TECHNICAL


Forward thinking managers have begun to draft up drainage systems to help


”


reduce the risk of flooding, keep playing surfaces


playable, keep their courses open and protect the


organisation’s income. Drainage schemes can be


Sand banding


Gravel banding: Forced slits with a hollow blade and gravel gravity dropped into the created void up to 20mm wide and 250mm deep. This process is highly effective and can be installed with larger twin leg units or smaller more versatile single leg units. It’s also possible to install lightweight aggregates such as Lytag or rubber crumb through these units later in the year when weight is an issue over wet surfaces. As there has been no soil exchange and the slit has been forced open, slits will seal up at surface level in time but are easily refreshed.


Sand banding: Forced slits with a hollow blade often combined with a decompaction unit like the GroundBreaker or Shockwave. Again, this is a hollow blade behind the decompaction unit and sand is delivered by gravity into the slits up to 18mm wide and


150mm deep. The sand needs to intersect using a similar particle sized sand at surface level over the primary drains.


Sand slitting: These are trenched slits and therefore soil is replaced. These are deeper and wider than the other methods and can be installed in a variety of depths and widths with single, double or triple wheel trenchers and included standard whizz wheel trenchers or multiple wheel trenchers such as the GKB DrainMaster. By nature of soil removal and replacement with gravel and sand or just straight sand, this form of secondary drainage is the most effective and longest lasting but is understandably more costly initially.


As with most fine turf environments, timing of drainage installation and re- instatement is critical and very much


costly but, when faced with loss of revenue, are easily justified if properly planned and phased in a logical programme


seasonal. Drainage solutions need to be planned well in advance. In winter, too much damage can be caused to fine turf areas when removing soil and replacing with imported material and can be highly destructive to surfaces. Alternatively, in dry conditions, shrinkage and cracking can occur, creating uneven settlement of imported materials which requires addition labour to make good. Turf recovery and seed germination relies on a mixture of favourable temperatures and moisture, therefore, if there is the facility to irrigate seed and/or turf over drain lines, perhaps consideration should be given to carrying out the works outside the traditional winter months.


Shockwave


Sand slitting PC April/May 2021 115


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