Samson Bailey, Golf Preservations’ president, says the key to any green drainage project is choosing the right sand mix. “I recommend guys keep a sand mix that matches as closely as possible to their top three to four inches of aerifying mix. Most of the time, I tell clients to stay between two to four inches an hour on their sand mix.
What causes drainage problems on a golf course?
The most common causes of drainage issues on golf courses are inadequate surface drainage, imper- meable soil conditions, side-hill seep- age, and high water tables. Identifying the causes of drainage problems can be challenging, but it is the key to a successful drainage project.
What are the fundamentals of successful golf course drainage?
The fundamentals of successful golf course drainage. Common misconceptions about managing soil water often lead to poor performance of sand-channel drains, especially on putting greens. Know which soil physical properties matter the most when selecting backfill material for drainage trenches.
What makes a successful drainage project?
Proper planning is essential for a successful drainage project. There's a lot going on below the surface. A technique new to golf courses that can help keep water moving. Purdue University research demonstrates how constructed wetlands can be used to limit runoff. Improving water quality with phosphorus removal structures.
Should drainage issues be ignored during Chal-lengthening?
Chal- lenging or not, drainage issues should not be ignored. Conditions will only get worse if drainage issues are not resolved. Page 4 Green Section Record Vol. 54 (17) September 2, 2016 ©2016 by United States Golf Association. All rights reserved. Please see Policies for the Reuse of USGA Green Section Publications.
How can we solve the problem of drainage?
Listed below are the top five solutions for poor drainage in your home and landscape.Improve Soil Permeability. Soil permeability should be a priority when dealing with drainage problems in your lawn. ... Divert Excess Water. ... Improve Your Yard Topography. ... Yard and French Drains. ... Work on the Nature of Your Landscape's Soil.
Do golf courses drain well?
Drainage is fundamental to golf course architecture. If a course doesn't drain well, it will rarely play well. So figuring out how to move water off fairways and greens is nearly always at the top of an architect's mind.
How can I improve surface drainage?
Here are some ways to improve your garden's drainage.Pricking, slitting or spiking. ... Grow more plants. ... Build raised beds. ... Improve soil drainage. ... Manage surface water. ... Use bark chippings. ... Install artificial grass. ... Install land drains.
Are golf courses a waste of water?
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. golf courses consume more than 2 billion gallons of water per day, and since one in every 17 of U.S. courses is located in arid and semi-arid California, our 921 courses consume a sizable chunk of that total daily.
Do golf courses use GREY water?
In fact, an increasing number of courses are using effluent water – often referred to as “gray water.” Government regulations and water availability have led to the increased use of gray water at golf facilities, says Brian Vinchesi, design engineer at Irrigation Consulting Inc., Pepperell, Mass.
How do you install herringbone drainage?
Herringbone drainageMark the position of the main trench. ... Mark the position of the side trenches and ensure that they join the main drain at a 45 degree angle to form the herringbone pattern.Space out the side drains at either 3 metre intervals (for clay soil) or at 7.6 metre intervals (for loamy soil);More items...•
How do I make a rock drainage ditch?
How Do you Make a Gravel Drainage Ditch?Plan your trench to collect flood and stormwater and channel it downhill.Dig a trench 18 inches deep (45 cm) and 36 inches wide (90 cm).Line the trench with landscape fabric.Add a layer of gravel 8 inches deep (20 cm).Fold excess landscape fabric over the top of the gravel.More items...
How do you stop waterlogged grass?
Pricking, slitting or spikingPricking or slitting the surface can improve a waterlogged lawn. ... Hand spiking tools are available for the purpose, but an ordinary garden fork can be used. ... Pricking and slitting are best carried out once the excess water has drained away, especially where machinery is to be used.More items...
How do you redirect water runoff?
10 Ways To Manage Runoff WaterAdd plants. Incorporate plantings, especially in areas where runoff collects. ... Protect trees. Like other plant roots, tree roots help absorb and filter runoff. ... Break up slabs. ... Go permeable. ... Catch runoff. ... How to Divert Water Runoff from Driveway. ... Plant a rain garden. ... Cover soil.More items...
How many gallons of water does a golf course use a day?
Courses around the U.S. suck up around approximately 2.08 billion gallons of water per day for irrigation. That's about 130,000 gallons per day per course, according to the golf industry.
How much water does it take to maintain a golf course?
In California, an average 18-hole golf course sprawls over 110 to 115 acres and conservatively uses almost 90 million gallons of water per year, enough to fill 136 Olympic-size swimming pools, said Mike Huck, a water management consultant who works with golf courses statewide.
How many gallons a day does a golf course use?
