(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Golf course architecture is an art form that is closely related to the natural landscape. When it comes to building a golf course the choice of soil is key, and sandy soil, due to its unique properties, is by far the best choice you can make.
Sand and golf
The game of golf was born on sandy terrain, the so-called linksland.
With the term links, the Scots indicate “connecting” lands, i.e. those strips of sandy soil not fertile enough to be cultivated, but at the same time far enough from the shore to be able to host various turf species.For centuries, golf was played only on the links, and the first inland courses were built only at the end of the 19th century.From the point of view of construction, the great advantage of sand is the ease with which it can be modelled.
Pushing sandy material with a bulldozer or an excavator is much easier and faster, and once everything has been modeled you can go directly to the sowing phase.When, on the other hand, the material is clayey, it is more difficult to move, and once the modeling phase is complete, everything must be covered with a layer of imported sand of at least 10 or 20 centimeters.
Sand is a very expensive material and therefore building a golf course on clay soils costs much more.One of the main reasons why sandy soil is favored in golf course construction is its excellent drainage ability. The sand particles are larger and more porous than other materials, allowing water to seep quickly through the soil.
This natural drainage prevents water from pooling and ensures that the playing surface remains compact and playable even after heavy rainfall.Consequently, the compactness of the sandy ground contributes to the creation of a homogeneous and compact playing surface, and the shots tend to have a greater bounce, making the game more exciting.
Even in the case of “soft” fields, however, the sand guarantees a better quality of the turf, just think that any green on which you have played is rooted on a layer of a few tens of centimeters of sand.Bottom line, if it ever occurs to you to build a golf course, the first thing to look for is sand.
