#7 Washout & Drainage Project

One area on the golf course that is classic for washing out and creating unusual mounds is located on hole #7. If you look at the first picture you will see a bare soil area where the sod has been removed. This area was previously a 2' elevated mound with sod intact. It looked similar to a water bubble. The cause for the elevation in the turf is caused primarily from ground squirrels and poor drainage. Initially the ground squirrel would dig its tunnels throughout the native areas and into the golf course rough. These tunnels would end at the rough/fairway line. This is because the fairways are sand capped and the rough is soil based. The ground squirrels cannot dig in the sand because the tunnel immediately collapses. The inability to dig in the sand causes them to turn around in their existing tunnel and begin with a new route. All of their digging creates very hollow and bumpy rough perimeters. Looking at a few of these photos you can tell that the slope on hole #7 declines severely from left to right. With the rain that occurred previous to this project, the water would heavily build and run throughout the ground squirrel tunnels, depositing large amounts of sediment down the declining slope. This event would create the 2' mounds that are present on the left side of #7. The problem was then fixed by simply removing and regrading the large mound with the addition of a long drain line running diagonally across the slope and into the nearest catch basin. This problem has been seen on a few areas on the golf course and the same methods are used to fix the issue.