Audubon International estimates that the average American course uses 312,000 gallons per day. In a place like Palm Springs, where 57 golf courses challenge the desert, each course eats up a million gallons a day.
How does drainage work on a golf course?
A primary drainage system consists of a series of 'lateral' drains installed across the area in question, connecting to a 'main' carrier pipe that channels the water collected by the system to an outfall. So far, so simple.
How do you drain a golf green?
2:035:21USGA Putting Green Construction Recommendations - DrainageYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipBefore installing the drain lines use a laser or transit to ensure that the drainage trenches have aMoreBefore installing the drain lines use a laser or transit to ensure that the drainage trenches have a minimum slope of 0.5%. So that water will flow to the terminal point of the drainage.
What is slit drainage?
Slit Drainage is a method of removing unwanted Water from any Grassed Surface. The Technique is designed to be installed quickly with a minimum impact on the Grass and a short recovery time. An area deemed to be badly affected may be Slit Drained without disruption to Scheduled Events.
What is golf course drainage?
In particular, golf course drainage must maintain a holistic view of the course’s broader hydrology, taking into account not only the areas that are affected, but also potential impact to adjacent areas , and the broader system of arterial drainage (s uch as ditches, watercourses or culverts) that manage the movement of water around the course.
How to design a drainage system for a golf course?
In designing a drainage system for a golf course, the natural falls of the land must be accounted for in determining the optimal angle of the lateral drains, where the necessity for positive flow through the drains must be balanced with their intersecting surface water most effectively. In some cases, specialised installation equipment or techniques, such as laser-control equipped trenching machines, may need to be employed to ensure all drains flow towards the system’s outfall.
What happens when a drain is blocked?
In cases where existing drains are blocked, water collected by the system will work its way to the point of the blockage, where pressure will build as more water backs up into the system; with no positive outfall to drain to, the rising pressure in the pipe will eventually force the water back out of the drainage system, causing further waterlogging issues. In cases such as these, secondary drainage solutions – no matter how effective – will not overcome the underlying issues that are the root cause of the waterlogging.
What is primary drainage?
A primary drainage system consists of a series of ‘lateral’ drains installed across the area in question, connecting to a ‘main’ carrier pipe that channels the water collected by the system to an outfall. So far, so simple.
What are the factors that determine the effectiveness of a drainage system?
The key determining factors in the effectiveness of primary drainage systems are: lateral specification, drainage design, and lateral spacing.
What is the principle behind land drainage?
This is the principle behind all land drainage: from traditional French Drains, to conventional plastic pipe, to more advanced solutions such as Turfdry’s unique Hydraway Sportsdrain: by creating larger pockets of air in subsurface channels (the drains), water can move more quickly and effectively away from the area being drained, thereby reducing the saturation of the ground and mitigating waterlogging issues.
How does secondary drainage work?
In cases where functional, but inadequately spaced primary drainage systems exist, secondary drainage solutions such as sand-banding or ‘earthquaking’ may prove effective in encouraging surface water that moves across the pitch to find its way more efficiently into the primary drains, thereby increasing the rate of drainage . This can lend a new lease of life to an aging draining system, increasing the rate at which surface water can find its way into the primary drainage system, thereby improving its performance at relatively low cost.
Why are there swales in golf?
In a comparative exercise, the landing area on a new golf course, prone to excessive surface waterlogging , was reshaped creating swales to lead accumulating surface water away from the playing area while still maintaining a pleasant undulating surface for golf. With the installation of the drains only in the swale inverts there was a considerable reduction in drainage installation. Total costs, which included the replacement of topsoil, soil preparation, seeding and sand dressing on either side of the drain lines, proved to be more economic and effective than installing a grid like system of close spaced drainage pipe lines.
How deep should a football pitch drain be?
The most successful drainage measures undertaken on waterlogged football pitches has proved to be the incorporation of close spaced slit drains 50mm wide to a depth of 250mm at spacing of 1-2 metres. These slit drains cross over lateral piped drains at 5-15 metre spacing which convey surplus water to main collector drains and on to a preferred outfall. The slit drains comprise 150mm clean stone gravel 5-10mm covered to the surface with a selected coarse sand or grit. (Refer to Appendix 2 ). The materials were selected on the basis that at least 20% of the grit material should be of particles greater than one sixth of the size of the smallest 20% of the particles in the stone material below.
Where is Ian Woosnam Golf Course?
In 1997 a newly constructed Ian Woosnam golf course was opened in Flimwell, East Sussex, England. The entire site was reshaped, the greens seeded to Providence creeping bentgrass and the fairways and tees seeded with Lex 86 and Lorina dwarf ryegrass in a 50:50 mixture. The soil type on the fairways is a silt loam material and in agricultural terms was classified to be slowly permeable (reference Appendix 1 ). While the grow-in proceeded according to plan with good establishment there were expected drainage problems in low lying areas and in particular in the invert of valleyed or swaled areas.
