Course construction records

[Thomas Dai]

Found this video on the making of Barnbougle Dunes on Youtube - plenty of how it once was and what we did footage - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOcmmwBvsEM


No comment from me on the content or the specifics of Barnbougle's founding and development.


My main wish is that there were similar records for other courses and that details like this should be recorded and freely available for courses or significant restorations/renovations/revisions being undertaken now and in the future.


Folks undertaking projects akin to this should record what they did and why for history and posterity. If only we had something like it for Sunningdale Old, NGLA, Pine Valley, ANGC etc etc. It's your legacy. Record it.


atb

[Ian Andrew]

Things are better covered than you realize they are...

For example, I think with a small amount of effort I could collect everything you could ever want on just about any course done in the last 20 years. The only exception is going to be an insular club that is insistent upon as little as possible being public knowledge. And even then, there's too much information out there and too many resources for them to hide the facts.

There's more unseen footage than you might think of major projects. Some of the time lapse photography club are sitting on is out of the world. Most clubs have mapped the work they've done, or GPS'd the information for future reference.

But it doesn't mean they want it on here ...

[Thomas Dai]

Thanks Ian. That's nice to know. Point taken in respect of your last sentence.
atb

[Ian Andrew]

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[John Emerson]

I’ve been a part of 3 new golf course grow-ins in 2002, 2006,& 2008.  The amount of record keeping is staggering.  From gps locations of irrigation heads, valves, pipe etc to topographic maps overlayed on routings.  I think there isn’t a a problem with “as built” record keeping in the modern era from my experiences.  You just need to know who to ask and where to look.  It’s usually all there in fine detail.  I’m sure there are exceptions, but in personal experience it was of high priority to track all the work.

[Tom_Doak]

It tends to come out more on Twitter and Instagram. Construction plays better in that format than it does here. Many people post pictures of things they are doing on a daily basis. That's why you'll find far more architects there than you will here. The associates or construction staff are even better. to follow, because they are trying to show what they are individually working on. Even better, in some instances is the superintendents, they collect some great images of detail work they are doing or techniques they are using when they are involved in the work.


Food for thought ...

I hadn't thought of that, but I'm sure what you say applies more to some architects than to others.  I know a couple of Bill and Ben's guys post things sometimes, but I doubt you could rebuild either of the first two courses at Streamsong, say, from social media.  There would certainly be plenty of photos of #7 Blue, but very little of the green contours that people complain about.

[Thomas Dai]

Fine points all and not ones I disagree with.
However whilst there is a lot of information on social media these days it tends to be of the quick snap, post, view and forgot variety or it’s a photo extracted (tellingly perhaps) from an old book.
It’s not proper record keeping though, archiving if you like, and its proper collated record keeping about courses and new projects and the like that down the line are important for historical, posterity, renovation/restoration/etc purposes and this aspect to me, and I not long ago put together a history book myself, is crucial. Not just collated records on paper either, but ones now stored digitally including videos.
And to read or hear why things were done the way they were can be most informative, imagine a video of Jones and MacKenzie discussing ANGC or OTM discussing TOC. Podcasts (and videos) should in time be useful in this respect.
There’s a saying that history tends to repeat itself. Lessons can be learnt. And who better to learn the history lessons from than those who are actually making it.
Atb

[Ian Andrew]

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