Aclayman,
On the east coast of Florida south of Palm Beach there is very little in the way of land movement. As you head west from the ocean, much of the land was flat farmland or swamp, relaimed due to cheap land costs years ago.
Once you go west of the Turnpike, you encounter worse soil conditions. From the ocean to the Turnpike you have sugar sand, west of the turnpike coral and marl and swamp.
Boca Rio sits below the water level in some areas, as do many area courses, so most movement in the land is man made.
The movement in the fairways was done with a dozer and the native soils.
The variety of mounds was a product of regulatory mandates and finances.
Once into the project, vegatation clearing permits had to be obtained to clear some of the overgrowth occuring over the last 25 years. In the midst of the project when we applied for the permits, the State and County mandated that we clear the property of all Braziilian Pepper trees ( Florida Holly) over a three (3) year period., 50 % the 1st year, 25 % the 2nd and 3rd year. Brazilian Pepper, almost a softwood weed, grows like wildfire, and even if you cut them down, the stumps will rejuvenate and regenerate within a very short time.
After the plans were drawn to clear areas of the property we had to incur the additional expense of running new irrigation lines, fumigation and grass planting costs for the now barren areas of the golf course.
Track hoes were brought in to pull down and cut down the pepper trees without damaging other trees of preferance.
Once we had them down, we had to dispose of them.
Initially, we had a burn permit, which could only be exercised when wind velocity was below a certain level each day.
Subsequently, the county revoked all burn permits, and we had to obtain huge machines that chipped up the Pepper Trees. As you can see, our project costs were escalating rapidly. The substantial additional cost and damage associated with bringing huge dump trucks on to the property to remove over 40 acres of Brazilian Pepper tree chips was
not a viable alternative. Instead it was decided to use the chips as the foundation for onsite mounding.
In addition, all of the plastic that covered the golf course, contaminated with methyl-bromide and roundup had to be disposed of. Florida does not permit below ground burial. hence the plastic was also to serve as mound foundations, with dirt obtained from lake excavations used to cover them.
In some cases a grass called spartina was used to cover off play mounds adding texture to the golf course. They can be seen in the pictures of hole # 6.
Mounds that were in play were built to accomodate mowing.
Mounds that were in off play areas, were grassed with spartina.
Some mounds served as the platform for bunker placement with the bunkers cut into them. Hole # 16 on the left as you approach the green is a good example.
Soft Mounds were used to hide virtually every cart path from the golfers view, with the exception of paths around tees, and some greens. As one walks Boca Rio, from tee to green the cart paths are mostly invisible during the play of the holes despite the fact that over 17,000 linear feet of cart paths and 6 inch curbs wind through the course.
One of my early concerns had to do with the settling of the mounds. We estimated that as the material decomposed we might lose as much as a foot, however, after ten years, the loss is undetectable.
Had I had a year's advance notice of the State and County's intent with respect to trees on their noxious species, eradication list, I would probably have approached the solution to the Pepper Tree's final resting place differently.
But, this was sprung on us mid-project, with strict compliance and time line mandates, and we made the best of a bad situation.
One has to understand the serious time and financial blow this mandate caused the project Yet, in the final analysis, the State and County did us a favor as the pepper trees had become so invasive that they interfered with ones swing on some fairway shots, and the club had to adopt a local relief ruling if the ball went into the pepper trees due to the danger involved in retrieval and the slow down of play. Pepper trees also cause breathing problems, and are toxic in that nothing will grow under them, Florida Hurricanes also push them over, and break them leaving an unsightly mess.
Some mounds are borne of necessity, and sometimes people only see, like an iceberg, the tip of the mound and not what lies below the surface, or the reasons for their existance.
These mounds were created due to the combination of regulatory mandates, time lines, project progress, and substantial financial considerations.
I think, when you play Boca Rio, that you will find that the mounds are not an objectionable feature, add variety to your fairway shots, and provide an untypical golf experience in Florida. But, I'm biased, so you might be well served by listening to other opinions as well.