What is the backfill material used in slit drains?
In the drains the backfill material comprised the stone and grit used in the slit drains. It was intended to cover the immediate area on either side of the drains with an approved topdressing sand to prevent contamination in the upper layers of the drains. This treatment was not immediately carried out and the accumulation of silt and organic matter debris in the drains did impair drainage initially though the surface displacement of water was significant.
Why do golf course drainage systems fail?
There are several reasons drainage systems fail. Poor design or improper installation can lead to drainage failures. The effectiveness of existing drains also can be compromised by lack of maintenance or accidental damage during construction projects. Furthermore, tree roots can clog drain lines, rendering them useless. Sometimes existing drainage can be overwhelmed by increases in storm- water flow. Entire drainage systems can be compromised by changes that occur outside the golf course property. These can be the most complex and difficult problems to contend with, especially when the solutions require cooperation from adjacent property owners or government entities. Chal- lenging or not, drainage issues should not be ignored. Conditions will only get worse if drainage issues are not resolved.
Why is my golf course not draining?
The most common causes of drainage issues on golf courses are inadequate surface drainage, imper- meable soil conditions, side-hill seep- age, and high water tables. Identifying the causes of drainage problems can be challenging, but it is the key to a successful drainage project.
How to stop side hill seepage?
Seepage water can be especially problematic during spring snow melt or extended periods of wet weather. Subsurface drains are an effective way to intercept side-hill seepage. A subsurface drain should be installed across the hillside immediately above the upper limit of where the side-hill seepage reaches the surface . The drainage trench must be deep enough to reach the impermeable layer and usually is backfilled to the surface with coarse sand. Occasionally, gravel also is placed against the trench wall.
How do I dig a drain line?
Drainpipes that are 4 inches in diameter and larger require wider and deeper trenches that are usually made with a mini-excavator or small backhoe. Start digging drainage trenches at the discharge point and work uphill to the end of the line, ensuring there is sufficient slope within the drain line for water to reach the discharge point. Drainage trenches should be dug wide enough to provide a 1- to 2.5-inch gap on both sides of the pipe to allow backfill material to surround the pipe and protect it from crushing. However, trenches should not be overly wide to avoid unnecessary cost and disruption. Trenches for 4- and 6-inch drain lines should be dug with a standard 12-inch wide bucket. The slope of a drain line will depend on the elevation difference between the highest point of the drain line and the outlet. Ideally, drain lines should have a minimum slope of 1 percent — i.e., fall 1 vertical foot for every 100 feet of horizontal run. Though not ideal, drain lines can function with slopes as low as 0.1 percent — i.e., fall 1 vertical foot for every 1,000 feet of horizontal run, but they require precise installation with lasers and an experienced crew. The slope of each drainage trench
Why is puddling bad for golf?
The combination of impermeable soils and runoff from a neighboring property can leave areas too wet for mowing or golf during wet weather . Standing water above a sunken drain line is a good indication that the pipe has failed and needs to be replaced.
What is a master plan for golf course drainage?
A master plan is comprehensive and offers systematic solutions to address drainage issues while identifying, prioritizing, and guiding the work that needs to be done. Furthermore, a master plan will provide specifications for the drainage work and detailed costs for materials and installation. In-house staff can often implement parts of a drainage master plan, but some areas may require the help of an experienced contractor. The article Planning a Golf Course Drainage Project provides greater detail on developing master plans for drainage projects.
What is surface drainage?
As the name implies, surface drainage involves the flow of water over a sur- face, including playing surfaces, cart paths, roadways, and the swales and open ditches that are used to carry water through a golf course. Surface drainage is a critical component of
What are common misconceptions about managing soil water?
Common misconceptions about managing soil water often lead to poor performance of sand-channel drains, especially on putting greens. Know which soil physical properties matter the most when selecting backfill material for drainage trenches. Trust But Verify.
What university is demonstrating how constructed wetlands can be used to limit runoff?
Purdue University research demonstrates how constructed wetlands can be used to limit runoff.
Is drainage important for putting greens?
Just as location is important in real estate, drainage is the foundation of any good putting green. Planning A Golf Course Drainage Project. Proper planning is essential for a successful drainage project. Subsurface Drainage of Modern Putting Greens. There's a lot going on below the surface.
What is drainage in golf?
