"Little Diamond" Quarry

[A_Clay_Man]

Here's the opener. Can you see it?

Vision it, is perhaps more accurate.



Originally this site was so overgrown; to the tune of as much growth as one can get from 30 years of abandonment.

[A_Clay_Man]

[SPDB]

 

[Mike Nuzzo]

Adam,
Send me the topo and I'll have the routing for you in no time...

[Forrest Richardson]

Sorry, I finished the routing this morning. It's a lovely 14-hole design with 7-par 3s and 7 par-5s.

[A_Clay_Man]

Actually Forrest, It's nine greens with an unlimmited number of teeing grounds placement potential.

Built by hand, by Ed with a little help from one of the construction guys from BDR. (This guy was jealous of all the alabaster boulders just strewn about the site.)

Forrest- I'm confused by your comment, I sure hope you weren't slighting Ed's effort, so far on this 14 acres. Because if you were, you might have to bring your design associate down to Florida, too, the resident gator has a rather large appetite.

[A_Clay_Man]

14 acres = all par 3's

Here's one greens potential outcome.

Before;


After:


Here's one that is not doctored and is current.



Already, variety is on display.

[A_Clay_Man]

In this next picture, one can get a sense for the depth of quarry. The actaul depth cannot go too far since this is Florida and I believe the water table is at 42'

[SPDB]

Adam -
What is this thread about?

[A_Clay_Man]

Sean- Glad you asked.

This thread is about a project which was created out of a love for the game and a subsequent love for the grounds. It's not your typical model, where proformas were dreamed-up.

It's about a guy who plunked down hard earned cash, seven years ago, bought what was basically a worthless quarry and went about, slowly but surely building his vision, by his hand.

It's no where near completed, but is in concept and practice, contrary to the notion of creating golf for renumeration.

What else do I always harp on?

[SPDB]

Adam -
Who, Where, When, Why & How?

[Forrest Richardson]

Adam — It was a flippant comment. I am fascinated with the effort.

[A_Clay_Man]

Who; Edward Placha. Assistant greenskeeper at Willow Hill in Glenview, Il.

Where; Floral City Florida. Approximnately half-way between Black Diamond Ranch and Brookesville (WW)

When; Seven or eight years ago he bought it for a paultry sum. Has been driving back and forth to Fl. ever since.
 As an aside, there was an elderly man who lived next door. Ed use to count on him to keep an eye on the property while he was away. One day Ed gave the guy some money($200+/-)for his efforts. Well the guy must of been taken by this gesture, because after the guy died, he left his entire parcel to Ed.

Why; Bought this land several years after discovering World Woods, and realized there was no place close, to stay or play.

How; Ed and I were golfing buddies, he enjoyed golf so much he went to school to become a maintenance guy. His work ethic is unquestionably the envy of every super across the planet. Does what he says he'll do, knows how to do it and best of all, no B.S.
 He took on the water commision to extend his small pond into two, and got it. He's overcome alot of adversity, most of all, finding anybody to put in a good days work. (If you know Florida, it ain't Chicago)
He's allowed to build two residential type structures, one can have 8 individual suites/bedrooms.

He now figures a small group of up to 16, who may want to share in his vision. They may or may not already own homes in Florida, and come down every winter for a few weeks. Think about it, for a fraction of what someone sells their home for, they could still have a place to go, and best of all, have your own private par 3 course in the back yard.
The property is restricted from having a commercial enterprise, but a private club is allowed. Ed's willing to basically give away everything, but one of the build sites (just for himself) to share his vision and make sure the golf course gets completed. This will be no standard "deal". Especially the cost of entry. Very low.

Whats most desirable about this place is the county is anti-sprawl. They have seen whats happening to places near orlando and are intent on not having that happen in their neck of the woods.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Sean,
Congratulations! Your higher education has turned you into a real, larger then life asshole. Call it a hunch, but I'm sure you have been gunning for that all along.

Adam, It isn't hard to see if someone JUST SIMPLY LOOKS that the property would make an interesting par 3 course. I hope it all turns out great for Ed and his endeavors.

[A_Clay_Man]

I'm glad I'm as naive as I am.

I honestly thought it would be cool to share Ed's vision with everyone. Some on this site have known about this project for a good many years. I know I've made reference to it several times. It's also nice to have some pix to post.

Thanx Tom.

[SPDB]

Tommy -
What the hell is that for?
It was not at all clear until Adam's reply #12 what this thread was about. I was curious, so I asked. Sounds like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the country this morning.

Here is the first post (w/out photos). With the title, would you have any idea what this thread concerned?

Here's the opener. Can you see it?

Vision it, is perhaps more accurate.

Originally this site was so overgrown; to the tune of as much growth as one can get from 30 years of abandonment.

To the uninitiated, nothing in the thread up until reply #13 would have disclosed 1) the significance of these pictures, 2) who "Ed" is, 3) where the pictures are taken, 4) what is planned, 5) the significance of the title (i.e. its proximity to Black Diamond Quarry).

Adam's answers were cryptic, so I asked him for some details. If it weren't for my post you wouldn't have any idea either.

Who's the larger than life asshole, now?

[Forrest Richardson]

Fortunately, I have never played a course with a hole named, "Larger Than Life A**hole"

This does not mean to suggest that I would either pass up or jump at the opportunity. I'll get back to you all on this.

[PThomas]

God bless 'em, I hope it works out!

[A_Clay_Man]

Thanx Paul,

[George Pazin]

This guy must really enjoy pruning.

He's a man after my own heart - for the coursework, not the veggie planting.

[A_Clay_Man]

George, There was no planting, just lots of prunning. I actually walked the site when all he had cleared was the second hole. We used a machetti to get through all the growth to get to where the third teeing ground is located.

The animal life was really abundant, too. There were even those vines called "ponce de leone". They are hollow and hold water. So while working in the field all one had to do was find a vine and drink the cool cool water straight from the interior of the vine.

Since all the holes fall somewhere between 120 and 190 yards, leaving some of the trees shouldn't affect anything but a poor trajectory.

[George Pazin]

I just assumed that the land was originally as barren as the surrounding land.

Email me your aerial and I'll post it.

tshirts@nauticom.net

[A_Clay_Man]

George, I just sent it, but it looks to have failed.

This was a quarry. While the aerial doesn't show it, almost all of that property is below the natural grade. If you look around the 3 O'clock position in the aerial image, you can see the break in the trees, just above the two sandy sections. Of those two sand sections, The sand on the left is a green while the sand to the right is a tee, and is directly adjacent to the edge of the property. It is also the only spot where the rest of the planet is visible while you are on this property.
The orchard next door was almost purchased and could have made this a daily fee 18 hole course. Trying to tie-in the two distinct property types was going to be the real challenge, but alas, the guy who owned the orchard wasn't someone Ed could deal with.

[A_Clay_Man]

As promised.  aerials

[John_Conley]

What did Spiderbite do that drew the ire of others?  I didn't know what the thread was about either until I'd gotten to Adam's longer description.

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