Agronomy Report: Hillside Erosion Renovation

Hillside Erosion Renovation

GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE I SPENCER ROBERTS I APRIL 2018

Hillside Erosion Renovation

#9 tee hillside after the 9 inches of rain

On the afternoon of August 21st , 2017, the golf course received 4� of rain in an hour, followed by an additional 5� of rainfall overnight. Extreme flooding occurred on holes 1, 2, 9,13 and 18 causing a substantial amount of damage to turf, bunkers and bridges. The heavy rainfall and runoff also impacted the integrity of the hillsides and creek banks throughout the property. The combination of falling rain and running water caused soil and rocks to be displaced from their original locations. ________________________________________

Soil eroding from the hillside on #9

Viridity moving soil back onto hillside

Soil replaced and erosion mats installed

Two areas where severe erosion damage occurred was on #9 and #18. The hillside that stabilizes the gold tee on #9 at The National had a large portion of soil dislodge and slide down onto the cart path, impeding all traffic. Following this event, the Golf Course Maintenance Team was able to utilize Viridity and move the majority of soil back up onto the hillside. Once the soil had been moved, the team seeded and covered the area with erosion control mats. The pictures to the left illustrate the timeline of events.

Hillside Erosion Renovation The erosion control mats did a sufficient job holding the soil in place throughout the fall. As a result of freeze/thaw cycles this winter, more problems became apparent to this specific area. For the second time, the soil started to slowly slide down the hill onto the cart path, causing significant concern regarding the integrity of the hillside. ___________________________________ If we experience more erosion, the soil will continue to shift downward at a rapid pace, resulting in additional problems. The soil on the cart path will impede all traffic and the soil stabilizing the tee surface will continue to loosen, creating a scenario where we could lose a portion of the tee. ___________________________________

The photos above were taken of the hillside on #9 in late February. The photos illustrate the soil sliding onto the cart path and the potential for more erosion to occur in the near future.

Viridity, the company’s golf course construction team, will repair the eroding soil on #9 by using rock to stabilize the hillside and prevent future erosion. This work will begin Monday, April, 23rd and should have little impact on play. After Viridity has completed the hillside on #9, they will fix the soil erosion on #18 hillside.

The photo above shows #18 hillside soil sloughing off, down toward the cart path