The drainage scheme and soil profile-matching measures we enacted at Westmoor were very enlightening.
In the spring, before we regrassed the greens, Stuart, Fla.-based XGD Drainage removed 2-inch strips of sod on each green before digging 15-inch drainage trenches spaced every six feet in a modified herringbone design. XGD then laid down 2-inch drainage tile and refilled the trenches with a 7:2:1 mix of sand, soil and peat — an attempt to match the greens’ existing push-up soil profile. The sod was then re-laid and members played these greens up until Aug. 1, when the course was closed. This is the drainage we would have done in the fall, when the course was closed. Doing it ahead of time, in the spring, gave us more renovation time in the fall — before the snow shut us down.
When the course did close, the existing putting surfaces were killed via fumigation. Samples of the soil profiles underlying these greens were sent to a testing lab to determine their characteristics.
This was an extremely important phase, because when this course reopened, we wanted all 18 greens — the four we rebuilt, and the 14 that weren’t rebuilt but were regrassed — to be cared for in a reasonably identical manner. What the lab recommended was a 7:2:1 construction mix of topsoil, sand and peat, the same mix used for the XGD drainage backfill. It’s a dirty mix, as they say, not a USGA mix. But it closely matched the existing profile and that’s what we used on the four new greens.
We had to go this extra mile because it made no sense to put the same grass on 18 greens that, underneath, didn’t have the same soil profiles. Of course, we could have rebuilt all 18 greens, but that would have been a far more expensive prospect.
Share with us your soil profile stories: Do you know if they’re consistent green to green? If they are (or aren’t) how does this affect their upkeep?
Westmoor's desire to achieve across the board consistency on their putting surfaces drove home the need for XGD and their regrassing effort. I believe Jerry K will now be able to apply the same cultural practices to all their greens , new and old. I don't know of any club that could say that, unless they have 18 pushups or 18 sand greens.
ReplyDeleteWhat did this cost on a per-green basis, and how long before the green were playable?
ReplyDeleteThe greens construction method used at Westmoor cost about 20% less per green than if we had utilized a USGA recommended profile... or around $55,000 compared to $75-$80,000 per green. The primary savings was realized in reduced rootzone mix, gravel and drainage. The new greens were seeded late August of '09 and opened for play just prior to Memorial Day, 2010.
ReplyDeleteTest
ReplyDelete