The day after we fired up our irrigation system I get a call on the radio from one of the guys mowing, “Hey there is a little water in front of 13 green. You might want to take a look at it.” Knowing that we sometimes have quick couplers or foot valves that will seep a little when we first start up, I was thinking no big deal. However when we get there water was oozing out of the ground in about a 40 foot area. The turf was heaved all through the approach and it was creeping down the fairway. After we get the water shut off we discovered it was coming from the front of 13 green. (The sink hole was the dead giveaway.) The irrigation line cuts through the front of the green about 6 foot from the collar. The water forced the turf up causing the front of the green to look like the surface of the moon. In unearthing the irrigation line we not only found one break, but several breaks along the pipe. In further inspection, they were actually puncture holes caused by none other than the vertidrain that we did the week before turning on the system. The line was about 9 inches in the ground and we were punching to 10 inches. So if my math is right that equals a lot of water and a big mess.
This was the fourth year in a row we have vertidrained. I guess his aim was not as good the first three times. |