Golf Course Drainage
Over the past 15 years Turfdry has worked successfully on over 50 golf courses throughout the UK, designing and installing cost effective solutions to a wide range of waterlogging problems.
Some clients approach us with isolated problems on specific greens or fairways, whereas others have widespread drainage issues on courses which may be over a century old and are seeking a comprehensive review of drainage over their entire course. Whatever the extent of the problem, Turfdry can provide initial friendly advice and can often arrange a site visit without obligation.
On courses where widespread drainage issues exist and insufficient information is not held by the client, comprehensive topographical golf course surveys can be undertaken using the latest GPS techniques (download Golf Course Survey information sheet).
Fairway Drainage
Waterlogging problems on fairways can result from a variety of causes. Widespread waterlogging is generally associated with the presence of impermeable clay soil but other causes can include blockages of existing drainage pipes caused by tree roots, which is a fairly common occurrence on established golf courses.
Accurate identification of the causes of drainage problems is essential: solutions will often involve the installation of new underground drainage pipework using either conventional plastic pipe (see Ashbourne Golf Club and Langely Park Golf Club case studies) or our unique Turfdry Drainage System using Hydraway Sportsdrain (see Woburn Golf Club, Langely Park Golf Club and Huyton & Prescott Golf Club case studies).
In some instances adequate piped fairway drainage may already exist and the waterlogging problems may be due to compaction within the topsoil layer, preventing water from reaching the drainage system. In such instances a variety of options could be considered, including decompaction treatments (‘verti-draining’, ‘earthquaking’, air injection) or the installation of a secondary drainage system (gravel/sand-slits, gravel-banding, or sand-banding).
Greens Drainage
Many golf courses in the UK still have traditional clay-based greens or some other type of construction that falls short of a free-draining USGA specification. The cost of replacing existing greens that are prone to waterlogging with USGA greens can be prohibitively expensive whereas a Turfdry Greens Drainage System can transform the drainage capabilities of clay-based greens at a fraction of the cost (download Greens Drainage information sheet). (See Long Ashton Golf Club, Shirley Park Golf Club, Sunningdale Golf Club and Liphook Golf Club case studies).
Other Works
Every other aspect of golf course drainage can be undertaken by Turfdry including ditching works, pond construction, installation of large diameter concrete and twin-wall plastic pipes, manhole construction, tee and bunker drainage.
