Tech Section: Turf Drain Siphon System

Penny September 26, 2011September 6, 2024TECHNICALprinciples of proper drainage installations, self-cleaning velocity, Turf Drain Siphon System

In our last Tech Section, â€œWhy NO Drainage System Can Wick Water,â€ 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 arenâ€™t the determining factor as to when it should be used. The primary factor that determines …

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

Dennis Hurley September 26, 2011October 1, 2024PRODUCT, 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 …

Roaring Fork Club, Basalt, CO – Matt Brewer saves thousands with new IDPs

Dennis Hurley September 26, 2011October 1, 2024PROJECTS, TECHNICALIrrigation driven pump, Matt Brewer, Mini IDP, Roaring Fork

The Roaring Fork Club, a private golf and fly fishing club, is located just down valley from Aspen in one of the most beautiful natural settings in America. It is home to a Jack Nicklaus Signature course that plays along the Roaring Fork River.

As you can imagine, the winter snowfalls can be a real challenge for long time superintendent Matt Brewer to deal with in the spring. Matt turned to Turf Drainage Co. of America to help him with his most difficult areas. A strategic plan was done in 2010 to give the club a realistic appraisal of the overall cost of the project.

Next, the club decided which holes were the worst, and embarked on the first …

Fall 2011 – Franklin Hills, Franklin, MI, starts Phase 1

Dennis Hurley September 26, 2011September 6, 2024CUSTOMER PROFILE, PROJECTS, TECHNICALBrian Schweihofer, drainage, drainage installation, Franklin Hills, Franklin Hills Country Club, Michigan

Franklin Hills Country Club and the term immaculate condition are synonymous. But, for Brian Schweihofer,the one aspect of the course that he was not pleased with was drainage.

Prolonged wet stretches, such as what the Midwest expereienced in 2011, meant missing mowing opportunities that kept Brian from having the course in tournament condition every day. Brian and Dennis Hurley, President of TDA, spent three days walking the course in order to provide the club with a detailed plan of what was needed to gain control over the course during wet periods. The membership approved the plan by a wide margin in July, and will start the first phase of construction in September of this year.

Siphon Systems, Inc, a certified …

Concentrations of Flow

admin August 30, 2011September 6, 2024TECHNICALconcentrations of flow

The principle of Concentrations of Flow appears in many aspects of drainage. Understanding that it is critical to proper drainage design. It simply states that as water moves from larger areas through smaller areas, flow rates increase.

Concentration of Flow We see this every day on our golf courses when water runs off of hillsides. Not only is the bottom of the slope the wettest, but areas that run between mounds or valleys where the flow travels will be the wettest. These areas have to handle not only the water that is falling on the flow area, but the water that has fallen on the watershed above it. If we don’t collect this water before it concentrates in these areas, the heavy Concentrations …

What will a Master Drainage Plan do for you?

Dennis Hurley January 25, 2011September 6, 2024PRODUCT, PROJECTS, TECHNICALconsultation, consulting, drainage plan, drainage project, master drainage plan, planning, professional

A master drainage plan can give you, the superintendent, a way to clearly present the status of your drainage problem to your committee or owner. Pat O’Brien wrote an article in the September, 2005 issue of the USGA Greens Section Record regarding the importance of starting a drainage project with a plan.

Trey Cutshall, Superintendent at The Farm Golf Club, says “Until we did the drainage plan with TDA, we didn’t have a real grasp on the scope of the project. By being involved during the planning process, I knew that the areas that I felt were important were being included, and I had a much better understanding of what the options were in each area. Once we did …

This one mistake can destroy your drainage system

Dennis Hurley January 9, 2011September 6, 2024TECHNICAL

Not a month goes by at TDA that we don’t talk with a golf course that has incurred major damage to their existing drainage system as the result of having had an irrigation system installed with a vibratory plow. The reasoning is always the same. “The cost difference to trench it in wasn’t worth it. Besides, the contractor told me that they do it all of the time and it isn’t a problem.”

Cutting a drainage line while installing an irrigation system isn’t like cutting an irrigation line when you install drainage. You may not know a drainage line has been cut for several seasons. Even rains right after the irrigation project is completed might not tell you all of …

Do geotextiles clog up?

Dennis Hurley October 30, 2010September 6, 2024TECHNICALclog, farbric, geotextile, socked pipe

The most common technical question we are asked “Doesn’t the fabric around the drain clog up?”

The answer takes more than a simple “no” or “yes.”

Most of the misunderstanding about geotextiles comes from their original introduction into the golf course industry when they were first used as “socked pipe.” The industry installed the “socked pipe” into a bed of gravel. When failed systems were removed from the ground it was noticed that clay and silts had accumulated around the sock and the sock was blamed for the drainage failure.

In reality, the gravel had failed because it was not sized properly for the native soils. If the gravel had been the proper backfill the fines would have never reached …

Non-Breathable Greens Covers Offer Best Choice In Certain Areas

Dennis Hurley July 9, 2010September 6, 2024CUSTOMER PROFILE, PRODUCT

Non-Breathable Greens Covers Offer Best Choice In Certain Areas

Oak Hills CC in San Antonio has hosted 24 PGA Tour events. It currently is home to the SBC Championship, a premier Champion’s Tour event.

Craig Felton, CGCS, golf course superintendent at Oak Hills since 2004, has 20 years of experience using greens’ covers to protect Bermuda grass greens in the south. Craig has always turned to TDA to manufacture his covers because of the wide variety of choices that they offer. Craig first worked with TDA when he was an assistant at River Oaks CC in Houston, TX. “After the freeze of ’89, we purchased plastic non breathable covers from TDA,” Craig explains. “In this part of the country, I …

Palm Beach CC installs new Turf Drain Siphon System during Renovation

Dennis Hurley July 9, 2010October 1, 2024CUSTOMER PROFILE, PROJECTS

Matt Tacilauskas, the new superintendent at Palm Beach C.C., picked up where Paul Crawford left off. Paul Crawford, who retired after almost 30 years at Palm Beach C.C., had installed some of the first siphons in the country with TDA in 1997.

The Turf Drain Siphon System is the first system that allows you to install drainage without grading the pipe. Siphons are ideal for coastal properties such as Palm Beach C.C., which sits on some of the most exclusive seaside property in the country.

Matt, who originally hails from Australia, is looking forward to a long tenure at the club. Matt was familiar with the Turf Drain Siphon System from his days on the Carolina coast. He also …

The Turf Drain Siphon System™ is the first drainage system where you can install drainage without the need to grade pipe. Piping can go over mounding or into an ungraded trench.It has application in flat coastal properties where there is a need to take the water a long distance with little elevation change.

Any property where grading pipe may be difficult, such as rocky property or a course with lots of underground obstructions, can benefit from a Turf Drain Siphon System™.