XGD Drainage is Not “Top Down”, it is “Bottoms Up”
I wanted to dispel a common myth on the XGD Systems drainage process:
That myth is that “, XGD Drainage is “Top Down”, when it is “Bottoms Up”
Conventional golf drainage theories rely on surface water as the primary focus, and it is absolutely false, as we need to be looking at groundwater table issues first and foremost.
XGD Drainage is based on ultra similar farm drainage practices which relies 99% of the time on groundwater table lowering, and very few (hickenbottoms), and or open surface inlets or catch basins. Every single mile of this simple, yet effective drainage installation relies on controlling the subsurface groundwater table down to a manageable level out of the crop rootzone. Farm drainage also utilizes a native backfill process as settlement of the drainage laterals is not an issue like it is for us on a golf course green or golf course fairway. Typical farm field drainage spacing is as far apart as 25′ in heavy clay soil locales. Again, they are (like XGD) asking the subsurface groundwater to move laterally through the clay soil to the drainage pipe(tile). And, it has been occurring like this for hundreds of years. Go figure.
Having said all that, why is it so hard for most to grasp that the only reason we backfill with an organic sand mix, is so we can compact the XGD lateral lines immediately and open for play when we are complete after a day or two. Very, very little surface water enters the pipe from the “top(turf) down”, as it really only enters the XGD laterals after a heavy precipitation event pushed the soil pore space to field capacity. At field capacity, the subsurface groundwater enters the XGD pipes extremely quickly and the mainline greens drainage outlets empty fully. NOW, here at this point in the groundwater table drawdown process is where XGD really helps out the golf green’s sustainability, as oxygen is literally sucked in to the upper soil profile as the soil pore space is emptied of the useless gravitational groundwater.
Now, the saturated green’s pushup soil can breathe and live for another great golf day.
Thoughts, Poor Old Dirt & Grass Farmer
