Some projects remain on the to-do list for years before we get a chance to get 'er done.  The 16th fairway has a sunken drain line that has been a problem for golfers, mowers, and my to-do list for a solid six years. The depression crosses the fairway at the 250 yd marker, a good spot to conclude a fantastic drive. This low spot is the location of an old concrete drain line that is slowly deteriorating.  We patched small portions over the last few years and topdressed to improve lies, but it kept caving in.  The bigger problem was the area this pipe used to drain would flood during rain events.                                                                                    Eventually, we will replace the entire pipe from 15 tee to the left rough of #6.  We started with the fairway during our first closed Monday in a number of months.  I like our members, but I love closed Mondays.

With five staff members, we sodcut a clearing, trenched out the old pipe, leveled and graded, installed new gravel and pipe, backfilled, and got our sod back down in about 6 hours.  This was quick work for a 130 foot stretch of 10 inch concrete drain converted to 6 inch PVC perforated pipe.  The trencher made quick work of the brittle concrete and we had the whole line ready for hand cleaning in 25 minutes.

Before we installed the pea gravel and pipe, we sent in our specially trained dog to check for the proper grading.  Actually, she was looking for white grubs, she loves those things.

Once our pipe was in the ground and backfilled, Dante and Manuel put the sod puzzle back together.  This portion of fairway is going to being smooth and uniform so your 250 yard drive will not end up in ground under repair.  The drain line is now operational and will be for years to come.  And six years after I wrote it down, there is an empty slot on our to-do list.