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: Tech Section: Could this be why your green does not drain?

Posted on January 29, 2014January 24, 2021Categories TECHNICALTags , , , , ,

 

Do you have 17 well-drained greens, and one that doesn’t perform up to the others, and you aren’t sure why?

 In traveling the country for 30 years looking at drainage problems, I periodically run into a poorly drained green on a golf course that otherwise has greens that drain properly. There are the obvious “problem greens” where the superintendent has already identified shade as the culprit. This is usually a situation where, at first glance, there doesn’t appear to be any reasons that its performance should be subpar.  

In trying to help the superintendent determine what might be different on his problem green, I always start with questions related to possible problems with the outfall piping. Is it on grade;

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.

January 2013: Tech Section – Difference between drainage envelope and drainage filter

Posted on January 29, 2013February 14, 2022Categories TECHNICALTags , , , ,

One of the most commonly asked questions we receive is, “Isn’t the filter fabric (geotextile used around Turf Drain and Perma Basins) going to clog up?” In the early 80’s, when we first introduced Turf Drain to the golf course industry, I called on golf course architect, Joe Finger in Houston. Joe was a civil engineer. As soon as I showed him the Turf Drain and explained how it worked, he said, “I have never seen a filter yet that didn’t clog up and have to be replaced.” I wasn’t able to counter his statement, but as soon as I left his office, I started my search for the explanation. Since that time, I have spent untold man-hours trying to

Fall 2012: Tech Section – Cardinal Rule #1: Proper seepage drainage must have an adequate airspace

Posted on August 17, 2012February 14, 2022Categories TECHNICALTags , , , , ,

 

Cardinal Rule #1: Proper seepage drainage must have an adequate airspace

If we could only explain one principle to improve people’s understanding of proper seepage drainage, it would be that proper seepage drainage must have an adequate airspace to drain to in order to be effective. If a person absolutely understood this one critical concept, 90% of failed drainage installations would be eliminated. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t have some type of discussion with a golf course superintendent, engineer, or golf course architect whereby it is obvious that cardinal rule #1 is either not truly understood, or is underestimated in its importance.

The basis of all seepage engineering is a formula for the proper design of

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

Tech Section: Turf Drain Siphon System

Posted on September 26, 2011October 9, 2012Categories TECHNICALTags , ,

In our last Tech Section, “Why NO Drainage System Can Wick Water,” we promised that in a future newsletter we would talk about when the Turf Drain Siphon System had application.

There is much misunderstanding as to when and why someone should use a siphon as opposed to a gravity relief. The first thing that we should clarify is that the Turf Drain Siphon System is a transportation system, and not a collection system. However, having said that, a siphon basin does have the ability to collect surface water through its open inlet, and seepage water through its permeable sidewalls. But these collection components aren’t the determining factor as to when it should be used. The primary factor that determines …