Drainage sucks!

The class will talk about the management of excess water and what to do with it when it starts to become detrimental to the production of performance grass surfaces, focusing mainly on greens. The class will explore what is meant by terms used in drainage and some of the fundamental principles involved in understanding how water behaves. We will also look at what happens when drainage is a problem and what it means for the ecosystem of the green as well as the playing surface itself. Having identified the causes of drainage issues, the class will consider how to address drainage issues on playing surfaces with the principal focus being on greens but with latitude to bring in other areas. We will consider how to install drainage into greens, why perfect solutions are hard to come by for all surfaces and some of the challenges that can occur in draining surfaces.

Learning outcomes:

• Understanding what is drainage and definitions regarding drainage
• Identifying when drainage is a problem
• Non‑invasive ways to help resolve drainage issues on playing surfaces
• Ensuring maintenance is optimised to reduce drainage problems
• Options for draining putting greens including two examples of different approaches