Imagine you are standing on the former site of a busy cattle feedlot on the edge of what is now a picturesque summer village. The feedlot has been gone for years, the previous owner having retired and dismantled the operation to make room for the swell in tourism to the area. Now a group of developers has bought the site with plans to build a championship 36-hole golf course, but before they can do that, they need your expert opinion of the site.

You are a soil scientist, and these developers have hired you to analyze the soil of the former feedlot to assess if it can support the specific varieties of grass, trees, and shrubbery they intend to grow on the course. Since much of the course's success hinges on the quality of its greens and fairways, the developers need to know what can grow on the site.

As a soil scientist, you are an expert in the chemical, physical, and biological properties of soil and know what you need to look for to determine if the site is suitable for a golf course. First you and your team of technicians must take a number of sample cores from the site, which will be sent to the lab for analysis. One of the tests you'll run will detect residual contaminants in the soil that could affect its viability for growing grass and such for the golf course. You will also test for other characteristics, for example nutrient levels and organic carbon content.

In addition to lab analysis, you will examine these cores for texture, bulk density, hydraulic properties, and moisture levels, including a close inspection looking for different colours in the soil, indicating the presence of a water table. At the end of the process, you will give the developers a thorough report on the soil's health and physical attributes and indicate whether it is a suitable site for their golf course.