[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Interesting you say that.

I found out this morning, that the "Golf Professionals" seem to be the ones who oversee the renovation of the Executive Golf Courses. ( I downloaded a copy of the Bid Package for Pimlico & Pelican today).

Not to disparage the Golf Professional Staff in TV, but many of them were "Asst. Professionals" until TV elevated their stature to "Head Pros" and .... they're golf guys, not construction people.

I'm not sure having a golf pro oversee a $1,000,000 - $1,500,000 construction project, is prudent. Also, there doesn't seem to be any provisions in the Bid Package, for "3rd Party Verifications" (there is some mention of CEC over-sight) nor are there construction specifications for the Greens , Tees & Bunkers (replace what was there, isn't a "construction standard").

There are 62 Pages in the Bid Documents. Only 3 pages relate to the actual construction, standards and specifications for the 2 courses. There are 55+ pages of technical requirements, as to ethics, insurance, billing, payments, etc.

There are no construction plans, survey plans, engineering plans nor even a drawing of the original golf course that they're supposed to replicate. No elevations nor topographical information. No grading requirements (other than "keep it the same").

"remove clumpy material in preparation for grassing" is not a design specification nor an acceptable construction standard.

"Install 4 to 6 + inches of granite drain rock (USGA spec) completely covering the greens floor and drain lines. "Granite drain rock" is not a USGA spec, I believe it's a proprietary product, from a particular quarry and typically use for "top dressing".

"Install 12 to 14 + inches of 85/15 greens sand mix (USGA spec -must provide analysis test before installing) in the green’s cavity over drainage rock" The USGA doesn't provide a single "spec", it provides 28 pages of recommendations, that vary for different situations.

Not a single sentence in the entire Bid Package, includes the words: "must be constructed pursuant to USGA recommendations (or standards)". In the entire bid, ONE sentence is dedicated to establishing the quality of the work. It says: "WORK STANDARDS:
Contractor shall perform all work using the latest industry best practices and standards as applicable to this work."

At the meeting of the Advisory Committee 3 weeks ago, when renovation of the Executive Courses was discussed, we were told that the Greens and Bunkers are all per USGA spec. That is not what the Bid requires.

As a matter of fact, the Bid never mentions any USGA publications or recommendations for the construction of Greens/Bunkers/Fairways.

If my Landscape Architect designed a landscape plan for my 600 sq. ft. front yard, they'd be more detail, than the entire bid package for Executive Golf Course Renovation.

**** I could be wrong about this part, but I don't think so. The Bid requires "Unit Pricing" for almost every aspect of the job. In other words, it estimates certain job functions such as #1 "All Greens to be sod stripped ...." This quantity is estimated at 50,000 sq. ft. If the actual quantity exceeds 50,000 sq. ft., their are provision for the contractor to submit a Change Order for increased costs. If the quantity is less than 50,000 sq. ft., the District doesn't get a price reduction.

Hmmm