Drainage is a fundamental piece of golf course architecture. If a course doesn’t drain well it will rarely play well. Therefore, figuring out how to move water off the golf course is a golf course architect’s primary worry. There are two ways that an architect can move water; the natural land or through manmade drainage systems.
Why is surface drainage important?
The benefit of using surface drainage is it is the most cost effective method. It delivers the most natural and best visual aesthetics. It will also lend itself to the best playability because of the lack of drains. Drainage systems – It is ideal to avoid drainage systems when possible.
What type of soil is best for a golf course?
The best soil to build a golf course on is the sandy variety. Sandy soil allows shapers and construction crews to easily move and contour the ground to their desired specs. The sand also plays a pivotal role in drainage and playing conditions. Sandy soil drains better, allowing a golf course to play firm and fast on a more regular basis.
What is design build golf?
Design-Build is a philosophy that has had a resurgence at the hands of Coore & Crenshaw and Tom Doak. These two changed the industry by controlling all aspects of a golf course build. As its name suggests, Design-Build this approach involves the architects designing and building the course. The architects will work with a group ...
Why is sand capping important?
This is a process where 4” or more of sand is added during the construction of a golf course to facilitate drainage and firm conditions. While it adds to the overall construction cost of the project, it lowers ongoing maintenance expenses and adds to the playing conditions.
What was the method used by the Golden Age Architects?
Surface drainage was the method used by the Golden Age Architects. Seth Raynor and George Thomas (and his construction partner Billy Bell) were renowned for their abilities in this field.
Why use a drainage basin?
One issue that arises with using drainage systems is the water tends to settle around the drain. This will create a softer area where grass doesn’t grow as quickly and firm conditions cease to exist.
When did Toronto Golf Club install drainage?
In 2009, Toronto Golf Club literally rebuilt its course – from new tee decks and bunkers to new grass in the rough, green expansions and a brand new irrigation system to name a few of the many changes the historic property made. It was the perfect time to install new green drainage as the course was closed from July 2009 to May 2010. The club hired TDI Golf and its XGD (Existing Greens Drainage) division, to install a subsurface drainage system to remove surface water more rapidly and lower the water table, thereby improving turf growth. The procedure has gained a lot of recognition and popularity in the turf industry as an excellent method of improving the subsurface drainage of existing greens without rebuilding them.
How much did the Greens drainage project cost?
The greens drainage project cost about $230,000 for all 19 greens. The work was spread out among the entire renovation project with each green taking approximately five days to complete.
Where is Garrett Luck's golf course?
DOING MORE, WITH LESS. Like most superintendents, Garrett Luck’s budget is tight these days The greenkeeper at North Shore Country Club in Mequon, Wis. , recently developed a master plan to renovate the entire course. Part of his long-range plan included a complete rebuild of North Shore’s greens.
Who designed Toronto Golf Club?
Toronto Golf Club, designed by Harry S. Colt, is North America’s third oldest club (1876). It recently underwent a complete renovation. As part of the long-range plan, the club added new subsurface green drainage to all 18 holes, plus the practice green. Like many of the tracks built in the late 1800s and early 20th century, it features old pushup greens, which were built with little consideration for drainage.
How does Bailey's crew work?
The first thing Bailey’s crews perform is a survey to understand each green’s topography. “Each green is unique,” he explains. “We design a drainage pattern by using the natural contour of the green; then, we try to catch as much surface and ground water as we can. After we’ve used lasers to get the topography, we design a specific drainage layout for each green.”
Primary Drainage
- A primary drainage system consists of a series of ‘lateral’ drains installed across the area in question, connecting to a ‘main’ carrier pipe that channels the water collected by the system to an outfall. So far, so simple. The key determining factors in the effectiveness of primary drainage systems are: lateral specification, drainage design, and lateral spacing.
Lateral Specification
- The conventional specification for lateral drains suggests perforated plastic pipes – usually 60mm or 80mm in diameter. It should however be noted that 60mm pipes are becoming increasingly unpopular, as 80mm pipes offer greater total capacity for the drainage system, and only involve minimally more disruption during the installation process. Water enters the plastic p…
Lateral Spacing
- As a result of the wide range of variable factors involved (soil types, course gradients, pedestrian and machinery tracking routes, rainfall statistics for the location, maintenance regimes, etc.) there is no practical scientific formula to determine the ideal drain spacing for any particular course. However, Hooghoudt’s Drain Spacing Equation shows that any percentage increase (x) in the am…
Secondary Drainage
- In cases where functional, but inadequately spaced primary drainage systems exist, secondary drainage solutions such as sand-banding or ‘earthquaking’ may prove effective in encouraging surface water that moves across the pitch to find its way more efficiently into the primary drains, thereby increasing the rate of drainage. This can lend a new lea...