Soft ground and puddling fixed by 4 1/2" x 12" trench and backfilling
Forrester Park Golf Club Green Surrounds
Issue: Areas of soft ground were forming on three separate green surrounds, where water was settling and failing to drain away, hindering playability. There were no drains in situ at the problem sites although each green had a main drain in the vicinity that we could link to.
Solution: The FR1 was used to install main drains using trenches of 4 1/2” width and 12” depth to enable pipe to be laid along a main trench with four ‘herring bone’ trench lines to increase the drainage pull and linked to existing drains nearby. Then the trenches were backfilled with gravel and rootzone. Each of the three jobs consisted of around 50 linear metres of work and was completed by three men in under 7 hours.
Results: The drains installed have been a success and have increased the performance of the turf. The course owner, Bobby Forrester, was impressed with speed and ease of the job and the trencher being less intrusive than machinery used in traditional drainage. In addition, the FR1 offers a cost effective option for such jobs as targeted to the specific areas requiring attention, saving time and money on materials and labour.
Subsequently in the autumn of 2015, during an extremely wet period, an old lade (millstream) which had been capped during the course construction, had burst and a large wet area formed in the semi-rough leading onto the first fairway. The greenstaff were unable to take any vehicles over the area due to the poor ground conditions. The FR1 was used successfully to restabilise the ground by installing a pipe from the lade, leading off to a drainage ditch at the bottom half of the first fairway, which then enabled them to take bigger machinery on to the area again for course maintenance.
The owner, Bobby Forrester, found the use of the FR1 invaluable during this period, where the wet was very for an extended period and other machinery he owned was unable to tackle the task.
Subsequently in the autumn of 2015, during an extremely wet period, an old lade (millstream) which had been capped during the course construction, had burst and a large wet area formed in the semi-rough leading onto the first fairway. The greenstaff were unable to take any vehicles over the area due to the poor ground conditions. The FR1 was used successfully to restabilise the ground by installing a pipe from the lade, leading off to a drainage ditch at the bottom half of the first fairway, which then enabled them to take bigger machinery on to the area again for course maintenance.
The owner, Bobby Forrester, found the use of the FR1 invaluable during this period, where the wet was very for an extended period and other machinery he owned was unable to tackle the task.
Dr. Christian Spring (STRI) says:
"During conditions of surface runoff, the installation of a 1” gravel filled localised intercept drain resulted in a significantly firmer playing surface, in comparison to an area where no intercept drain was installed."
"During conditions of surface runoff, the installation of a 1” gravel filled localised intercept drain resulted in a significantly firmer playing surface, in comparison to an area where no intercept drain was installed."
A Problem We've Solved
Existing drainage failing due to drainage lines in incorrect position, leading to puddling and waterlogging on hotspots.
Solution: Use ForthRoots FR1 to dig micro-trenches of less than 1" width, backfilled with quality drainage sand to link to main drains.