ETD: E. Texas Edition

[Tbolg]

I have been meaning to post a journal thread like menacewarf did with the "Executing the Dream" and did not want to Hi-Jack the original thread where goose is posting his updates...so here goes my personal journey into Executing The Dream: East Texas Edition. I will post updates to this thread as I make more progress and would love to hear feedback and comments. Constructive criticism is always appreciated :hfive: .

Background: I acquired 21.3 Acres of Deep East texas forest from a small section of my dads overall 160 acres. This property is surrounded by multi thousand acre tracks of pine plantation. Like wise, the property that I have has also been utilized largely for this same purpose (which I find pine plantation as both a waste of property, resources and investment $$ but that's another subject and a bit off topic). About 1/3 of the pines have been thinned from my property in a first thinning and as a result a lot of regeneration forest has grown under the pine canopies.
Currently, I am waiting on loggers to come out to take out about 50% of the remaining pines in the area so that I can continue the design of the complete course. In the mean time I have began clearing out my first hole. Because of the enormous amount of dense under brush, thorns, vines and saplings getting a overall feel of the property has been challenging to say the least.
Because of the density of the property coupled with the need to have the final logging done on 1/2 of the property I have decided to clear one hole out to begin with and now look for more holes. I have read nearly all of John houck's articles that I could get my hands on and look forward to putting as many of his principles to work as possible. I know it is a bad idea to just mark a basket and a tee and cut out the growth.I have read many designers suggest it better to look at multiple angels, areas and come out with the greatest hole versus the first obvious one.

Course Layout:
- 9 Tee's and 9 baskets to start out
- add alternate tee's as well as pin locations later to fill it out into a full 18 Holes.
- Have fun and learn, learn, learn

Now for pics ...:thmbup:

Day 1 (No Pics lol)
Spent the first day Surveying for the first possible hole. Had a couple area's that looked promising but finally settled on an old logging trail that had been logged maybe 4 years prior so less tree removal was necessary. Also this trail ran along a seasonal Creek that remains dry ~90% of the year. I was able to hack out the beginning tee area and the general area that the pin would be. A day well spent, im liking the look of this first hole.

Day 2
Hole #1 From the Tee. Fairway is not carved or hardly defined yet. Bush Hogged a lot of sapling and blackberry thorns out of the way though.


Brush Hogging Completed. Landing area established. Now to begin the tedious process of machete work to fine tune the hole where the bush hog couldn't reach. Still a lot of saplings and tree's in the way. This is another pic of from the Tee box looking down the beginning of the fairway. Oh and btw this is a Dogleg right.

Wearing shorts a happened to have the machete hit my shin. Luckily it wasn't worse. Be safe out there, I know this was a lesson well learned.


Day 3: Burn day, and more clearing... After finishing up the previous session of bush hogging there is a ton of downed brush, saplings and trash that has got to go. With the previous days rain it was a PITA to get a fire started and burning hot enough to be able to burn up the greener foliage but I managed.

Looking from the Tee...

Middle of fairway is getting clearer and more defined. This is right around where the fairway starts to dogleg right.


Final shot of the day is from the Burn pile far left of the fairway looking towards the basket.

 

[Tbolg]

Day 4 Worked on clearing the remaining 1/3 of the fairway closest to the basket pin location. Didn't happen to snap pictures but I did make a lot of progress. Made a second burn pile on top of a massive Pine tree stump in hopes of burning it out and or at least to burn it flush with the ground. Lots of sweat and 95+ degree heat and plenty of humidity.

Day 5. Today was a chainsaw , burn, machete and repeat kind of day. Spent a lot of the day removing 5-8" tree's from tee pad area and down the fairway to open up a middle and right sided lane so as to have the option of choice instead of a one shot only hole. Remembered to snap some pics this time.

From the tee pad area


While sawing I noticed a Ironwood tree with a unique twist literally. Check it out ! Had to leave it in.



This is a shot of the middle of the fairway about 100' from tee pad looking to the dogleg/pin.


This picture shows similar as above shot just a on the left edge of fairway looking to dogleg/pin.


Picture from Dogleg bend looking back to the tee pad.


Taken at the dogleg bend looking to the basket landing area. Havent completely settled on pin location. atm its just in this general area.

Pic of 4 pine saplings from the Hybrid pine tree's that my brother, myself and my dad hand planted 4 years prior. probably got to have to give them the chop as they are smack dab in one of the lanes. We will see though. Im trying to remove tree's slowly and meticulously so as to not chop something I might regret.




