How much sand is enough?

[Ran Morrissett]

I was walking my dog along a nearby state park trail and was surprised to see on one of the posted signs that the sandy loam soil "only" goes down two feet in many spots in the sand hills region of North Carolina. Don't know why but I just assumed it would be deeper.

In order to achieve optimal playing fast/firm playing conditions, how much sand is needed below the fairway surface?

I believe that C&C capped the fairways at Chechessee Creek with 6 inches of sand - is that "all" that is needed? And how expensive a process is it to cap a 6,600 yard course (assuming that the sand is available in the same state)?

How deep would the sandy loam soil be on the Hempstead plain? How about Walton Heath?

[Kevin_Reilly]

This question will also be relevant for the new course near Carmel discussed on another thread.  Pete or Adam noted that the soil there was clay, and someone else (Bob H) said that this could be remedied by trucking in a few thousand yds of sand.

How much sand would a project like this need?

[RJ_Daley]

Ran,  I don't actually know the answer to any of your questions.  But, I'm always willing to hazard a guess and wait for someone that is knowlegeable to correct my misconceptions, so that I can try to learn something.

My guess is that it isn't just about the depth of the sand, it is the rate of perculation of water balanced with the retention capacity of nutrients based on the organic matter in the soil stucture when it comes particularly to fairways.  It seems to me that if that 6 inches of capped soil is over really tight clays, there could be an underment of disease zone breeding constantly moist-clayey conditions to cause various root rots.  And, if the sand particle size structure is wrong, it can seize up like concrete.  Then you'll have your firm and fast , but not anything good for healthy turf root health to stand up to stress playing pressure.  So, I'm guessing that sand is really good for the reason of promoting good root growth due to the consideration of whether it percs water and allows the ammendment of organics, or substitutes for organics, and management of nutrients in the root structure.  If it holds the water long enough to feed the roots yet percs out and drys fast enough, you should have your firm and fast, even if it is on crushed lava.

Now that I have made an ass of myself, could any supers explain the actual deal?  Where is Wilbur when you really need him?  

[Don_Mahaffey]

Ran,
A lot depends on the soil under the sand cap. Additional drainage work may be needed if the soil is very dense. What I've seen done in AZ is an 8 in. cap.

If a golf course is 90 acres X 43,560 = 3,920,400 sq ft. If your only going 8 inches then you could multiply that number by .66 to arrive at cubic ft. 3,920,400 X .66 = 2,587,464 divided by 27 to arrive at the # of yards needed = 95,832. If you were extremly lucky and had a quality sand source nearby, you might get that kind of quantity for $10/yd = $958,320. Add in the cost to spread it and you have a general idea of what it costs to cap a course. The nearby sand source is the key.

[Harley Kruse]

Ran

On several Asian projects where rainfall can be several metres per annum it is not uncommon to have a sand cap of 12inches.

Sand caps range from 4 to 12 inches depending on sand type, underlying soil type, and climatic factors such as rainfall.

It is an expensive and time consuming process to sand cap a course, and much care must be taken to ensure shape is not lost when spreading the sand.

I know of a course in high rainfall Singapore that has just spent several million in construction of all new fairways with a greens  type profile ie. 4inches of gravel layer with 12inches of USGA spec sand on top. Perhaps a little over the top but they shouldn't have a drainage problem