Water, water everywhere!
Oct 9 2008 by Golf North East
BRIAN Clark of Close House Hotel and Golf Club continues his Greenkeeper's Diary column aimed at keeping Golf North East readers up-to-date with greenkeeping goings-on.
With the summer being one of the wettest on record I thought this month it would be appropriate to talk about what techniques and requirements golf courses need in order to cope with rainwater.
Drainage is normally one of the crucial elements in design phase of any new golf course, especially in Britain where we can at times have wet periods.
We are currently in design phase of our second golf course and the designs are being adapted to ensure we have correct drainage in both removing water from the course but also making sure that our water features within the course will have a constant supply of water throughout the year.
When looking at drainage designs you not only have to look at the best way of removing water from particular areas but work out what effect that channelled water will have on areas further downstream.
Good drainage in one area could cause flooding elsewhere but also could affect natural habitats, which have been used to a constant supply of water which may be removed by drainage systems.
One thing that we are trying to incorporate into our new golf course is new lakes as these not only provide good features for golf but they provide ideal storage areas to link drainage round the golf course too and these allow us to control the flow of water through the site.
With regard to the types of drainage used on golf courses these can vary depending on the area being drained and the way in which the hole is designed. Golf course architects quite often use open ditches as hazards on the hole but these are primarily for removal of water.
Piped drains are more often than not used although expensive with the correct construction with a gravel top and well maintained grass surface they are very effective at removing water from fairways, tee boxes and greens.
Whilst it is possible to add these to golf courses after they are built it can create a lot of mess in the short term whilst they are put in, therefore when you have the opportunity to get it right in initial design this can save a lot of work in the years to come.
It is not until you do have heavy rain such as we have experienced over the last month that areas of poor drainage become apparent and whilst we have one of the best draining courses in the area our course suffered with the rain.
However, due to the greens being of USGA spec they are very free draining which allows us to get the course open so much quicker.
If a severe period of heavy rain has hit, hiring in water pumps to remove surface water is a quick solution to get the course open although it can be expensive. All the work we carry out over the year including hollow tining, verti-draining all over the course help with drainage and this is one of the reasons why the autumn is a good time to carry out the work as it allows the course to drain better through the wetter months of the winter.
