The picture shows why drainage is important from a maintenance perspective...the grounds staff was make 6 or 7 passes on the driest part of the fairway.  Since embarking on our drainage and fariway topdressing programs we have avoided scenes like the one below.  The only remaining spots where this tends to happen is on 6 and 10.  The pile in front is the start to the new forward tee.

We had areas of the fairway that were caving in...

One doesn't expect to find a two foot diameter pipe just a few inches under ground in a fairway.  This cement pipe has been here at least for a century, but the frost has been slowly heaving the pipe out of the ground.  Recently sections like the one repaired below had started to cave in and develop holes in the fairway.  This type of repair is economical compared to complete replacement and the permitting to go along with it.

 

Finishing it off.

 

Moving over to the right side of the  hole, one can see the wetland that developed between the first fairway and the second pond (the second green is in the fore ground).  This had once been dry, firm rough.

 

A view of it from the first hole cart path.  Notice the water running across the path, a curtain drain was installed on the high side of this path that eliminated this issue.

We found old drainage structures like the one pictured below.  In addition to repairing these, we found that the broken drainlines in the first fairway and irrigation leaks were dumping 10,000 gallons daily in this whole area.

It only took a year before most of the cat tails found the area too inhospitable to survive.  Most of what is left is fescue, an upland grass.  we were even able to install a cart path.  I will find a better picture of this transformation, but hopefully this suffices in the mean time.

For a complete look and how we repair drainage and the fairway topdressing program please go back and select  Drainage Work or click here.