RENOVATION DESIGN PROCESS

 The first question is typically “why renovate”?  So often the answer is due to agronomic reasons.  Examples are poor turf quality on greens, tees, or fairway surfaces.  Trees can overpower a golf course.  Drainage problems, especially in heavy soils, can take holes or parts of holes out of play for long periods of time after rain events.  Irrigation systems can become worn and obsolete, especially after fifteen to twenty years of use.  Cart paths deteriorate over time as well.

 Once a club or owner identifies such infrastructure/foundation problems, the question of course design becomes the next prominent issue.  If certain key features (i.e. greens, tees, bunkers, etc.) require rebuilding, it is the logical time to evaluate the strategic quality of the design.  This leads to interviews with various qualified architects, and ultimately choosing one to lead the design program.    

Once Billy Fuller Golf Design is chosen to act as the Architect of Record, there is a very structured sequence of events that occurs to develop a Golf Course Master Plan.  Please note that from the first day of planning to the grand opening, Billy Fuller is ‘hands on’ throughout the entire process.  Mr. Fuller’s goal is not to see how many courses ultimately bear his name, but rather to ensure the highest quality result for any project he devotes himself to.

 The following is the step by step schedule from the decision to renovate through grow in.  

MASTER PLAN DESIGN / PHASE ONE 

1. Establish a Base Map:  We ask the owner to provide a topographical map of the golf course, preferably two-foot contour intervals, with accurate property boundaries.  The owner would also furnish a color aerial to a scale of one-inch equals 200 feet.  These tools are used to build a Base Map to develop a Strategy Plan.

2. Course Tours & Roundtable Discussions:  Typically the club has a committee comprised of members and staff who are involved in the course evaluation process.  Over a 60 to 90 day period we make several course tours, noting all concerns expressed by the committee, and developing new design concepts.  We encourage the committee to include a diverse group of members/players in roundtable discussions, offering us an opportunity to hear concerns from various levels of players.  Our goal is to make a more enjoyable golf experience for players from every tee location.  This typically includes playing the course with various member groups and seeing firsthand shot values for each hole.

2. Strategy Plan:  The plan evolves throughout the process of course tours and discussions.  New strategies vary, depending on the owner’s appetite for change.  In some instances it is more about preservation, in others restoration,  and still others developing a completely new design strategy and motif.  At the core of our mission is our ability to work with the owner to implement his/her marketing and economic strategies, long-term goals for the course, etc. 

3. We have the ability to give an owner any motif.  I have traveled, studied, played and            witnessed golf throughout North America, Scotland, and England.  During my twenty years with Bob Cupp we designed nearly 100 courses throughout North America, including a 36-hole venue in southern England.  For more about our design philosophy please click on Design Philosophy on the Home Page.

4. Hole-by-Hole Narrative:  Once the Strategy Plan is in place we develop a written narrative describing the new strategy for each hole.  The narrative includes key points about the course history, and a description of the new design motif.

5. Scope of Work & Cost Analysis:  With a plan and narrative in place, we can develop a scope of work and estimate costs.  Estimated volumes and sizes are applied to all features (i.e. greens, tees, bunkers, grassing acreage, drainage, irrigation, erosion control, cart paths, tree clearing, etc.).  These estimates become absolute once we develop the construction drawings for the bid package.  We typically have a couple of qualified golf course contractors look over the scope of work and confirm our estimates to avoid any surprises at the time of receiving qualified bids.

6. Schedule: The Grow-in window drives the schedule.  Every turf variety has the ideal time period to germinate, grow and mature.  The construction schedule must be planned to accommodate this period.  We must develop a start date that allows construction of each feature to be complete in time for the chosen grasses to develop before the end of the growing season.

7. Power Point Presentation:  With the above items complete and blessings of the committee, we assemble and present a Power Point Presentation of the Master Plan program.  This includes before and after graphic displays of each hole along with a narrative.  We walk the audience through each hole, describing how players would be impacted with each golf shot.  This includes slides describing the scope of work, cost estimates, and schedule.   

 Once the Master Plan presentation has been made, and assuming we get a positive vote to move forward with the renovation, we then move into Phase Two of Design.

 CONSTRUCTION / PHASE TWO 

1. Golf Course Bid Package:  Often referred to as Golf Documents, this package   includes (a) Working Drawings such as Strategy Plan, Contour Plans, Greens Plans, Clearing Plan, Erosion Control Plan, Irrigation Plans, Grassing Plan, (b) Bid for Contract & Scope of Work, (c) Technical Specifications (describes how to build each course feature, such as erosion control, clearing, greens, tees, bunkers, drainage, irrigation, grassing, etc.), (d) General Conditions, and (e) AIA Contract (agreement between golf course owner and contractor).  We typically allow 60 to 90 days to prepare these documents, depending on scope of work.

2. Pre-Bid Conference:  Qualified golf course contractors, approved by owner and designer, are invited to attend a pre-bid conference at the golf course to review Golf Documents and the site.

3. Construction / Design Approval:  Once a contractor is hired, we (designer) are on site weekly to make all design approvals and review construction specifications.  We produce Site Visit Notes after each course tour describing detailed instructions to the contractor on features impacted to date.   Regardless of how good the contractor is, we feel it is critical to limit his ability to progress beyond specific stages on each feature until we approve the work but we never restrict the contractor’s progress.  We are on site as frequently as necessary to provide approvals and maintain an acceptable construction pace.

THE GROW-IN / PHASE THREE 

Grow-in:  Unlike some design programs, Billy Fuller continues to make site visits through the all important grow-in period, sharing effective agronomic programs from years of experience with the on site golf course superintendent.  Billy experienced five grow-ins as a golf course superintendent and well over one hundred as a consultant.

 Grand Opening & Beyond:  We enjoy staying involved with our projects through annual design reviews, if the club approves.  Mr. Fuller has on going consulting relationships with many clubs extending back sixteen years in some cases.  He enjoys maintaining good relationships with club officials and staff to ensure the integrity of the design and maintenance programs.  Having spent fifteen years as a golf course superintendent, he understands the tools needed by the superintendent to maintain turf to the desired level and this knowledge can be a valuable, ongoing resource .