How Long Will EXisting Greens Drainage(XGD) Last?

Ummm… forever?

I get this question a lot as well, and it slides in nicely after my previous post.
Our oldest greens completed at Upper Canada GC and York Downs G&CC have been installed and working admirably for 19 years. These two greens were the first we ever did, and little did we know it may set off the change of events that followed to this point. Here is a fairly recent shot of our internal subsurface greens drainage operation at Oyster Harbors Club on cape Code in MA. We have come a long way baby since the early 90’s.

There are 5 key components to XGD”s longevity:

1. Grade
Our internal greens drainage installation professionals are the best at laying out a green to achieve gravitational groundwater table control and keeping a self cleaning gradient on all our pipe installs. This prohibits sediment buildup at grade issues and over time the greens drainage would become plugged and inefficient.
2. Depth
Our minimum pipe depths allow deep tining and drilln’fill to occur unimpeded above our XGD greens drainage laterals. This is hugely important in keeping all available pore space open in the entire soil profile, allowing groundwater to move freely to our pipes.
3. Backfill
Choosing the proper greens mix backfill is also ultra important. We don’t want it too lean, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, we don’t want the mix too organic. At XGD, we have the most experience in the business by far, and have dealt with all sorts of mix options to ensure the proper material is in place, and serves the green well for the long term.
4. Pipe Life
Once our polyethylene pipe is out of the sunlight and in to the ground, it really shouldn’t break down for 25-100 years?( who really knows yet) But with the low pressure environment of drainage tile, I see no reason for a ridiculously long life.
5. Care
If some of the cultural practices we support at XGD are let go a little, for example, relaxation of aggressive aerification,deep tining efforts causing the pore space in the soil to tighten up and slow the lateral movement of gravitational groundwater to our system. Ignoring outlet lines off of the green is a problem, as future infrastructure upgrades are completed around the green such as irrigation or bunkering, care must be taken to ensure the outlets are not severed, and are always open and flowing freely.

In summary, this post really describes the cost effectiveness of XGD. While it is a significant one-time capital expense. This expenditure should be allocated over at least a 20 year period, which you will find turns the XGD installation in to a pennies/foot expense. Reach out to us if we can provide your turfgrass facility some budget numbers on our unique greens and fairway drainage restoration.

Bye for now, Poor Old Dirt & Grass Farmer