Drainage & Irrigation

Drainage construction should be carefully sequenced to minimise repeated disturbance of shaped and finished areas. Trenching, pipe-laying and backfilling activities should be programmed to take place in each area as it becomes available, normally after the placement of topsoil but before final cultivations, rather than as a continuous operation over the entire site. In addition, the use of tracked vehicles or vehicles with low ground pressure tyres helps to minimise soil disturbance and compaction.

The relatively flat nature of the extensive playing areas of a golf course means that drainage gradients are often very shallow. Gradients of no greater than 1:200 are common. This places a premium on the accuracy of levelling to avoid costly and damaging re-excavation and re-laying. Laser-guided excavation and trenching equipment is therefore strongly recommended.

Irrigation efficiency, and therefore water conservation, may be similarly affected by poor construction standards — for example, if leakages occur. The pipes, valves and sprinklers will normally be installed after topsoil re-spread and before seeding, so the main irrigation construction concerns relate to potential compaction of topsoil. As the golf course irrigation system will be used to ensure that seeds stays moist prior to germination, the programme for irrigation installation must be planned to be ready for the best time to seed the course.