Last week I had the opportunity to visit my close friend and frequent design collaborator, Cees van Nieuwenhuizen, at his latest job in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Cees is managing the construction of a Todd Eckenrode-designed 18-hole putting course within the Maravilla Los Cabos luxury housing development.

The project, which is expected to take about three months from clearing to grassing, will result in a heavily landscaped, putting-only course for the enjoyment of the local homeowners. It covers an area of about 2 hectares, with six wildly undulating putting areas separated by a series of interconnected, naturalized, arroyo-style drainage channels.

While I was here, Cees introduced me to the rigors of day to day project management – from coordinating the activities of various subcontractors, to sequencing the necessary construction activities, to directing the delivery and placement of materials such as gravel, pipe and sand, to serving as a liaison between the developer, the developer’s engineers, the golf course architect and the general contractor – Cees was constantly in motion and, when not directly managing the subs or their laborers, he was keeping an eye on the quality of the work that was being done and having corrections made when necessary.

While this is a very small project compared to the full 18-hole construction projects that he normally manages, Cees explained that it gave him the opportunity to be much more hands-on since he could easily see nearly everything that was happening on the site at any given time. He was also able to work very closely with the shaper and subcontractors, making sure that all of the various designs (golf, irrigation, landscaping & hardscape) were being implemented accurately, on time and on budget. This level of oversight normally isn’t possible, as much more delegation and trust is required when the project takes place over several hundred acres. It was quite the juggling act!

After following Cees around for half a day he even found a few ways for me to contribute – having me bulk move some material out of one of the “arroyo” drainage channels with a mini-excavator and having me coordinate with the site engineer to assist with the production of the as-built.

Here I am, carefully avoiding underground utilities

Here are a few more pictures giving a sense of the scale of the project:

Looking South-East, Towards the Gulf of California

In terms of background, Cees and I have known each other since 2003, when we both were students in the European Institute of Golf Course Architects (EIGCA) sponsored MSc of Golf Course Architecture program at Herriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. We spent a year studying the great courses of Scotland while receiving a practical education in the nuances of golf course design from various guest lecturers amongst the EIGCA’s membership.

The majority of our class after a round at Carnoustie

Cees and I quickly discovered that we had complementary strengths, given my background as a licensed Civil Engineer in the United States and his as an experienced golf course builder and project manager. Cees had already worked throughout Asia and Europe when he started the MSc course and has since been directly responsible for the construction of courses such as The International, one of the top courses in Holland, Dreamland, the highest rated course in Azerbaijan and seven Jack Nicklaus designed courses in Spain, called Polaris World.

Since I founded Greengrass Engineering in 2012, Cees and I have had the opportunity to work together on a number of projects in Azerbaijan, including the Azerbaijan Racetrack Golf Practice Center, which we co-designed and Cees built. We have also worked together on proposals for work in Azerbaijan, Spain, Turkey and Germany.