The gear/ ATV






Well That wraps up all of my current days of work progress that I have accomplished thus far. Much more to come in the coming days, weeks and months so stay tuned for more pics and details!!!!

Side Note: Does anyone know of a good way to remove the small sapling that are sticking out of the ground where they were mowed by the bush hogg ?? I have heard of a root rake attachment that you cant tow from a tractor but was wondering what all you all have used when cleaning up all of those stragglers.

 

[Tbolg]

One last thing... My previous post would not allow me to post over 10 images (Had 11 in my post >.< ) so I wanted to include the last image I was going to originally post as my last photo...
My Partner In Crime... Kalayis, my crazy dog. She not only looks out for snakes, hogs, and stray dogs in the area but she also keeps my morale up when im working. Wouldn't have it any other way ! She is the best work buddy. Now only if she could clear some brush and help out with all the work !

 

[goosefraba1]

You were in no way hijacking buddy... Looks like you have a really good start

 

[goosefraba1]

Have you designed the entire 9 holes already... Or are you going to just design it hole by hole? I would highly suggest walking through the property several several times right now and figure out your layout. Then, tweak the design from there. I know it is really hard to do when the woods are thick, but it might cut down on labor later.

 

[Tbolg]

You were in no way hijacking buddy... Looks like you have a really good start

I was just being respectful and not trying to be be THAT guy . Thanks for the kind words though.

I haven't yet layed out the full 9 yet, just this first hole . I will be using your words of wisdom and take the next couple of sessions in the woods to figure out the next 8 holes. I've been pondering what you said about laying things out prior to cutting, it makes sense , so as to not cut a lane that I end up abandoning . Thanks for the advice goose.

Anyone else who has anything to add don't hesitate to post it. :thmbup:

 

[InnocentCrook]

There's a handful of us that pop in and out of that thread with updates on our courses.

I'll second what Goose said about walking the property. We bought our place last May and didn't start cutting anything until after all the leaves fell. Just went out and explored as much as we could, took boatloads of pics, and starting flagging areas we thought were especially pretty or interesting.

 

[Tbolg]

There's a handful of us that pop in and out of that thread with updates on our courses.

I'll second what Goose said about walking the property. We bought our place last May and didn't start cutting anything until after all the leaves fell. Just went out and explored as much as we could, took boatloads of pics, and starting flagging areas we thought were especially pretty or interesting.

Yeah , I had noticed that the thread has seen a lot of different individuals collectively sharing that thread but and noticed goose posting frequently in the last couple weeks as well as yourself and some others. Didn't mean to leave you out . Anyways I digress.

Thanks for bringing up flagging . I was just about to ask what most of you all use for marking potential area's of interest. And I just so happen to have some pink flags sitting in the garage ATM. Win win . It was either that or logging tape so I could tie a piece off on a tree at eye height for greater visibility.

As far as distance goes what do you all find is best in dictating length. Layout of the property or a conscious decision that you want x number of feet on each one .

 

[InnocentCrook]

Tone doesn't come across on the interwebs. I was just trying to say that it's a very inclusive thread.

I've been using the tape to wrap a tree that's in a cool spot. When it's time to start dropping some trees I'll bust out the spray paint. I only tag what's coming down.

I'm in the boat of trying to let the land dictate the hole, it's just my job to carve out an interesting path. I'm not too concerned about whether or not the hole is "x" number of feet, but I am trying to have a good mix of lengths throughout the course. So a little of both I guess.

 

[DavidSauls]

Side Note: Does anyone know of a good way to remove the small sapling that are sticking out of the ground where they were mowed by the bush hogg ?? I have heard of a root rake attachment that you cant tow from a tractor but was wondering what all you all have used when cleaning up all of those stragglers.

Herbicides. Not roundup; we use 2,4-D. It'll also kill back blackberries very effectively. We don't spray nearly as much as we should, though.

If you're opposed to chemicals, then repeated mowings to starve them to death. This will greatly reduce the number of hardwoods re-sprouting, but it takes time. And you're going to have a heck of a re-sprouting problem at first.

 

[DavidSauls]

Yeah , I had noticed that the thread has seen a lot of different individuals collectively sharing that thread but and noticed goose posting frequently in the last couple weeks as well as yourself and some others. Didn't mean to leave you out . Anyways I digress.

Thanks for bringing up flagging . I was just about to ask what most of you all use for marking potential area's of interest. And I just so happen to have some pink flags sitting in the garage ATM. Win win . It was either that or logging tape so I could tie a piece off on a tree at eye height for greater visibility.

As far as distance goes what do you all find is best in dictating length. Layout of the property or a conscious decision that you want x number of feet on each one .

