Added: 31st may 2024
Aston Wood Golf Club – an 18-hole championship course in Sutton Coldfield to the north of Birmingham – first contacted Turfdry in 2021, looking for guidance as to how best to tackle the widespread waterlogging issues that were undermining the playability of the course during the winter months.
During the initial site visit conducted by Turfdry’s MD Melvyn Taylor, the wide ranging scope of the drainage issues was revealed, with club staff indicating that some mismanagement by the previous ownership had likely contributed to the growing scale of the problems they were now facing. With this in mind, Turfdry recommended the club pursue a long-term drainage strategy, considering the entire site’s drainage holistically, rather than focus on the specific areas that were causing the most concern. This philosophy is central to Turfdry’s approach to golf course drainage improvements, but was particularly relevant in this case, where carefully considered investment would be required to deliver the widespread improvements necessary to achieve the club’s vision.
Impressed with this approach, the club commissioned Turfdry to undertake a full topographical survey of the course, which would provide the foundation for the hydrological analysis required to begin the drainage design work. Following its completion, club staff highlighted the key areas of concern, which were then digitised and used to provide estimate budget costs based on a cost-per-m2 basis, thereby allowing them to assess the scope of the initial phase of works.
With this information, Turfdry produced drainage designs for a number of the priority areas on the course – knowing that not all of them would necessarily proceed as part of the initial phase of works, but recognising that optimal cost-effectiveness would require the designs for some areas of the course to be sympathetic to the requirements of other areas. A key instance of this is in the arterial network of large-diameter carrier pipes, ditches, and ponds, where selection of the most appropriate route or size for this key infrastructure would ensure the works would take into account future additions to the drainage network, thereby ensuring the best use of the club’s budget.
Topographical survey of the course, with areas of concern highlighted with a colour-coded system that prioritises the most troublesome parts of the course,
An initial phase of works conducted in 2022 saw fairway drainage installed on the 9th & 18th fairways, as well as work to revise some pond outfalls to promote the healthier flow of water through the course’s arterial network. These works were a great success, and Turfdry was invited back to the club in early 2024 to continue expansion of the drainage system to the remainder of the 9th fairway, as well as the entire 10th fairway. The spacing of the Hydraway Sportsdrain laterals was varied to ensure sensitivity to the requirements of each area, with the majority installed at 4m spacing, but some sections that see high foot traffic installed as close as 2m spacing.
Although the drainage installation team was pleased to be back out on site after an extended period of downtime brought about by the exceptionally wet winter, the elements continued to conspire against a smooth installation, with heavy and persistent downpours slowing the rate of progress to a crawl. Whilst all of Turfdry’s machines run on low-pressure grassland tyres, and the team is highly experienced in delivering tidy projects with minimal disruption to existing surfaces, the soft ground conditions made for an often slow and sometimes frustrating installation. Nevertheless, despite these challenges, the works were ultimately completed to the firm’s high standards, and we look forward to monitoring the success of the project as the year goes on.
Drainage design drawing used for the 2024 phase of the golf course fairway drainage at Aston Wood.
For more on the unique benefits of Hydraway Sportsdrain, click here, or why not check out some more of Turfdry’s golf course drainage projects?
