Styrofoam back-filled pipe is the latest golf drainage concept. A salesman recently gave me a three-foot sample of 4” HDPE drain pipe covered with six inches of Styrofoam popcorn and wrapped with a black mesh fabric.
I’ve installed golf course drainage since high school and my preferred methods have evolved from crushed stone to coarse sand back-fill. Continue reading »
Wet golf courses are dangerous places to work and play. Sodden golfers with soggy, squeaky golf shoes recently assaulted several golf course managers with muddy golf clubs. Genteel retirees became violent when their high, arcing golf shots landed with a muffled thwack in spongy sod and inky soil.
Owners of wet golf courses contact golf course consultants like me with impassioned pleas to develop strategies to remove subsurface water, and make golf balls bounce after landing. Continue reading »
Abstract: Water pockets are surfaces that contain rain or irrigation water. They don’t permit natural surface runoff and this leads to many turf and playability issues.
The perfect golf course includes millions of tiny drainage swales that guide excess water to ideal drainage destinations. This golf course doesn’t exist. Every golf course has water pockets that collect some water. These are caused by:
Abstract: While Northeast golfers sharpen their games in warm weather, happy golf course construction staff labor on windswept golf courses in February.
I love working on frozen golf courses. You never see a golfer or inspector, and if you dress properly, you’ll never feel a chill. We are currently installing an 18″ pipe on a golf course in Massachusetts. The frost is about 6″ deep-just the way we like it. We drive our pickups across frozen turf to the work site. A few months before, we could barely walk on the soggy fairways.
I’ve worked through plenty of New England winters. I’ve only had frost bite 16 times; the worse case was an ocean side course on Cape Cod. The January winds turned my ears purple and they still have a bluish tinge.
In my younger days, we vibratory plowed thousands of feet on pipe while working on 12″ of snow. You can’t work every day in the winter, but if you plan properly, you can get get work done.
My gear includes thermals by LL Bean or Damart, and outer clothing by Carhartt, particularly their Artic line. I pack Grunden rain gear and insulated rubber gloves I bought at a fisherman supply store.
Clients love to see work done in the winter. We perform sod restoration in the spring. Tee projects benefit by fill conveyance over frozen ground.
I’ve checked the forecast. Looks like 20 degrees with a chippy wind of 20 knots. Just the way I like it.
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Abstract: Golf greens with heavy soils usually have drainage problems that complicate turf management. Installation of drainage pipe in existing greens is an effective but expensive option.
I grew up on a golf course with poorly drained greens. After a heavy rain, high iron shots usually landed with a muffled thwack. Golf courses can improve subsurface drainage with the following procedures.
Flat Pipe: Several manufacturers offer flat drainage pipe in rolls. The pipe includes an 8” wide by 3” high HDPE corridor that looks like crushed conventional pipe. The corridor is covered with a geofabric mesh.
The flat pipe is installed wide side down on the green subgrade, not in a trench. After determining existing subgrade slopes, drainage lines are marked on the golf green. Sod is removed and numbered with chalk to insure that it is replaced in the exact location.
Next, green mix is removed down to the subgrade level. I recommend removal of all the green mix in the green core during this process, but some remove only green mix on the trench line. Complete green mix removal is expensive, but trench-only excavation may cause problems with dissimilar compaction.
The flat pipe is connected to a 4” smile drain at the low point of the green collar. The smile drain exits away from the green complex.
Fat pipe is more expensive than conventional pipe. Connecting fittings are more expensive than conventional round fittings.
Round pipe: Conventional double wall perforated HDPE pipe is used in many green renovation projects. Installed in a herringbone pattern, the pipe is placed in the green floor. After centering the pipe in a one-foot excavation, the trench is backfilled with 3/8” pea stone.
Removing all the green mix permits accurate slope survey insuring positive draining. Many modify the green mix during this process.
Slit drains: Some superintendents install slit drains in existing greens. After removing and numbering the sod, 2” single wall perforated pipe with a geofabric envelope is installed in a 12” trench. A small trenched can do the work. Line the trench with plywood to limit green damage. The pipe is backfilled with new green mix blended with a higher percentage of sand.
I’ve seen drastic drainage improvements with this method. Skilled crews reinstall sod making trench lines invisible. Some experience trench line discoloration caused by the use of sandy green mix in the trenches.
