Golf Course Construction

Job / Company Overview

At Landscapes Unlimited, I was an Assistant Superintendent of Golf Course Construction on an 18 hole project in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. Golf course design has long been an interest of mine, and while golf courses are often viewed as having a negative ecological impact, they don't necessarily have to. Golf courses have the potential to create a wide variety of habitats if laid out and built properly, and can perform vital mitigation abilities from flooding.

As an Assistant Superintendent, I was largely responsible for working with the architect and the machine operators to implement the architect's vision. This involved extensive clearing, grubbing and demolition, followed by topsoiling and stockpiling reusable materials. Once cleared, rough and fine grading was applied throughout the tees, fairways, bunkers, and greens to prepare the ground for irrigation and turf installation. My primary responsibility during this phase was to ensure proper layouts and elevations were achieved throughout the property via various survey techniques. In addition to shaping the ground, I was also responsible for upkeeping the erosion and sediment control BMP's on a sharply sloping property containing acres of exposed soil at any given time. Once all preceding elements were complete, turf was installed and established until opening. The process involves sequencing and staging various different activities on different parts of the property simultaneously, and was a tremendous exercise in asset management.

https://landscapesunlimited.com/

Project Description

The project I worked on was Vestavia Country Club, an 18 hole redesign by architect Lester George. The project involved the demolition of the existing course, and construction of 18 new golf holes. This included 100% newly built tees, fairways, bunkers, greens, pond and stream work, a new irrigation and drainage system, cart path, and other golf course features. Once complete, the course was named one of the Best New Golf Courses in America by Golf Digest.

Skills Used