ABSTRACT
Recently, golf became one of the most popular and rapid growing sports in the United States. According to the American Golf Foundation in 2003, there were approximately 17,000 golf courses in the United States. The key to operating a successful golf course is having healthy greens. As stated by O. J. Noer (Tadge, 1980), the two most important ingredients for building and maintaining a successful golf course are “common sense and drainage.” Poor soil drainage results in anaerobic conditions. An anaerobic green is more susceptible to disease development and can induce formation of a black layer that impedes turf root development (Bengeyeld, 1976; Chong et al., 2003; Schwartzkopf, 1975). Poor-quality greens always result in poor performance and playability of the eld and will eventually jeopardize golf course income. In order to have a healthy green, both irrigation and drainage are of vital importance in golf course management (Chong et al., 2004). Therefore, in order to attract and keep players, the turf must be kept in excellent condition. In other words, a proper functioning drainage and irrigation system is critically important to the success of a golf course.
