Practice Putting Green Ready to Open

Previous to the renovation, the ground around our putting green has always been higher than the green. Over the years we paved more of the area surrounding the green.  In major thunderstorms, the drain system around the green is overwhelmed and the green becomes like a creek bed with water rushing over it. 

As part of our renovation project, Double Eagle installed two new drains to the right of the green and contoured the ground. When the drain in front of the green is overwhelmed, the water will flow toward the new drains.  On the left side of the green the ground has been contoured to encourage water to go around to the back of the green rather than across the green. 

The green and the surrounding areas are recovering nicely and we look forward to opening the practice putting green on Friday, November 6, 2014.

The final phase of our renovation project was to evaluate and repair the drainage system in each green.  The first step was to dig holes in the top side of each green to locate the beginning of the drain lines.  When all the greens were rebuilt in 1996, with the exception of #1, the contractor was allowed to bury the beginning of the green drain line.  This is not in accordance with USGA guidelines and occurred because we did not properly supervise the 1996 construction.  Our staff has located the beginning of each green drain line and installed an access pipe that allows the drain lines to be flushed out with water, air to be blown in the drains, and a camera to be inserted to inspect the drain system. 

We were able to run a camera through the main trunk of each drain line and we found the drains on 1/3 of our greens were stopped up.  We cannot inspect the branches, but they seem to be performing well.  The blockages were largely due to crushed lines and/or negative slope on the line from the original construction.  Fortunately all of the problems were off the greens so the repairs can be made without damaging putting surfaces.

The three greens on the course with the worst problems are #4, #7, and #17, where the drains were completely blocked. The drains to the right of #3, left of #9, right of #13, and off the front of #18 are not as severe but they need to be repaired too.  We also will add a catch basin to the left of #12.  These repairs will involve digging in the ground so please be patient if you see this work in progress while playing.