8th November 2019
Completed greens drainage at Sundridge Park Golf Club
Continuing its longstanding relationship with the club, Turfdry were once again invited to Sundridge Park GC to install the Turfdry Greens Drainage System on a further 9 holes.
New drainage systems had been installed on the club’s West Course greens in two phases over the autumns of 2015 & 2016, whilst fairway drainage was installed on four holes of the same course in 2018. With the transformative results delivered by the Turfdry Greens Drainage System clear to see, the club was eager to see the project continue on the East Course, engaging Turfdry to provide costed designs for the back-nine greens.
This design process was facilitated by the expansion of the topographical survey conducted by Turfdry in 2015, which initially just covered the West Course greens. This not only benefits by updating the club's topographical records, but also allows for more holistic consideration of the works: generating a deeper understanding of the course’s natural hydrology, as well as providing the foundation for thoughtful design that optimises the cost-effectiveness of a drainage project. This is particularly true when a club wants to work with Turfdry on a long-term vision for improvements - as Sundridge Park has - which allowed for some elements of the West Course drainage to be designed with connections from future drainage works on the East Course in mind, minimising both costs, and disruption of the course.
On a project of this scale in particular, the efficiency of the installation can be crucial to the success of a project, requiring clear communication with the client, and precision in the planning of the works. Consequently, Turfdry returned to the club to discuss its initial designs, once again touring the course to expand the drainage to additional surround and approach areas in response to the club’s further consideration. Additional planning like this allows us to take advantage of the intimate knowledge of a course that comes with living and breathing its upkeep, so discussions with the club’s accomplished Head Greenkeeper Paul Rudkin were invaluable in making minor adjustments to suit the particular drainage characteristics of problem areas in order to wring every last drop of efficiency out of the design for the new greens drainage systems.
With final designs costed and approved by the club, Turfdry’s installation team returned to the site in late September. Although both Turfdry and Sundridge Park have considerable experience working with one another, the logistics of this phase of the drainage project were complicated by a separate bunker construction project being carried out simultaneously. Despite the additional planning and precision required, the installation operations went smoothly, with the club noting the care and attention of the works.
With another phase completed, design work for the remaining greens is underway, and both the club and Turfdry are looking forward to the next phase of the drainage project.
For more about Turfdry’s greens drainage project at Sundridge Park, take a look at the Case Study.
