Chipping Green Construction Cancel The title field is required!

1. Richard McDanel

   

   0 posts
   
   2/11/2012 7:02 AM

   I am located in the transition zone and am looking into a bentgrass chipping green construction project. I was wondering if anyone had eliminated the gravel layer and used the flat drain and gravel only over the drain lines. This is a donation based project and it will be tough to raise the funds in this economy, so that is why I am looking to save dollars. I want a desirable finished project or none at all. I would never consider this on a green that is in play on the course, but feel a chipping green will have limited traffic and it might work. Any experience or other ideas?
   
   Richard McDanel, CGCS
   Pine Lake CC
   Charlotte, NC

   
   
   
   
2. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   2/11/2012 8:02 AM

   We just rebuilt some greens using the flat tile with 4" of gravel cover under the 14" of greens mix.

   
   
   
   
3. Clay Putnam

   

   33 posts
   
   2/11/2012 8:02 AM

   Richard McDanel, CGCS said: I am located in the transition zone and am looking into a bentgrass chipping green construction project. I was wondering if anyone had eliminated the gravel layer and used the flat drain and gravel only over the drain lines. This is a donation based project and it will be tough to raise the funds in this economy, so that is why I am looking to save dollars. I want a desirable finished project or none at all. I would never consider this on a green that is in play on the course, but feel a chipping green will have limited traffic and it might work. Any experience or other ideas?
   
   Richard McDanel, CGCS
   Pine Lake CC
   Charlotte, NC

   
   
   I don't see a problem eliminating the gravel. Although I would create enough slope on the green for surface runoff to be on the safe side. BTW, have used flat tile in a couple greens; so far so good.

   
   
   
   
4. Wallace Jeffrey V

   
   2/11/2012 10:02 AM

   Richard McDanel, CGCS said: I am located in the transition zone and am looking into a bentgrass chipping green construction project. I was wondering if anyone had eliminated the gravel layer and used the flat drain and gravel only over the drain lines. This is a donation based project and it will be tough to raise the funds in this economy, so that is why I am looking to save dollars. I want a desirable finished project or none at all. I would never consider this on a green that is in play on the course, but feel a chipping green will have limited traffic and it might work. Any experience or other ideas?
   
   Richard McDanel, CGCS
   Pine Lake CC
   Charlotte, NC

   
   
   Richard,
   
   I can't imagine the 4" gravel layer for one green adding too much for a donation project. Plus....what a nice opportunity for your crew to learn how to build a green that drains properly. The gravel layer is what will enable the water to travel laterally to the drain lines. Good experience for all.

   
   
   
   
5. Jim Meagher

   

   1 posts
   
   2/12/2012 7:02 AM

   Built 12 greens on a project in 2001/02 using flat tile, 4 in. of pea gravel, and 14 in. of greens mix. Take the time to prep the sub-grade.
   
   Jim Meagher
   Wanango Golf Club

   
   
   
   
6. James Smith

   

   112 posts
   
   2/13/2012 7:02 AM

   I have used flat tile in seven of my greens without any gravel since they were push-up greens to start out with and we were adding the needed drainage. When we finally got the chance to rebuild all of the greens we bowled out 7 different greens to use the fill from them for areas we expanded other greens and added a new mix profile to match the perc rate of the rest. No gravel was used. It has been 12 years now and they still drain great.
   
   I am pretty sure that some greens are built without gravel at all.
   
   My thoughts are since it is a chipping green you can add enough slope for most of the water to run off but the flip side of that is most likely you will have to water it in short intervals or hand water to get the moisture into the rootzone.
   
   Looking back to my project from what I see today, I wish I would of sloped the other edges of my green and let my collars be on the sloped edge. The collars tend to catch the sand when you topdress and drag causing low areas in the cleanup laps that will hold water longer since it cannot just run off. a few times a year we go around with water hoses and try to flush these spots out to allow the water to run off again.