Executing The Dream

[Menacewarf]

Originally Posted by Steve West

If you do have an old logging road, or other long clearing, don't automatically run a hole down the middle of it. It may work better as two or three basket locations or first-throw landing areas, with the holes being at a large angle to the road.

Very good advice. Keep em coming!

[cooker]

When brush hoggin dense thicket or long grass for the first time, lift your blade high for the first pass to avoid rocks and logs.

[Menacewarf]

I have been limping around scoping out the work and am about ready to break ground.

Here is hole one befor I put up any removal ribbons.



Hole 2 looking back through the gap.


Excited to have things moving. Think I can get holes 1 and 2 playable with 3-5 days of saw work.

[DavidSauls]

Looks like, in its current condition, a tough place to walk around with a bum knee.

[Menacewarf]

First priority is getting the moving around a little easier but I am optimistic that this soft spruce will buck up quick. This spot calls for some big brush pile because of the blowdow but further up the hill where the krux of a 9 or 12 hole loop lies there is a more pleasing mix of 30 year old trees to saplings suggesting to me there will be a lot less waste to deal with. I see a lot of potential with some sapling blinders on and a commitment to a month or three of sapling removal.

[Menacewarf]

Thanks for the concern and good humor. I'm getting around.

[duckychucky]

May I suggest with as much room as you have, instead of a "backwards loop", designing the holes to have 2 distinct fairways. By making the holes "V", "Y" and "U" shaped you can have 2 very different layouts without playing backwards. Of course you probably want to work on the main fairways first to get the course playable but leave room in your design to add the 2nd fairways later.

[DavidSauls]

I think 9 fairways, played forwards and backwards, is a better formula IF you don't ever expect to have many players on the course---if you only expect to play it yourself, or with friends and guests.

It has the great advantage of giving you less fairway to maintain, thus more time to play.

It guarantees balance between lefty & righty holes.

If your concept is to buy 18 baskets and put them at either end of the cleared fairways, it also means maximum diversity. A hole with 2 distinct fairways leading to the same basket may have very different drives, but tends to have the same putts and approaches. It only feels like a half-different hole. Going down a fairway backwards feels completely different. (Ignore this paragraph if you're intending 9 baskets, and clearing enough between basket and tee to play backwards as well).

[duckychucky]

"U" and "V" shaped holes will approach the basket from different angles and will give you much different putts, "Y" shaped holes only change the drive. And if you put in 2 fairways AND a backwards layout you can have 36 "holes"

[Menacewarf]

Good thoughts on all this.

This is related to my current dilemma, but I won't really have to decide for at least a few days.

I have very good ideas for the first two, and last two holes of a loop. This is where I'm going to throw 20-30 hours of effort this week.

My indecision is about the rest of the loop. there is a fairly intuitive 9 hole loop that doubles back once. This though, burns some space in the midst of the loop, say 3 or 4 holes.

I'm Pretty sure the answear will come to me the more I am up ther. My gut is to cram the holes in for max flexibility but I have to see In reality how much space is left after the first loop is done.

In flux, but I will post some pics and an update after I break ground tomarrow.