Creating Uneven Lies

[Adam_F_Collins]

I have read that Stanley Thompson would bury stones in fairways in such a way that the final surface would be a rumpled, 'topsy-turvy' landscape. As a result, many of Thompson's "natural" landscapes are actually the product of the skillful construction of uneven lies and the maintenance of the aspect of luck.

Can anyone explain in more detail how these uneven lies are actually created? Is it as simple as that - burying a jumble of rocks? Rocks are buried all the time - for drainage; to hide rocks, etc. So how are they used to effectively rumple the fairway, as Thompson did?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Adam,

Thompson may have done that , but it probably was in the days before irrigation lines went through, and I'm sure when they did, that the crew installing the line hated him!

We normally bury rocks out in the rough, far from any anticipated irrigation, and just use a dozer to rumple the fairways as necessary.

[Jeff_Mingay]

Jeff B.,

It's funny you mention irrigation. Thompson created some beautiful contour at Highlands Links, during the late 1930s, by burying rocks in the middle of fairways.

When the course's first watering system was installed during the mid 1990s, the irrigation contractor nearly went bankrupt. No joke. The job took much longer than originally anticipated, and I imagine some equipment was damaged too!

Adam,

Most important consideration when creating "uneven lies"?

Drainage. 99% of artifical contouring involves directing water to places where it won't puddle, or cause other problems.

[Jim Sweeney]

For further information on this topic, consult McKenzie's Spirit of St. Andrews. He used this meathod often, believing it created mounding with a natural look. Basically, he took rock which would have had to be removed from the site, piled in up in strategic spopts, and covered in with soil excavated from adjacent ground, thus creating the "humps and hollows" he believed made the game so interesting.