The past week has brought a few milestones out here at 7MB.
The most exciting was the seeding of the eighteenth hole.
For this to happen, the team had to complete the first spear array and finish the installation of the water storage, the pump shed, and the irrigation main line.
While all the infrastructure work was being done, the Clayton DeVries and Pont (CDP) team set out to shape and prepare the practice facility. (We say practice facility as it’s truly a place to learn and practice, not just an area to bash a few balls and warm up, although you are welcome to do so.)
There were a lot of influences in the creation and design. Mat Goggin had quite a bit to say and he also enlisted advice from fellow PGA Touring pros Stuart Appleby, Greg Chalmers, and Steve Allan. Throw in the fact that the shapers – Jurrian van de Vaart and Lukas Michel – are both excellent players in their own right (Jurr played professionally in Europe, and Lukas is a USGA Mid-Amateur champion). Amongst them all, you have quite a bit of experience in spending countless hours practicing and perfecting golf.
Mike DeVries is no slouch either and his eye for detail and perfection on the D5 dozer has created something we believe to be a great place for the current and next generation of golfers to hone their craft.
The practice facility is double-ended, has two chipping greens, four practice bunkers, fescue and bent putting green, pitching targets, a tee shot that mimics a hole, a practice par 3 that also doubles as another pitching/chipping area and we can shut the range down and play a 6 hole short course.
The staff used the practice fairway as an area to learn irrigation and grassing before moving onto the course. Secretly I also think they wanted to finish the range first so they all have somewhere to practice after work
The team now moves on to seeding 17, 14, and 13. This should be completed by the end of this week.
Michael Henderson has joined DeVries on the shaping team and while they work away on 15 and 16, the rest of the crew will finish the installation of the irrigation on 1 and 2. By the end of September, there will be a very compelling loop of holes seeded that may require some early testing by the end of summer 2023.
All we need now is for the soil temperatures to begin their slow increase out of winter and these little guys will completely change the visual landscape.
