During the present closure of Atalaya’s championship Old Course, subsurface drainage is being installed on Hole One. The goal is to improve playing conditions, especially during the winter when the rains fall. The project is large, with approximately 1.300 lineal metres of drainage being set down.
“Surface and subsurface drainage systems are vital for efficient, economical maintenance of fairways, as well as for optimising playing conditions,” states Andrés Sánchez Garcia, General Director of Atalaya Golf & Country Club.
Sánchez continues: “Soggy soils and standing water in depressions lead to increased soil compaction, disease potential, scald, rutting and generally unfavourable playing conditions.”
Because the installation of drainage is maintenance which Atalaya performs every summer, the club purchased a special trench digging machine four years ago. The machine helps greenkeepers immensely. Naturally, having a machine dig trenches is much quicker and more uniform than digging trenches by hand. Also, the use of the trench digger reduces damage to fairways. All of this results in a win-win situation for everyone.
The trenches being dug on Hole One are 40 centimetres deep and will be filled with drainage tubes, gravel and sand before being recovered with sod.
Sánchez summarises: “Every effort should be made during summer time to provide additional drainage where water stands and creates difficulties.”
The drainage project on Hole One of the championship Old Course is just one more example of Atalaya’s continued effort to provide the finest golfing experience available on the Costa del Sol to both members and green fee guests.
