16th Green drainage work.

The 16th green has suffered for many years with drainage issues, despite being set on a slope, the green suffers from large amounts of run-off water moving across the surface of the green. Many attempts have been made to solve the problems, including installing a series of drains around the back and side of the green.
This week we have installed a new piped drainage system into the green which we have connected into all the surrounding drain channels.

We surveyed the green before we started to make sure the main drain was placed in the lowest part of the green. Something which had never          been done before.

We installed over 125 m of 80mm diameter perforated pipe in trenches 250mm wide and 750mm deep.

Weather depending, we intend to carry out work on the 12th & 14th greens.

Drainage issues.

Long standing members may remember the drainage work which was carried out on the 5th, 8th, 11th & 16th greens back in 2001.
The work was carried out by a contractor using a system called "Turfdry". The system involved inserting "ribbon" drains into multiple narrow channels at a depth of 400mm. The "ribbon" drains measure 150mm x 25mm. The photos below show the material and the drains exposed in a trench.

The problem with the system is the drainage channels are so narrow they quickly become contaminated with fine particles and the water never manages to reach the "ribbon" drains. 
When we exposed these drains this week, out of a total of 20 lines only 3 had water in them.