the creek topography? Would that mean a road crossing?

I'm sure last week was a good test for your drainage.  

(Sometimes this place feels like a Star Trek convention   )

Eric,
Howdy.
We dug the lake, a friend of mine noted how we really nailed the water retention aspect of the project....  
The creek is native and quite accentuated due to the eons of drainage passing through the site.

The rogue hole is actually playing in an old oil well test site clearing.  There are some trees separating 6 & 7.  There is also a potential plan to drill another test hole between 6 & 7 - which could pay the maintenance for a few year if it hit, so I made space for now.

The drainage worked excellently, thank you for noting.  The holes that weren't drained yet, sure need to be....

Beam me up.

Gary,
Irrigation will start after drainage - soon.
We are going to throw the water as far as possible - large spacing.  700 heads.
The pump station is 1800 GPM.
Yes it was about a mile to get the 3-phase onto the property.
We did hide the pump station quite a ways from the lake.
There is a small building just north of the 13th fairway - in the trees - see illustration.
Thank you.


It is hard to take pictures of dirt, but here is one of the 4th green.
I am standing a little short of the green along the direction of play.  I sketched the approximate location of the green.  I would not want to come in from the left side...
There is also a drainage swale behind the green, that if you are a little aggressive, the ball will collect in the back and run a bit.  The swale is the remnants of the ridge that runs across the first fairway, and creates those cross bunkers - the last one can be seen in the background.