Pond Repair #18

If you have driven a cart down #18 fairway this summer, you have likely noticed the large swale that had developed across the fairway as you were lifted off your seat and your clubs clanged behind you.  Also, perhaps less noticeable, there was a decrease in the water level on the ponds.  Most members are unaware that the ponds on the interior of the course are connected by underground culvert pipes.  This is a benefit as it affords Hidden Glen a substantial area for us to collect irrigation water.  In the same way, when irrigation occurs on a regular basis the pond level is drawn down evenly throughout all the ponds in the interior of the golf course.
Following a significant rainfall or snow melt, water exits the course through two culvert pipes on the west side of the large pond between #9 and #18.  The water follows along the creek bed that crosses number #10 and into the wetland to the east of the tenth fairway.  After years of heavy flow, the quick-moving water had washed out the area between the two drain pipes.  In fact, the flow of water outside the drainage culverts had caused the fairway to sink, creating the abovementioned swale.  This not only presented a problem with course playability, but safety as well.
In order to repair the problem, golf course maintenance team members have excavated the ground around the culvert pipes and carefully relocated them, returning the water of the ponds to their intended level.  Fresh clay was then installed and compacted in order to create an impermeable edge on the pond.  Before the sod was laid, staff members installed a fabric liner and large rocks to prevent any further erosion due to wave action. 
The benefits of this repair will serve to improve playability and safety, while at the same time providing the opportunity to accumulate more rainfall for irrigation purposes.