February 2017: Understanding Water Tables and The Capillary Fringe

Posted on February 4, 2017February 4, 2017Categories PRODUCTTags , ,

UNDERSTANDING WATER TABLES AND THE CAPILLARY FRINGE

There are three types of seepage water. They are seepage water from lack of velocity, seepage water from a hillside spring, and seepage water from a high water table. Detailed descriptions of each of these can be found in “Analyzing Drainage Problems and Applying Proper Drainage Techniques.” The reason that it is necessary to distinguish between the three types of seepage water is that each water type requires a different installation depth to be effective.

This article will focus on the third type of seepage water, which is seepage water from a high water table. The permanent water table is called the “Phreatic water table,” and is the level …

February 2017: Berkeley Hall Club, Bluffton, SC

Posted on February 4, 2017February 6, 2017Categories CUSTOMER PROFILE, PRODUCT, PROJECTSTags , , , , ,

 

Berkeley Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C. is an incredible facility. The two Fazio courses are demanding enough to host the best amateurs in the country each year at “The Players Amateur,” but enjoyable enough that the national membership makes plays year round. The course is maintained to the highest standards, and the “Berkeley Hall Experience” comes with the expectation of facilities and service at the highest level.

A wet winter in 2016 was keeping Chris Young, CGCS and “Director of Golf Maintenance,” from providing the product that he knew was expected from the membership. He contacted Pat O’Brien, regional agronomist with the USGA, and Pat suggested that he contact TDA. Dennis Hurley and Mickey McCord prepared a plan in …

1st Qtr 2015: Tech Section: Surveying Turning Points

Posted on February 11, 2015February 14, 2022Categories PRODUCT, TECHNICALTags , , , , , ,

 

Surveying Turning Points

Most superintendents had a surveying class in college, but when a skill isn’t used everyday, it can be difficult to remember the lessons that were learned many years ago. I thought it would be helpful to provide a basic chart that could be kept as a reference for the next time you need to survey an area for drainage. This chart can be used in a log book that can be purchased from any surveying store, or created in any program, such as Excel, that can create columns. The six columns are set up as shown below.

 

turning points2

There are six columns in your log. The first column identifies the point that is being shot. The second column

1st Qtr 2014: Current Projects

Posted on January 30, 2014January 24, 2021Categories PRODUCT

Midwest: Westmoreland Country Club, Wilmette, IL

 

Todd Fyffe, Superintendent at Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, IL, has overseen the completion of the new drainage system that is designed to store flood waters when they back up on the property.

Todd says,

“I am impressed with the ability of the course to soak up a one inch rain and the short period of time the soil remains saturated. In the past, we would have remained saturated for days after a one inch rain, and for weeks after multiple rain events.  The fairways  are now open to cart traffic the next day following a one-inch rain.”

The healing process has been impressive. Leibold Irrigation did a great job. They used the commercial

Can you raise your drainage basin in 10 seconds?

Posted on February 20, 2013September 19, 2022Categories PRODUCT, TECHNICALTags ,

Perma Basin is the patented basin from Turf Drainage Co. of America that have permeable sidewalls.They not only collect surface water, but also the seepage water that collects around the basins.

One of the most popular features of these basins is the simplicity with which they can be raised. Every superintendent has dealt with basins that have become too low because of thatch accumulation, or maybe they were just installed a little too low.

With a Perma Basin, there is no need to dig the basin up and reset it. Simply take an additional frame, set it on the existing basin, and you will raise the elevation by 1¾” in less than 10 seconds.

Fall 2012: Installing Drainage Like This Could Be Making Your Problem Worse, Part 2

Posted on August 17, 2012January 24, 2021Categories PRODUCT, TECHNICALTags , , , , ,

 

This is the second of a series of articles about installation mistakes that can actually cause your drainage problems to worsen instead of improve (Part I). A common practice in the golf course industry is the use of perforated pipe for transporting water. Every drainage system has two major functions; collection and transportation of water. 

Collection can either be done by an open inlet collecting surface water, or a seepage line collecting water that is trapped on the profile.  Many superintendents feel that if they use perforated pipe for their transportation lines, it can also collect their seepage water. Makes sense right? Maybe not. When a perforated line is used to transport water from a surface inlet, the

ON DISPLAY at the GIS Show in Las Vegas, TDA Booth 2264

Posted on February 27, 2012January 24, 2021Categories PRODUCT, TECHNICALTags , , , , ,

If you are attending the GIS show in Las Vegas this week, please come by and visit. We will have our wildly popular Irrigation Driven Pumps on display. These are the drainage pumps that you can install anywhere on your course without having to run electrical service to the site. 

 mini_idp_1

In addition, we will have our flagship product Turf Drain, along with the patented Perma Basin, Channel Drains, and the Turf Drain Siphon System, plus many other items from our line on display.

Why would you want your bunker to do this?

Posted on February 27, 2012February 14, 2022Categories PRODUCT, TECHNICALTags ,

Why would you want the subgrade of your bunker to be so firm that you could bounce a golf ball on it?

You might be interested in considering a PERMA BUNKER when you see the quality of the sand four years after construction.


This picture shows the sand around the Perma Basin that is installed in the PERMA BUNKER. The sand is in the same pristine condition as the day it was installed, because the stabilized subgrade has stopped the contamination that occurs in other bunker construction methods.

Mike Archer with Greenscapes Six has built 1,000 bunkers with this method over the years. This method has many advantages, not the least of which is cost. This bunker method can

Why NO drainage system can “wick” water

Posted on December 12, 2011February 14, 2022Categories PRODUCT, TECHNICALTags , , ,

There has always been a lot of misunderstanding about where The Turf Drain Siphon System has applications. We are often asked if it works by “wicking” water off of the soil. The answer is no.

The Turf Drain Siphon System is a transportation system, not a collection system. In a later newsletter, we will discuss where and when it has advantages over other transportation systems. However, the purpose of this article is to clear up the notion that any drainage system can “wick” water. There are various claims by manufacturers and installers of other drainage products and systems that they wick water, or pull water from the soil profile. Either these claims are made to purposefully oversell their products, or

Installing drainage like this could be making your problem worse, Part 1

Posted on September 26, 2011February 14, 2022Categories PRODUCT, TECHNICAL

Visiting courses all over the country, we observe two common mistakes installing drainage that can actually cause your drainage problem to worsen as opposed to improve. The first is installing perforated pipe and gravel to an area where there is no control over the relief.  This could be a lake or a river that fluctuates during rain events, or a tidal area that inundates the system on high tide.

In either case, a perforated pipe and gravel system immediately starts to function as a leach field instead of a drainage system. In a situation such as this, as the water level at the relief rises and fills the pipe with water, the water seeps out into the gravel bed and