Abstract: Drain wet bunker floors by installing drainage tile. Check working grades before starting the project.
Soggy bunker sand creates playability and appearance problems. Repair involves removal of existing sand and installation of double-wall HDPE pipe into the bunker floor.
Start the retrofit process by locating a suitable discharge point for the bunker drainage pipe. Set the laser on level. and take a shot on the top of sand on the low point of the bunker. Add the depth of sand and depth of pipe to this measurement. For this example , I’ll use a 6″ sand depth. The pipe invert, or bottom, is 12″ below the sand layer. The combined measurement is 18″ below the top of sand. This is the depth of the bottom of the drain pipe.Measure up on the rod, and add 18″ to the rod elevation. Remember that the bottom of the rod goes down when height of the reciever goes up. Let’s assume the rod elevation of the sand layer is 5 feet, the combined elevation is 6 feet, 6 inches.
Next, locate the discharge point. Choose this point carefully because it will usually be wet. Be sure that the exit drain discharges into a down slope without creating a water pocket. If you can’t find a suitable discharge location, consider tying into nearby drain culverts or pipe. Some construct cisterns or leaching catch basins.
Work the laser from the discharge point to the bunker. Establish a minimum slope of .1 %, or 1 tenth of an inch in 100 feet. Remember to land at the low point in the bunker at a point 18″ below the sand surface.
Install pipe in a herring-bone configuration, 12″ below the bunker floor, not the sand. Be sure to slope pipe down to the low bunker floor point.
I prefer to remove all the sand. Store the sand on plywood next to the bunker, or install new bunker sand after the pipe is installed. The partial sand method involves painting the pipe pattern on the sand, and removing only enough sand to excavate the trench and install the pipe.
I like to backfill bunker drainage pipe with bunker sand. Others use 3/8″ pea stone.
If the discharge point is exposed, add a rodent guard, a wire barrier that keeps rodents from entering, and clogging, the pipe.
Additional information:
Abstract: Install curtain drains to dry-out wet golf fairways caused by subsurface water flow seeping from the bottom of a slope.
Golf course builders frequently cut into slopes to create flat fairway areas. This earthworks process severs natural water veins, causing disruption in subsurface water flow. Water that formerly stayed underground then finds the surface, creating wet fairway conditions.
A curtain drain intercepts subsurface water flow before it reaches the surface. Before installing pipe, locate subsurface water flow. Find the toe-of-slope (bottom of the slope) and perform a series of borings using a T-handle 2″ bore. The borings should be about 2 feet up from the toe-of-slope. Locate the areas that are moving water. Look for sandy, silty, gravel-laden strata. This is where the problem is located.
Let’s assume the water is running at 2 feet. I install curtain drains 2 feet from the toe-of-slope about 3 feet deep. I always use sugar sand and HDPE pipe with sock-a geofabric lining. Single-wall pipe is fine because of the depth of excavation. Pitch the pipe at least .10 percent, and discharge the water away from playing areas. Plan on a large volume of water discharging from this system.
Additional information:
Summary: Install small drainage inlets, or vertical structures, in golf course drainage systems using the following information.
This post will discuss the installation of small, 12″ and under, drainage inlets. I don’t use preformed PVC structures because of the expense. I construct my inlets with double wall, solid, HDPE pipe.
Inlets direct surface water into drainage piping. Installed vertically, they are covered with a plastic or ductile iron grate.
I always add a bottom. You can use an HDPE end cap or make your own out of HDPE sheets. Always drill a few dozen holes to offset any hydraulic pressure that may push the structure up.
When I cut the horizontal pipe holes, I work my measurements from the cover down. It’s critical to have a full corrugation on the HDPE pipe top. If you cut it after installation, you may end up cutting into a weak portion of the pipe, and the structure will fail.
I use a laser to determine the inlet rim elevation. I include a inch or two for pitch. Survey the limits of the inlet swale and be sure to allow for the lowest point. Let’s assume that the rim elevation is 64.00
Next, determine the invert of the incoming and exiting pipe. Work this out with graph paper and surface elevation shots. Let’s assume that the invert is 62.00. The incoming hole is 2.00 below the inlet cover. Measure down 2.00 with the cover installed.
