Old Drainage Failing

As many of you know, we’ve been experiencing some drainage issues on #9 approach for quite some time now.  We have now begun investigating to determine the exact cause of the drainage concerns.  Our first plan of attack was to amend the profile of the approach as soil probing indicated very high thatch levels.  The best way for us to do so is by core aerating and topdressing frequently to continually improve the top 4”-6” of the profile.  To do so, conditions need to firm up to properly pull cores and achieve the desired results.  Being that the approach is so saturated, we decided to at least deep-tine aerate the area using solid tines (non-coring) to open channels for proper drainage until conditions firmed up enough to be suitable for coring.  While doing so, we discovered large pockets of water/air not far below the surface, which is a clear indicator that drainage tiles below are likely compromised.  We have determined that the top of a drainage line is only about 10” below the surface.  Being so shallow, it has likely been struck and damaged by deep tine aeration time and time again.

Here is photo of soil and water that rushed to the surface from one of the water/air pockets below:

clear indicator of drainage line trouble down below

We are in the process of digging up the area to expose the compromised tile and I’ve got good news and bad news with regards to what we've discovered.  The good news is that the drainage installed by TDS during the course project is working just fine.  The bad news is that we’ve discovered old drainage installed in-house well before the course project that is failing miserably.  Here are a few photos of what was discovered:

some tile connections completely severed

tile completely filled with mud and gravel

As you can see, the drainage lines are highly contaminated and will not drain.  We will continue to expose this old drain line and will then determine the best approach to correcting the situation.  I anticipate we will find the entire line to be far too contaminated to be deemed useful and if that’s the case, it will need to be completely removed and properly replaced to ensure that this high profile area drains properly.  A temporary green will be necessary at times for us to efficiently and safely work on fixing this problem.  There will not be a temporary green for weekend play, the regular green will remain open.

I suspect that improperly installed in-house drainage is the cause of other drainage issues we are experiencing on the course (i.e. – the right side of #18 fairway nearing the approach).  We will also investigate these other areas to determine why they are draining so poorly.

We will provide regular updates on our progress and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we take the time to properly address and fix these problems.