Remember When . . .

I love coming to work every day and one of the reasons is because I enjoy spending time on our very special back 9 here at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.  The back 9 is a special place not only because of Jack Nicklaus' phenomenal course layout but the magic of  how he incorporated some of the natural landscape elements to bring some drama into the each hole that you play.  Some of the most striking features that he had to work with include the panoramic views of the Cascade Mountain range that follow you as you rise and fall with the elevation changes and the steep cliffs that line holes #13, 14 and 15.

Jack did a great job using these elements to bring a little bit of a psychological aspect into the game, making the golfer give serious consideration when choosing the type(s) of shots that are played out here.  One of my favorites is from the 15th tee which sits right along the canyon that runs all the way down the fairway and around the green.  I came across the old photograph below some time ago of this hole as it was back in 1998 a few months before the course opened.

In this photograph, you can really see that Jack's intention was to use the canyon as an intimidation factor when selecting what kind of tee shot to play.  The two choices forced the golfer to choose between running the risk of getting their ball swallowed up by the deep abyss on the left but reaping the reward of extra yardage if you manage to stay out of the canyon or playing it slightly safer on the right but sacrificing some yardage and putting the first set of fairway bunkers into play.

Hole #15 in 1998 a few months before the course opening.

Today, this hole still retains the same elements- the bunkers, the extra yardage the only difference is that the edge of the canyon isn't as dramatic as it once was.  Everything in the Pacific Northwest grows so quickly with our moderate climate and aggressive vegetation that this edge has gotten a lot softer over time.  Normally, this would be an off-season brush clearing project however, because this specific canyon is so steep, the work is very slow going and can be a major safety obstacle when operating trimmers and chainsaws on this type of terrain.
                     

Hole #15 as it stands today.  Overgrown and not as dramatic as it once was.

I am excited to say that despite the obstacles, there is a solution that we have never done before here at TPCSR and we will be putting into play this week.  Goats!  Bunches of them!  If you know anything about goats, they love to eat and will eat just about anything not to mention they don't seem to mind steep terrain.   

                     

                   

We are working with a contractor that has worked all over the Puget Sound with clients that include the City of Sammamish, Mukilteo, Issaquah, Maple Valley, Sound Transit and Puget Sound Energy.  The plan is to start down near the 15th green and work our way up towards the tees all the way through the top of the canyon on hole #14.  In order to keep the goats contained and protected, trails for the erection of temporary electric fencing will be cleared ahead of the goats' arrival on property and the fencing will be set up in sections and moved up as they eat their way through the canyon.  

The electric fences will be powered via our irrigation control boxes so you will see extension cords running from these to the fence lines.  For safety and visibility, we will be marking these cords with red irrigation flags.  We will do our best to route these extension cords to minimize impact on play the best we can.  Should your ball come to rest up against the cord, you may lift and place it within one club length no closer to the hole.  As far as the fencing, please do not touch it.  As the name, "electric fence" states- you will get shocked if you touch it.  There will be signage all along the fence reminding everyone of this safety factor.  

If all goes as planned, about 25 to 50 goats will arrive on property early Wednesday morning and be placed in their first pen via a corral constructed behind #15 green.  It is hard to anticipate exactly, how long they will be here but my guess would be two weeks until they are finished.  It depends on how fast they eat and how nice the weather is will affect how fast they move along since they are more active when it is nice and no so much when it isn't.  

We are excited to see the before and after impacts of this project not to mention goats are pretty cool.  I will make an effort to post updates here on the blog of their progress along with some before/after pictures as this project takes place.  We also have a few more exciting projects in the works- but those are for another blog post once we get details finalized, stay tuned!