Cut the inlet 2.00 plus 1.00 (the depth of the sedimentation basin) This structure is now 3 feet long.I use a 4″ hole saw with a battery-powered drill to cut the horizontal pipe holes.
Excavate the hole 18″ below the invert. Add 18″ to the rod elevation to assist in determining depth. Add 6″ of 3/8″ crushed stone, then install the inlet. Use a level to install the structure plumb.
Check the bottom of the slope rod on the inlet hole inverts and adjust if needed. After installing drainage pipe, backfill with crushed stone. Cover the crushed stone with geofabric, and install 6″ of topsoil, then sod.
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Golf course drainage-large inlet installation
Summary: Use these methods to install large drainage inlets, or vertical structures, on drain lines.
The first section of this post will discuss the installation of a 24″ inlet, or manhole, on a live 12″ PVC drain line with 4″ of water running in the pipe.
I use drainage inlets made of solid, double wall HDPE pipe. After installing a metal plate on the bottom, I cut pipe hole inverts one foot above the plate; this creates a sediment basin. Water-borne debris will fall into the basin before entering the outfall pipe.
After we excavated a 48″ hole around the new inlet location, we excavated 18 inches below the pipe invert to allow for 6 ” of crushed stone and the 12″ basin below the pipe invert. After excavating the work limit, a laborer walked over with a beach ball. Twenty feet away, the laborer found an existing drain inlet connected to the same 12″ drain line. He blocked the discharge end with the beach ball. The water stopped at the new inlet location.
We cut and removed 22″ of the live drain line, centered on the designed grate location. This measurement is important; the 22″ measurement allows for installation of the inlet while providing a few inch overhang for the horizontal pipe. The 12″ holes were cut an inch wide, and we cut a 45 degree bevel on the inside of the 12″ holes. The inlet slipped on the drain pipe opening with a gentle nudge. Another method involves a bell-end coupling. Cut a 4 foot section of pipe on the existing line and replace it with a bell-end coupler after installing the inlet.
I”ve had a few bad experiences with flimsy 24″ inlet covers made of welded wire. This installation used a light duty frame-and-grate sold by a waterworks company. These structures won’t fit into the 24″ pipe; they rest on the inlet top. Install concrete along the frame edge to insure stability.
We removed the beach ball, and the water flowed into the new inlet. We donated the beach ball to the young daughter of the laborer.
Additional information:
Summary: An overview of an intensive fairway drainage project in Massachusetts.
We started a golf course drainage project on Wednesday, August 26,2009. I’m working with a golf course contractor on slope control and survey.
We’ll install 4500 linear feet of drainage tubing on a private golf club in Massachusetts. Detailed plans provide working elevations and slopes. This plan includes 35 inlets, or catch basins.
Day #1
Excavator digs and sand trailer follows closely
Dry weather created ideal working conditions. We mobilized two Cat-307 excavators and three John Deere tractors pulling Pronovost trailers. One laser provided slope information, and another, set a few feet higher, generated elevation data.
I’m working with experienced golf course laborers. The existing sod is cut two strips wide. The rolled sod is store ten feet from the trench. We’ll reinstall the sod after pipe installation.After painting the pipe run, laborers installed sheets of plywood on the trucking and equipment route.
All equipment will work on plywood. An excavator with a narrow trenching bucket loaded excavated spoils into a tractor and trailer combination. A skilled grade foreman worked in the trench providing depth of cut information to the excavator operator. Several trucking routes provide options to avoid golfer interruption.
We first constructed a swale along the first 85 feet, then we began the pipe installation with 10 feet of double wall solid pipe. The excavation begins with a 2.5 feet excavation, but it will vary based on pipe inverts (bottom of trench elevation).
We’ll use double wall and single wall perforated tubing with a geofabric sock covering the outside of the pipe. We will backfill with high-percolation drainage sand obtained from a local sand and gravel operation. The sugar sand percolates at 40 inches per hour.
A jumping-jack compacted the installed sand, and a 6″ layer of screened topsoil surfaced the trench.
The project will take 20 working days. I’ll update as the work proceeds.
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Village Links, Plymouth,Mass. by Ray Richard
Golf Construction Field Book by Ray Richard is the perfect pocket companion for golf construction professionals. It's filled with essential RichardGolf content.
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