Follow the land. When we bought our property, we announced that we were going to build a "Gold Course". Along the way, we kept finding really cool, shorter holes, par-3s of a bluer skill level. They are too much fun to give up for a pre-conceived distance formula, so we still have them, with the result that our holes range from 167' to 760'.

There's a thread around here somewhere about mistakes and lessons learned by first-time course designers. I think you'll find it valuable.

As for the Executing the Dream thread, if you take a rainy weekend and read the whole thing, you'll see that it's wandered through many stories, including a number of amusing pages about the eccentric owner of one much older course. It's certain to wander again as new people make the leap. But there's nothing wrong with creating a separate thread, either.

P.S. Those photos left me very, very tired.

 

[chopz33]

If you don't mind, what area of east Texas?

 

[Tbolg]

Tone doesn't come across on the interwebs. I was just trying to say that it's a very inclusive thread.

I've been using the tape to wrap a tree that's in a cool spot. When it's time to start dropping some trees I'll bust out the spray paint. I only tag what's coming down.

I'm in the boat of trying to let the land dictate the hole, it's just my job to carve out an interesting path. I'm not too concerned about whether or not the hole is "x" number of feet, but I am trying to have a good mix of lengths throughout the course. So a little of both I guess.

No worries, that's just the limits of the web in relating a message. No hard feelings. As for the tape, I like the idea of wrapping interesting trees and areas, without that I doubt I'd be able to see through the thick underbrush. Also, good perspective on hole length. I really like your statement "it's just my job to carve out an interesting path".
Great info crook !:thmbup:

Herbicides. Not roundup; we use 2,4-D. It'll also kill back blackberries very effectively. We don't spray nearly as much as we should, though.

If you're opposed to chemicals, then repeated mowings to starve them to death. This will greatly reduce the number of hardwoods re-sprouting, but it takes time. And you're going to have a heck of a re-sprouting problem at first.

I'm not too keen on herbicides as I am fairly close to a spring fed creek and suspect that inevitably some runoff would reach the creek. As far as mowing repeatedly, I think I could manage that, although it would be time consuming, it will be necessary. In the mean time I'm going to also try to build a trash rake out of tires and chain link fence to be able to pull behind a atv so I can get a lot of the ground trash up. If all else fails I'll resort to the 2,4-D to eliminate the little straggler sapling "Stumps".
Thanks for the response and advice David! :thmbup:

 

[Tbolg]

Follow the land. When we bought our property, we announced that we were going to build a "Gold Course". Along the way, we kept finding really cool, shorter holes, par-3s of a bluer skill level. They are too much fun to give up for a pre-conceived distance formula, so we still have them, with the result that our holes range from 167' to 760'.

There's a thread around here somewhere about mistakes and lessons learned by first-time course designers. I think you'll find it valuable.

As for the Executing the Dream thread, if you take a rainy weekend and read the whole thing, you'll see that it's wandered through many stories, including a number of amusing pages about the eccentric owner of one much older course. It's certain to wander again as new people make the leap. But there's nothing wrong with creating a separate thread, either.

P.S. Those photos left me very, very tired.

I can't lie I had been itching to begin the building process of my course and can say that I honestly was a bit overwhelmed as to where to begin my course. With the raw nature of this property, seeing thirty feet in front of you in a lot of places can be impossible. Now that I have this first hole (which may or may not turn out to be hole 1) I feel like I have a solid starting point of designing around it. my next plan of action after this is to spend 10+ hrs plotting out the other 8 holes. What do you think ?

As for the Executing the dream thread, I've read the last 20 pages and the first 25 pages . Still got more reading like you said , that's a rainy day activity .

I'll keep In mind that the property should dictate most hole lengths. Sounds like the best idea for most occasions.

If you don't mind, what area of east Texas?

~15 minutes East of Jasper if that helps.

 

[DavidSauls]

For what it's worth, we built our course a hole at a time, not in order. Most of them changed at least once after being built, and a few were abandoned.

We did have the advantage of having an obvious #1 tee location to give us a starting point, and we quickly found a cool #18. With those in place, the routing was established.

 

[brutalbrutus]

Twisted Iron DGC?..

 

[Tbolg]

Tomorrow's agenda:
- clean up landing zone and pin location for hole 1.
- flag remaining eight tee and basket locations
-Survey other possible holes if time and weather allows .

Will post pics Sunday night or monday with progress shots and ideas. Stay tuned !

P.s. Saw designs for converting cheap lawn mower into mini bush hog. Will investigate further and update you all on that idea.