The rain events of last week have definitely brought out the worst in our course drainage. Standing water on the cart paths and in the bunkers show us where we need to improve. We started a full course plan to repair the standing water on the cart paths and we have corrected the drainage in the greenside bunker on #5 at the Players Club. Here are some photos detailing the completed work and the work in progress.

Picture of standing water along the cart path.

We strip the sod away and regrade the slope towards a nearby catch basin.

The completed product. We relaid the existing sod over the new grade. 

Here's the greenside bunker on #5 at the Players. After any significant rainfall this is our result.

We located the existing drain at the bunker edge and attached a new outlet line. We dug a small trench to the nearby pond, shown in the picture above. 

Photo of our work at the halfway point.

The new outlet into the pond. We surrounded the outlet with rock to provide structure and keep pests away.

Winter projects

       Since winter decided to come a little early this year we have been able to get a jump start on some off-season projects. A few projects that never seem to go away are the leveling of sprinklers and drain inlets. This hardware is located all over the property and often times comes into play. This makes the leveling task hard to accomplish in the middle of the busy summer.

       The first drain that we addressed was located in the small fairway on #16. We extended this drain two years ago, however it has since sunk another six inches. This causes an unsightly and unplayable depression in the fairway and forces unnecessary wear and tear on our equipment. The pictures below shows what we did and how we've adopted a sleeker method to extend the life of the new extension.

Former grading with new drain extension.

Drain inside larger "form" pipe for gravel channel installation.

Added soil for leveling surrounding grade and securing our gravel channel.

Close-up of gravel channel after we removed our 10" channel form.

Drain extension and leveled grade.

Finished product.

FC Drainage #5 - LET IT FLOW!!

       Shape Masters, local contractor, came in to the Founders Club this past week to repair drainage issues.  Over the years, traffic and the resulting compaction have sunken the large drain inlet on number five. The sinking caused the inlet side to be lower than the outlet end, which kept the water from moving through the pipe.  This caused water to accumulate around the inlet of the pipe and erode the soil behind the pipe.  Shape Masters trenched and exposed enough of the pipe to able to raise the end back up so that it became more of a straight line.  They back filled around and underneath the pipe and propped the end up with concrete blocks. They put the finishing touches on it by putting new sod on the area they dug up. Below is a picture of the crew in action.

    

Drainage Project #5 Fairway at Players Club

        The second fairway on the fifth hole at the Players Club has become a maintenance issue for the past several months. The right side of the fairway has gradually raised which created a low spot in the center of the fairway. This area consisted of poorly drained soil which became exacerbated by the change in slope. We began work on this project on April 1st and finished up on the 5th. Here a some pictures and captions of the project.

Water collecting on the cart path as a result of poor drainage.

Wet area on fairway prior to drain installation.

Removal of sod layer above new drainage destination.

Completed sod removal.

Twelve inch deep trench dug to house four inch drain tile.

Yes, that is a tree root in the center of the fairway. Most likely turned over during construction.

Catch basin cavity next to the cart path.

Addition of base gravel layer. We use buckets to deter spillage onto the fairway.

Laying the perforated drainage tile.

Another shot of the tile being installed.

Drainage tile installed.

Close up of the trench as we begin to back fill the trench.

Catch basin installed next to the cart path.

Gravel layer installed.

The final grade being put into the trench. We use a fresh layer of sand to increase the initial percolation rate.

Final step. Replacing the sod.

Finished product. All that's left now is the clean-up.

        This project took us 50 man hours to complete. Upon completion we noticed an immediate improvement. Now, almost two weeks removed, the sod is taking root and you can barely notice the seams. We expect a 100% recovery and improved playing conditions moving forward on the fifth hole at the Players Club..

Drainage project at the Reserve Club

        The eighth hole at the Reserve has been a drainage issue since construction. It is especially noticeable in the winter when the Bermudagrass is dormant. The pictures below show a drainage system that we installed last week. This will alleviate the wet conditions and provide better playability on the eighth hole at the Reserve. 

Associates digging the trench at the Reserve.

     
        We installed a perforated drain parallel to the cart path (see above picture). We then connected the new drain to the existing catch basin near the fairway. The pipe was then covered in gravel, buried in fresh sand and leveled off with sod. The picture below is the finished product.

The answer to all problems irrigation at the Reserve, Joseph  Ray.

Drainage projects at the Founders Club

      A few weeks ago we listed our winter project agenda. This past week we were able to begin complete some of these items. We repaired the drainage on #2 and #17 at The Founders Club. Here is a brief summary of the job.

      The areas that need repair are the same spots that we have worked on in the past. The existing drainage is composed of perforated pipe surrounded by gravel, also referred to as a "french drain". The idea is for the water to drain through the soil, into the gravel and then out thru the drain. Overtime, the gravel becomes compromised with silt and sand. The silt fills the pores in the gravel and inhibits the water from reaching the drain pipe. This causes the surrounding areas to stay wet and soft, thus leaving the turf susceptible to mower and cart damage.

      We start the projects by stripping the existing sod. Then we dig a cavity around the inlet pipe and drill holes in the pipe to repair the damaged perforations and increase water infiltration. The next step is to fill the hole surrounding the pipe with new, clean gravel.  In both instances, #2 and 17, we raised the surrounding grade with soil and added a riser to the inlet. After the subgrade was complete, we resodded with the sod we removed earlier. Here are some pictures of the project and the finished job. 

Founders #17 - Backfilling the subgrade

Founders 17 - Completed project