As many of you witnessed, the seeding of the Vale greens and practice areas took place last week. The countdown has begun.
While some have used the expression, "It's as exciting as watching grass grow," sarcastically, we couldn't be any more excited to watch the grass grow. To help pass the time and to share the details about what was actually done, we have asked Rick Robbins to provide a rendering and his thoughts on each of the greens over the next several weeks.
As we have begun our 50th year and have a terrific new project that will be unveiled this summer, we thought it would make sense to refresh the memories of our long-time members as well as provide some insight and introduce Rick to our many new members.
The Vale and Creek courses were designed by Edward Packard and constructed in the late 1960s. In the early 2000s, and after many years spent acquiring the land south of Middle Creek, Michael Coppola engaged Rick Robbins. The goal for him was to design a modern 9-hole golf course that would allow for the development of a residential community and provide the membership with a unique golfing experience tying together the old and new. Rick succeeded in designing The Ridge, with a fabulous golf layout and a residential community that has hosted two Home Shows.
In 2011, we brought Rick back to Echo Valley to deal with some longtime issues with the Vale course. Many things were accomplished from irrigation upgrades to shaping and draingage, but the main goal of the project was to minimize the impacts of flooding on holes 3 and 7. Many of you may not know this or may simply accept it as the way it has always been, but the cart path on hole 3 is 4.5 feet higher than it was in 2010 and the pond in front of 7 green did not exist. The only shortfall of that renovation project was that the greens remained untouched.
Fast forward to 2018, Rick answered the call again. While desiring to stay true to the original design and construction of the greens, Rick was tasked with recapturing lost surface, improving drainage, and providing interesting contouring and pin placements. The work was completed last fall, and now we get to watch the grass grow.
For those of you who know Mike, and as an explanaation to those who don't, every time Rick has arrived in Des Moines to start a project, Mike has expanded and improved the scope. For this last visit, Mike added the challenge of creating the best-in-class practice facility. From the new putting green that is now nearly 25,000 square feet, to the short-game practice facility on the west end of the lower range, Rick has created an amenity that all will enjoy.
Please watch for Rick's Renderings on a weekly basis. He will hsare the details of construction including the increased size of each green as well as how the renovated greens will provide new challenges and fun for our membership. Let's all pray for great weather so we are able to "watch the grass grow."
-Matt | 
