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Sand Trap Construction and Design
Application of Two Basic Principles
Eliminates Water, Faulty Drainage
How is the drainage in yoursand traps? What is the need
or improvement? \\That is the
problem-wetness, was h i n g, re-
quired excess raking, dirty sand,
poor edges, lost design?
Sand Trap Design
Think back. Are the edges and
ides of each trap adequ~te? Has
he grass crowded in along low
ides? Do irrigation and rain wash
and and soil down? Does the trap
need improvement to contribute to
he challenge of the game? Does
t contribute to the contrast and
andscape? Let's look at two prin-
ciples and some illustrations.
Principle OnePrinciple one is that no surface
water should enter the trap. Of all
principles in sand trap construc-
ion, this one is paramount. If wa-
er from rain or irrigation washes
sand and soil, it is a double loss
and double trouble. Not only must
he sand be replaced, but the dirt
makes the sand crust so more rak-
ng and loosening are needed.
First, start with the perimeter.
Stake out the new outline and re-establish a stable uniform surface
(Photo 1). Then if necessary, cut
adjacent sad into thick layers and
stack along edge to form ample
height as indicated by rod and
transit measurements (Photo 2).
William H. Daniel is professor of agron-
omy at Purdue University, Lafayette,
nd., a position he has held since 1957.
He has received M. S. and Ph. D. de-grees from Michigan State University
and a B. S. degree in agriculture from
he University of Arkansas. Daniel is a
member of the GCSAA Educational Ad-
visory Council and recipient of the
1975 GCSAA Distinguished Service
Award.
Golf Superintendent/February 1975
In the example pictured, the
weak sad was cut where the apron
could be lowered and stacked to
contour, up to 15 inches deep.
Then the exposed soil was loosened
and raked to fill against the wall
of sad. The apron was lowered
and all material on site was used.
Only new sod for resurfacing was
hauled in (Photo 2). This per-
mitted building up the edges for
easier maintenance and yet al-
lowed good trap contrast and con-
tour. Plan and modify to achieve
principle one, that no surface wa-
ter run into the trap.
An Alternate Plan
An alternate plan would be to
intercept flowing water. When theedges of the trap are not diversion
slopes, use vertical trenching to
intercept the water flow. Just
above the trap and near the top of
the slope, make a narrow (about
three-inch) and shallow (6-inch to
IS-inch) trench as long as needed.
Place two-inch corrugated plastic
tubing into the trench and backfill
to overflow with washed sand.
If the area is lowered to form a
by William H. Daniel, Ph. D.
modest depression, resodding after
vertical trenching should begin at
the trench. Leave a one-inch open-
ing between sod strips. Fill the
openings to overflow with sand toassure rapid water infiltration. Fi-
nally, check with a transit and rod
and with even flowing water to as-
certain whether water actually is
diverted (Drawing 1).
Principle Two
The second principle of sand
trap design is that drainage must
be ample. When the rain stops, is
the trap a puddle? Because play-
Photo 1 (left): The f i rststep in improving sand
trap design to provide
adequate drainage is to
reestablish a stable, uni-
form edge.
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Drawing 1. Interceptor drain in downslope.
terminal and go into the lowest
portion of the trap, continue to
the upper end, back along the
base of the slope and return to the
outflow terminal (Photo 4). This
gives two exits and minimizes both
water and sand movement withinthe trap.
Remove good sand and throw it
up the slope as needed. Use a
narrow tile shovel to make a 6-inch
to 10-inch deep trench in the sub-
grade. Keep a wheelbarrow nearby
for the dirt from th,e trench (Photo
5). Use the dirt to fill the bank or
to sub grade the slope. Discard the
excess.Install two-inch plastic corru-
gated tubing in the trench. Slit-
style tubing having 90 perforations
ing pressure today is so intense, no
trap ever should hold standing wa-
ter. Play should not be delayed
because the traps need to be
raked. The following procedure
outlines a modem way to achieve
drainage:
Step 1. Decide where the out-
How will terminate. Itmay termi-
nate in a fairway but should be
one mower's width from the trap
in the least traveled area. In Photo
3 the area just below the trap was
adequate. Or the outflow could
have terminated into an existing
tile system.
Step 2. Decide where to install
the drain tubing. Where possible
make a loop. Start at the outflow
Photo 2: Cut away adjacent sod. Stack along the edge to achieve ample height and
to create a firm wall.
Photo 3: The blind end of the tee is cut
to leave a center strip and two openings.
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a foot which allow sand particlesto form a filter is recommended.
Step 3. Complete the outflowterminals. If the outflow terminalis in a nearby surface, completethe terminal by attaching to eachdrain tube a T fitting with a blindend in an upright position. Cut theend open with a knife to leave a
center strip and two openings(Photo 3).
Place the terminal in a trenchthat has ample downhill slope. In-.stall a small French drain withsand fill under each T. Use extraPVC pipe to extend the top of theT to the soil surface ifneeded.
Backfill with soil and sod soequipment can move over the area.This gives an outflow to the sur-face for a rush of water and alsoprovides the slower French drain
for the last trickle of water. If thefinal outflow is tied to an existingtile system, connectors are avail-able to tie the drain tube to the
Golf Superintendent/February 1975
tile. Be sure to allow ample slopeso the tubes wash clean when wa-ter is flowing.
Method Saves Time, Labor
The most commonly used sys-tem has been to install a four-inchdrain pipe. This system requiresextensive trenching and backfilling
with pea gravel. It is time-con-suming and difficult work. Theprocedure outlined in this articlemakes the job relatively small andis just as effective. The projectpictured in Photo 6 was completedin one day with 30 man-hours oflabor.
I recently observed a golf coursewith more than 60 traps. After anormal half-inch rainfall, all buttwo traps on the course held waterdeeper than sand for more thantwo hours. How does your golfcourse compare? If water stand-ing in traps delays play, considerimproving the drainage by using
Photo 4 (left): Layout the flexible plas-tic drain pipe, making a loop when pos-sible.
Photo 6 (below): This rebuilt trap wascompleted in one day with 30 man-
hours of labor.
Photo 5: Throw soil into wheelbarrowto use for fill or for easy discard.
a method patterned after the oneoutlined above.
Modifications will have to bemade to adjust to each particularsituation, but always rememberthe two basic principles of improv-ing sand trap drainage: no surfacewater should run into any trap,and drainage must be ample. If
you observe these two principles,your projects will have a high
probability of success. -
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